King Snake stays in it's hide all the time?

[Praireboyfarmer]

My kingsnake will stay in one specific hide all the time. I put two hides for him in his cage, one blue and one purple. He chose the purple hide and he stays in it pretty much all day every day (He'll even follow it if I move it). It's obvious that he comes out every once in a while (By the water he gets everywhere) but besides that I just don't see him. I let him have about 2 weeks of almost no disturbance and only handle him every few days for about 5 minutes at a time.

But if I take his purple hide away (As I did when I thoroughly cleaned it) he simply curled up and laid out in the open instead of going into his blue one.

Is this normal? or is this a sign of stress?

- The snake is one I caught. I decided to keep it and assured it's legality and am planning on a vet visit in a month or so. He's eating, has calmed down to the point of almost no aggression, and over-all seems okay.

[Rattlehead]

Hi! Some colubrids tend to be more secretive and/or noctrnal as they grow. How are the temperatures in the enclosure? Does he stays on the warm or cold hide? Are the hides small enough for he to fit but be tight?

[Praireboyfarmer]

Originally Posted by Rattlehead

Hi! Some colubrids tend to be more secretive and/or noctrnal as they grow. How are the temperatures in the enclosure? Does he stays on the warm or cold hide? Are the hides small enough for he to fit but be tight?

The temperatures sit at around 75-78 on the cool side and around 85 on the warm side. Right now he is in the warm side because that's where he purple hide is.

His hides are not small enough for him to fit in but be tight. They are actually pretty large. The blue one has a larger opening than the purple one, could this be why he prefers the purple one?

His hides are actually made out of an old hamster wheel (Purple one) (Boiled, bleached, and washed with vinegar before use) and a bowl (Blue one). Currently he is about a foot long, so he's quite young.

[eminart]

It's pretty common for many species to hide most of the time. One trick is to set up a more naturalistic enclosure where they don't feel totally exposed when they're out. Try reading "The Art of Keeping Snakes". It's a good book as an intro into Bioactive or just more natural enclosures.

[Rattlehead]

Originally Posted by Praireboyfarmer

The temperatures sit at around 75-78 on the cool side and around 85 on the warm side. Right now he is in the warm side because that's where he purple hide is.

His hides are not small enough for him to fit in but be tight. They are actually pretty large. The blue one has a larger opening than the purple one, could this be why he prefers the purple one?

His hides are actually made out of an old hamster wheel (Purple one) (Boiled, bleached, and washed with vinegar before use) and a bowl (Blue one). Currently he is about a foot long, so he's quite young.

The size of the hide could be a factor, but as Eminart says, try to put some more covers of different sizes inside the enclosure. It also depends on the 'personality' of the snake, which sometimes change from one day to another

Is s/he eating?