Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently purchased an Import Female, my first inport and she has spent 80% about 4 of the 6 days I have had here in her water bowl completely submerged except for her head. Is this normal? Is there ab=nything I should do? Should I be worried?

Thanks in advance,
A.

Have you checked her for external mites/ticks? She maybe infested. Would be like you being infested with fleas not too nice.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

I have checked for parisites and have found nothing.. I just changed her water dish and it had nothing in it..

I have a captive born and from the time I got him (5mos) he has been hanging out in his bowl of water. He's 2 yrs old now and still does it. I've found out that they are very smart. He goes in when it's time to shed and will just stay there for a few hrs. During the warm weather he goes in when it's too hot in the cage. No mites just a smart bp, yours appears to be in the upper class of intelligence also. As new commers we worry alot about things and can make it worst than it really is. BP are hardy, before I knew anything about them I bought one 15yrs ago and never checked the heat. I put a pad on the bottom some water, no hide box and my girl grew without a problem. Good luck with yours.
jgriffi

It could be either mites. look in her water bowl and see if you see dead black specks sort of like pepper. Also what is her substrate? Are you providing a hide spot she might be using her water bowl as a hide spot. If you are is it too big? Also what are your temps is it too hot. She might be cooling herself off. Hope this helps
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www.BallPython.Us

I checked for mites and saw nothing. It is news paper substrate.. She does have I hide and I may be a tiny bit to big but just a bit.. Temps are about 90 hot side and 84 cool side..

Where is her water bowl hot or cold end. Also does she have a hide on both ends. Try moving her water bowl to the other end and she if she still goes into it. Also she migh be going into a shed

if you have done everything the people above have already suggested & everything looks 100% right. I wound't worry to much. my balls have always taken advantage of water bowl hide spots (cut a hole in the lid of a rubbermaid container a little bigger than the snake). If everything is right she may be near shed. is her stomach pinkish or reddish? that's usually a sign of an approaching shed & it seems to be truth to me. 

If she is a recent import she could be just "rehydrating" herself. They do go through a lot before getting here and do go without water for days at a time. You would have seen mites in the bottom of her water bowl if she had them. I hit the cage with Provent a mite as a precaution as they can bring eggs in with them.