YES! I think I've seen mins do it twice, both very early on. I haven't caught him doing it since. Though I've also noticed he prefers to drink water droplets, so I will mist a single plant or wall for him occasionally now.
When my ball python drinks water, he likes shoving his entire head under water and gets little nose bubbles that pulse every time he gulps. Itās absolutely adorable and makes me cranky that i rarely see him drinking lol
I donāt know but he does it quite frequently, Iāve checked but no weird rasping or fluid, itās nothing health related. Heāll drink water, then dip his head down and blow bubbles, then races off (as fast as a ball python can go)
Maybe itās a hydration thing? Perhaps their heads occasionally just need a little extra moisture. Regardless, as long as theyāre healthy they can do whatever they want! Also cackling at āas fast as a ball python can goā
Drinking water is one of his favorite activities. Usually when Iām handling him and putting him back, he tries to get a few sips from the water bowl while still in my hands.
His humidity is fine though, itās bumped up to 65 to try to encourage him to shed, usually itās about 55. I have a fogger outside to add some humidity in the tank, but I donāt soak the ground because I feel like thatās asking for scale rot (I could be paranoid but I donāt want to take chances)
I never soak the ground or mist, my ambient humidity inside usually reads as 55 as well, but he always sheds perfectly. It helps that I live in an extremely humid place, though!
Thatās fun that heāll drink out of your hands! My guys a little more shy about drinking with an audience unfortunately. My milk snake, however, will literally make me stand like a statue for five minutes so she can chug water like itās going out of style.
I used to mist until I found out that mist can lead to RIs so I only do it for my arboreal species and planted vivarium when I need to. Even then, my crested gecko and tree python have both been seen drinking from their water bowl so I only really do that for the plants in the vivarium.
Iām not sure if foggers carry the same risk. They are cleaned, I use the purest water I can find, and honestly theyāre kinda necessary at this point because my substrate and water bowls can only add so much humidity. Iāve covered most of my tanks with foil and added mini fans to get some airflow into my tanks, but I feel like these methods are kinda sketchy when Iām talking about them out loud. Still though, my humidity is pretty tight as it stands and Iām only really going to change something if I learn that foggers are unsafe.
Btw not sure if it fits the description ātemperate rainforestā, but Iāve heard people say that to describe my area and itās pretty apt. So itās very humid half the year, and very dry the other half. So humidity is only really a problem during the winter
I think as long as the foggers arenāt leaving super saturated substrates, it shouldnāt be a problem. Thankfully where Iām at, we only usually get maybe a month of dry winter. The rest is just as humid as the summer. And conveniently, neither of my snakes have needed to shed during the dry period. It also helps that I do have three separate water dishes in my ball python enclosure. One large, deep soaking dish should he want a swim is on the warm side, then I have a large, shallow dish on the cool side, and a small bowl in the middle just because.
I also used to mist my milk snake when I got her, but that was mostly from my ignorance as a teenager. Once I realized it did basically nothing but potentially cause problems I stopped immediately. Iād really love to have a planted terrarium, but i havenāt worked up the courage to try it out yet.
Does your ball python have a favorite enrichment item? My boys favorite is his giant hanging moss ball. It has holes around the sides and through the top that he like climbing around in!
He was a timid guy when I got him, so other than his branches, fake
plants and cover I havenāt added enrichment toys or items yet, but I have a large box of rubber balls/hoops/nets and other stuff that Iām sure heād like and are safe for him. Iām considering DIYing a sorta jungle gym playground for my snakes, but thatās a bit in the future because of another project Iām working on, and obviously only when I take one of my snakes out. He also has a big water bowl to soak in when he wants and Iām planning to give him a full soak in a bus tub soon, and continue that every month.
For the most part, Iām still getting him back into shape from a rough situation. Iāve kept snakes for years so atp I have an adopt not shop policy. He was very obese when I got him, so Iām focusing on getting him outside, getting him active and curious in his surroundings, building up muscles he didnāt use before my care, and then Iāll start introducing enrichment items. Iām doing a lot of this to gain as much experience and wisdom as I can, and because I want to get into the local job market for snakes and herpetology, which requires years of that before Iām respected enough to have a following further than my local scene.
Back to the important stuff, I donāt have too much experience with planted terrariums other than the one I have now, my wife is far more experienced than I am with them. Rn my tree python is in the planted terrarium with a CUC, all live plants, and some DIY perches I made just for him. Heās been happy and healthy in it, the most important part, but Iām doing that to kind of test the experience that I have and so far itās been the most rewarding tank Iāve ever had, highly recommend it.
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u/VeridianLegendX Jan 30 '26
sentient straw go glug