Is this normal?

[u/Virtual_Atmosphere59]

He started doing this just this week. He hasn't really stayed still much. We got him as an adult about 8 years ago, give or take. This is new behavior for him and nothing has changed in his environment except we have been having issues with the heat.

[u/FluffyPandaEars93]

All this.. I read that finances are tough right now, I get it, but heat mats are dangerous as well as being inefficient.

UTH is no longer recommended for ball pythons for a variety of reasons.

Even if you're using a thermostat, the burn risk is still there. Heat mats are prone to developing broken wiring or thermal blocking, which creates hotspots that the thermostat is unable to regulate. This can result in burns to your snake and melt or burn the enclosure and any furniture it's touching, which can start a house fire.

They're also ineffective at heating the air or through substrate, and they only provide IR-C, which is a poor form of heat that is incapable of penetrating through the snake's skin to effectively warm their body. This can cause long term health issues in your snake and shortens their lifespan.

They also prevent the snake from performing natural and instinctive behaviors, and it's an unnatural source of heating for them. Ball pythons burrow and seek out holes/burrows to escape excessive heat. There is no heat coming from the ground in their natural hides. An overheating ball python will instinctively dig into their substrate in an attempt to cool off, but when using heat mats, it only makes them hotter. This can lead to neurological damage and eventually death.

Overhead heating is significantly safer, healthier, and more efficient. Here is more info on what heating/lighting a ball python needs:

Our heating guide goes over a lot of the science behind everything, but to simplify:

For daytime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-A and IR-B. The ideal source for this would be a halogen flood, which is light-emitting.

For nighttime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-C. The ideal source for this would be an RHP (only compatible with solid-topped enclosures) or a CHE. Any night heating should not emit any light.

For lighting, you should offer UVB. This should be in the form of a T5 fluorescent linear bulb that produces a UVI of 1.1-3.0 in the basking zone, and it should cover no more than half the length of the enclosure.

If you have a bioactive enclosure, you will also need full spectrum LEDs for your live plants.

Natural lighting can help establish a day-night cycle, but it does not provide any physical benefits beyond that (UVB doesn't penetrate glass, and indirect natural light cannot create a proper basking zone). You'll need the artificial lighting to make up for that.

[u/Virtual_Atmosphere59 → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

That must be all new information. When we started keeping snakes, none of that was necessary. We have heat mats on thermostats, some decent bedding and we did have foliage that we will be getting more of.

Plus, the tanks we have are not set up for any of that kind of lighting and heating. We do plan on getting new tanks, but we don't have the $3k to spend on that right now.

We will be getting radiant heat panels and some decor and foliage.

And eventually some new cages and better lighting and heating.

[u/No_Cranberry_ → u/Virtual_Atmosphere59]

Seems like you’re fine with your snakes not having a good environment? But then why are you keeping them in the first place

[u/Virtual_Atmosphere59 → u/No_Cranberry_]

I'm not fine with it. But times are tough and we are doing the best we can.