View Full Version : Burmese Python always trying to get out?
Hi,
I have a 8 month old Burmese Python...
He is always trying to get out of his vivarium, he has done this for a while, he is eating fine and is handled very regularly.
Does anyone know why he may be doing this? He is forever going up the side of the glass. I handle him a lot, but from the second he is back in the viv, he is trying to get back out.
There is a female corn snake in the vivarium below him. But the Corn isnt bothered at all. So I'm assuming this may be a reason?? However, as he eats perfectly I dont think its stress.
Can anyone tell me why this may be happening?
What does your enclosure look like? If you do not have hides that he is comfortable with, often times the snake will continually search for somewhere it feels safer.
dinosaurdammit
12-31-12, 12:39 PM
Ive seen it happen to a king snake once and it turned out it was too hot in the set up. Are your temps correct? If the hides arnt the problem maybe check your temps.
Also be sure to check your temps. if it is too warm in there he may be trying to cool off. What type of gauges are you using to measure temp and humidity? If it is the round ones you stick on the side they have been known to be off in their readings. A infrared temp gun is the best most reliable method.
If the hides arnt the problem maybe check your temps.
Sorry I didn't see this until after I posted :)
shaunyboy
12-31-12, 01:18 PM
i have carpets that do it during breeding season...
looking for mates
that said 8 month old may be a little young for this behavoir..
you would need to ask a burm keeper at what age a male is sexually mature
with carpets its around 18 months old
cheers shaun
p.s.earlier in the thread someone asked about hides,this may well be the problem,that your burm's looking for some where he feels secure
Mark Taylor
12-31-12, 02:41 PM
Don't want you to be worried but have you heard of IBD is he looking up a lot might be early stages if so you might want to quarantine him for a few months so you other snakes are safe.
dinosaurdammit
12-31-12, 03:55 PM
Don't want you to be worried but have you heard of IBD is he looking up a lot might be early stages if so you might want to quarantine him for a few months so you other snakes are safe.
honestly i feel like IBD is over guessed. I know its legit but its like every time a snake acts weird its automatically IBD that everyone jumps to
KORBIN5895
12-31-12, 04:08 PM
Don't want you to be worried but have you heard of IBD is he looking up a lot might be early stages if so you might want to quarantine him for a few months so you other snakes are safe.
What made you think ibd was even possible?
Mark Taylor
12-31-12, 04:25 PM
I may have jumped the gun so to speak. I do my research the same everyone else, it just so happens that I recently read about it and thought it might be of interest to him to see if maybe that wasn't the only sign that something was wrong.
The part were he said its always going up the side of the glass (looking up)
His snake may be completely fine and just likes to explore but he raised the question in concern I believe.
Corey209
12-31-12, 04:48 PM
Don't want you to be worried but have you heard of IBD is he looking up a lot might be early stages if so you might want to quarantine him for a few months so you other snakes are safe.
From what I've researched if a python/boa has IBD they're going to be messed up to where they can barely do anything. I would just adjust my temps and see if that settles him down. With my king I had my room temps too high and she would never be in her hide until I lowered the temps then she started to relax.
^ to your post above, stargazing doesn't mean IBD. When you start to see head twisting is when you should be worried.
Inclusion Body Disease (http://www.anapsid.org/ibd.html)
Squirtle
12-31-12, 06:40 PM
Don't take my word for it, but snakes are pretty dumb. They might not think there's glass in their way on their "Journey to freedom" (escaping by pushing glass). All my snakes that I've owned have done it before, I don't know what kind of caging you have, but if they're trying to escape via screen top, then that can be a problem.
EmbraceCalamity
12-31-12, 06:44 PM
I may have jumped the gun so to speak. I do my research the same everyone else, it just so happens that I recently read about it and thought it might be of interest to him to see if maybe that wasn't the only sign that something was wrong.
The part were he said its always going up the side of the glass (looking up)
His snake may be completely fine and just likes to explore but he raised the question in concern I believe.There's a difference between "looking up" and climbing the glass. Suggesting IBD because the snake is climbing up the glass is like telling someone they might have cancer because they keep sneezing.
~Maggot
dinosaurdammit
12-31-12, 06:59 PM
Don't take my word for it, but snakes are pretty dumb. They might not think there's glass in their way on their "Journey to freedom" (escaping by pushing glass). All my snakes that I've owned have done it before, I don't know what kind of caging you have, but if they're trying to escape via screen top, then that can be a problem.
Pretty sure Athena is a bit touched in the head because she puts her face against glass and resembles a snake version of this (http://frankproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/face-against-glass.jpg), like that is somehow going to magically set her free.
Pirarucu
12-31-12, 08:10 PM
If a snake is continually trying to escape its cage, it means something is wrong with its cage. Temps could be too high or too low, humidity could be wrong, the snake might not feel secure enough, the snake might not have enough space, or of course it might have decided that it is time to find food or a mate.
Also, eating is not necessarily a sign that there is no stress. Burms eat, that's what they do. LOL they will eat no matter what..
shaunyboy
12-31-12, 08:30 PM
Don't want you to be worried but have you heard of IBD is he looking up a lot might be early stages if so you might want to quarantine him for a few months so you other snakes are safe.
the thing everyone seems to forget about IBD is.....
there are a lot more symptoms than star gazing or strange body movments..
for example (pasted in from info i have bookmarked,not my own writing)...
re IBD
Signs of infection in boas include central nervous system disorders such as paralysis, being unable to right itself when turned over, "star-gazing", inability to strike or constrict. Other signs include chronic regurgitation, extreme weight loss, respiratory infections, and dysecdysis due to the inability to control body movements enough to rub off the old skin. The disease is rapidly fatal in young and juvenile boas, typified by rapid onset of flaccid paralysis.
In pythons, the disease progresses much more rapidly than in boas. Along with the above symptoms (excluding the chronic regurgitation), pythons also tend toward infectious stomatitis ("mouth rot"), heightened or exaggerated reflex responses, disorientation (which may be precipitated by the onset of central blindness) and loss of motor coordination.
IMO before suggesting IBD,it would be better asking people...if the snake in question,shows any other symptoms,before alarming them with IBD
also Pythons die within 4 weeks after FIRST showing symptoms,so suggesting that the op should quarantine for months,tells me you have not researched this disease enough,to suggest someones snake has it...!!
^^^^^
i'm NOT being cheeky mate,i'm merely pointing out,before suggesting something so serious,and alarming a new keeper,research the disease and ask about other symptoms
plenty snakes behave the way the op's does
cheers shaun
shaunyboy
12-31-12, 08:35 PM
I may have jumped the gun so to speak. I do my research the same everyone else, it just so happens that I recently read about it and thought it might be of interest to him to see if maybe that wasn't the only sign that something was wrong.
The part were he said its always going up the side of the glass (looking up)
His snake may be completely fine and just likes to explore but he raised the question in concern I believe.
^^^^^
MY APOLOGIES MATE...
i only read the above quote,AFTER i made the post above
cheers shaun
shaunyboy
12-31-12, 08:39 PM
Don't take my word for it, but snakes are pretty dumb. They might not think there's glass in their way on their "Journey to freedom" (escaping by pushing glass). All my snakes that I've owned have done it before, I don't know what kind of caging you have, but if they're trying to escape via screen top, then that can be a problem.
yes mate.....
how many times have you seen a snake try and strike you,only to smack its head off the glass,for the 10th,20th,time
for being around so long,you'd think they would be more clever lol
cheers shaun
dinosaurdammit
12-31-12, 08:55 PM
yes mate.....
how many times have you seen a snake try and strike you,only to smack its head off the glass,for the 10th,20th,time
for being around so long,you'd think they would be more clever lol
cheers shaun
does it make me a bad person to laugh when they do this? Mine has smacked HARD against the glass and just kinda sat there stunned with its mouth still opened and pressed up against the front like some sort of kid making ugly faces at me. Missed the rat by just an inch and BAM snake face. Its only funny when they dont get hurt but I cant help but laugh when they do silly little things like this.
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.