Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In my experience with my one 3.5 foot brooksi, i noticed that he is much more active since i moved him from a 32-qt (24x17x6) into a 110-qt (35x19x12). It's been two months since the move and he is still very active. I think it's because he actually has room to stretch out and move around now. In addition, I installed 2 wooden dowels across the length of the tub to serve as a perch/climbing branch. While he is a typical clumsy non-arboreal king, he does use it periodically and i think it gives him another thing to do other than stay inside his hide all day. Prior to the move, i would rarely see him outside his hide. Probably because he sensed that there was no where to crawl to? I'm very glad that i moved him into a bigger tub. Has anyone else noticed a change in activity after moving their king into a bigger enclosure? Is that to be expected?

If I saw that one of my kings were moving about the cage (active as you said) day in and day out I would KNOW something is wrong......

Is it searching for a mate, for food, for the right temps or the right humidity.....or just a nice, tight, dark spot.....or combinations of each........Or does it have mites.....or something else.......

Just sayin.....
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Gah, you had to ruin my happy parade!!!

I'm pretty anal about environmental husbandry, so i made sure that it's the same as his old tub. Hot side, cool side, humidity, hides, and substrate are identical to his old tub. I didn't see any mites on him or in the water bowl. In his old tub, he spent around 10% of his time outside his hide, but now it's more like 30%. Even when he's in his hide, i would say that 30% of that time, he has his head peeking out.

So based on your response and assuming it's not environmental husbandry issues, i'm hoping that it's either because he's looking for a mate or food. I believe he's between 1.5-2 years old. He's around 3.5 feet long and weighs 550g. I feed him 30-40g of mice every 6 days. Am i underfeeding him? Is he old enough to look for a mate?

Thanks!

I just remembered another change. My tubs are on a plastic shelving unit and i moved his tub down one level to the bottom shelf. He's now closer to my computer desk and has a clear view of me sitting at my computer desk whereas before he had another tub blocking his view. Basically, he had more privacy in his old location. Maybe his new location is making him nervous?

I'll also double check temps and such to make sure that they're ok, but i don't expect to find anything different than what they were before.

You or John or both might be right..

But don't overlook the possibility of observational bias, too: you've moved him from behind a cage to a different level where he can easily see you at your desk--which means you can see him more easily too, which may make you overestimate his increased activity simply because you're more aware of it.

But given the precision of your other details, I'd bet there is real increased activity-- the prowling of a male who's reached sexual maturity.

Yeah you're right, observational bias is probably a factor. I double checked the temps and such, and i didn't notice anything unusual. I'll continue to monitor them though. Thanks.

I recently moved several adults into a FB CB-70. They are definitely more active. I think it's a no-brainer though...of course they would be. And with about 3 inches of bedding now, many of them (at any given time)like to stay beneath, while others chill on top. Some stay hidden under their water bowls; while others hang out in the open. Some will be found on the heat panel, while others may be IN their water bowls staying cool. EVERY snake is doing their own thing, at the same exact times. It's just as guys like Rainer and FR and so many others always are preaching...each snake is an individual, and has its own needs and preferences. Give 'em choices and options, and they exercise these choice and options. hahahahaha! I kinda feel like I'm stating the obvious...but I gotta say, more space is clearly better. Just my observations.

I'll add that you are not the first person to notice that a solitary kingsnake in a larger cage can result in the snake spending lots of time looking for an escape. Things changed for him, he is looking (maybe?) for the place he was accustomed to, including scent. Maybe the extra space elicits a sense of possible freedom? Just guessing here. Could be just a male looking for a mate as mentioned or the other reasons mentioned.

I do know that he will eventually look at the new cage as his home range so to speak, especially after he poops in there a few times.
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Mark