Burrowing Burm

Question
Hi, Ken - I've had my Burmese Python for about 6 months now, and she just started exhibiting some strange behavior. She's starting to burrow completely beneath her substrate, where she stays pretty much around the clock. She covers herself completely with mulch and lays on the plexiglass bottom of the cage. I'm using about 3 inches of soft cypress mulch. Nothing else has changed - ambient temp is between 86-88 during the day (76-77 at night) with the hot-spot under the lamp at about 90-92, humidity is 60-70 during the day (75-80 at night). In the past she's always either in her hide or basking in the "hot spot" under the lamp or halfway up her tree branch under the lamp. My worry is that she will either burn herself on the heating pad under the plexiglass or get sick from laying in the "wetness" that she tends to cause (either from urine or emptying her water bowl into the substrate). Other than this sudden change in behavior, she's a very healthy snake - great appetite, no problems shedding, no problems breathing, very energetic, etc. Could her behavior be symptomatic of a problem, or am I just worrying too much?


Answer
You're worrying too much.  But if you are worried about the wetness of the substrate switch to newspaper and keep her hide in there and she should return back to normal.  It's normal for almost all terrestrial snakes to burrow when in aspen or similar substrate.