Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My female 8ft burm has these strange habits of becoming extremely anxious to get outside of her cage, especially if she has been out for a bit and I put her back in. I just cleaned her cage, gave her fresh water, and as soon as her snout touched the fresh bark, she immediately turned the opposite way and tried forcing herself out of the cage, slithering up my arm. She has always had very active streaks; for hours she will roam her cage, which isn't necessarily small. She has a steady 10 day eating pattern, and just ate recently. Any comments concerning this?

Also, I also feel like she can get in apprehensive, upsets moods, and doesn't like to be touched. But, normally, 95% of the time, she is the most friendly, outgoing creature. Anyone experience similar behavior?

Thanks!

Just a thought. Maybe she doesn't like the bedding. We have some snakes that we kept on aspen, they would move all the aspen to the sides of the cage and wind up laying on no substrate. We switched them to newspaper and they seem a lot happier.

Randy
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Randy and Michelle
Art In Scales
(719) 439-4199
info@artinscales.com

I do not think it is the bedding because this attitude has happened on several different type of bedding. I just find it strange to have these unpredictable bursts of emotion from my pet. I am more worried about a bigger problem, essentially.

Burms that have respiratory issues are often hyperactive

Even if it is only once in a while? What would cause those type of problems?

- Ian

For the most part the "...immediately turned the opposite way and tried forcing herself out of the cage, slithering up my arm." actions are a natural instinct. It's actually deeper than that but I'll not get into it now as I don't feel this is a key to the problem even though it can be related.

In short, I suspect that your Burmese Python isn't getting enough to eat.

You didn't mention the cage temperatures and humidity level but hopefully these are one of the first things you've looked into, as well as mites, which can make snakes antsy, and other health issues.

Cage roaming, if it's done like a stroll through the park, isn't an issue. "...becoming extremely anxious to get outside of her cage..." is an issue. This could be a desire to hunt for food or to get exercise (providing that cage temps & humidity has been ruled out).

"...her cage, which isn't necessarily small." This tells me that deep down you suspect that it could be a factor. Hold onto that thought and consider it long & hard. It's possible to keep Burmese Pythons somewhat content in small cages but it requires a lot of time out of the cage for exercise. And because most of us, if not all of us, at some point or another don't give our captives the time, care, they need, I strongly suggest the largest cage possible so the snakes don't have to wait on us to get the exercise they need for their physical & mental well-being.

Moods? Yes, some Burmese Pythons can be considered moody, actually, temperemental. Some don't like to be bothered during the first few days of digesting a meal, and I've heard of some that seemingly don't need a reason to be tmeperemental. Personally, I believe this falls back on conditioning. Snakes handled soon after meals when they're young & impressionable are more tolerant of it when they get older. In other words, they will do what we allow them to do. With a little bit of time & effort you should be able to work the moodiness out of your burmese.

Try increasing the amount you feed your Burmese Python and see if it's behavior improves over the next several feedings. You may find that you need to increase the amount per feeding or decrease the days between feedings, or both.

How old is she?

Later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

Theirs alot of good info on this one from the previouse post. I know my snakes ( in general )don't like to be put back in their cage after you have been holding them. My snakes get held alot, they seem to not want to go back in their cage after a good long handling. I use newspaper for substrat and they all geat plenty of food offered.
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Education is Everything.......

I had a feeling that I might be feeding her a bit too sparingly. I feed her every 10-14 days usually, with a good sized, XXL rat. She is coming up on 8 feet, and her cage is roughly 5x3x4, and what was actually making it harder is that she will be extremely hyperactive for a day or two, nudging her nose into the edges of the sliding glass, and for other days, she just hangs out in the heat. She loves being out of her cage and being held, but I am unsure if that is just because she is a nice pet, or because she NEEDS to get out of her cage, for whatever reason. Should I start feeding her weekly? Should I step up to rabbits? I feed her the biggest rats I can find, and she has no problem. Thanks for all the help!

Also, she isn't abnormally skinny, but she is definitely not a chunky snake; she has excellent athletic ability, and moves with the utmost ease. I want to keep her as healthy as possible!

- Ian

Hi Ian!
For an 8ft Burmese python your cage isn't necessarily too small, in my opinion, but it will be soon. Burmese seem to do better with more floor space than cage height, however, you might could make use of your cage's height by adding a strong shelf or two, an upper layer. Climbing branches will help as well. But before you put much more time & money in that cage you might want to consider putting it towards a new, bigger, one.

I suggest start trying to get it switched over to small rabbits. As far as rat sizes, heh, I think some of the suppliers get a bit too carried away with too many "large" sizes. To me, there's small rats, medium rats, large rats, and occasionally, extra large or "huge" rats. I personally feel that an 8-footer should be fed in the neighborhood of 4 - 6 large or extra large rats every two weeks.

Some snakes can eat more than others without getting overweight due to their individual metabolism but for the most part a reptile's metabolism is controlled by it's environment, the cage's temperatures. This is why we have different recommended hot/cool end temps. Give the reptile a wide range & let it choose the temps it needs at any given time.

I mentioned all that to give some background info about how much a certain size Burmese python (or any other snake or reptile) should be fed. It can vary (although usually not by a great amount) from snake to snake, from enclosure to enclosure. We have to experiment to find the right amount.

You don't want to feed it till it pukes, overstuffing it, and you don't want it to still be hungry after feeding. You've got to find that point in between. If a snake moves about it's cage after feeding as gingerly as it did beforehand, it's probably still hungry, not getting enough to eat. It takes a few feedings to find the right balance. You might try feeding it 3 of the same size rats you've been feeding it and see how it reacts. I would probably stick with rats at the moment just to determine what's a good meal for your Burmese python and then start trying to switch to rabbits once you see how much mass makes a good meal for it.

Burmese pythons are heavy-bodied snakes and not slender built like retics, corns, and most others. However, some people seem to think they're designed to be fat and just keep throwing food at 'em left & right without any regard to proper body proportioning. Just keep an eye on it's weight and make feeding amount adjustments if/when necessary.

Sorry for the long post, this happens when I try to be thorough and end up being too thorough sometimes. Ha! Oh well.

Take care!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com