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Suddenly getting grumpy?

hikisquid

hikisquid

sews all the things
So far Stig has been a happy outgoing fellow. He's been out of his cage almost every day, other than when he first arrived and also when he ate, and he's never acted aggressively, other than coiling in a "S" when you first open his cage.
My husband and I always get him out and let him climb all over us at his own pace, the kitten isn't allowed upstairs where we keep him, and he's always seemed eager to come out (even climbing up my husband's arm two days after he arrived).
Today though, I opened the cage to adjust his thermometer probe, and he kind of coiled and then snapped at me three times, mouth closed, then under his cave he went. Is this normal? A huge storm blew through yesterday, and it's supposed to storm even worse today and tonight, which is what my husband thinks made him not want to be dealt with.
Could he just be hungry? We had to get him large mice instead of jumbo, and we fed him last Friday but plan on changing his feeding day to Monday.
He shed last Sunday, so it isn't that.
He jumped off of me yesterday when I was putting him back into his tank and went right into his cave, but the storm hit (huge thunderstorm with hail) less than a minute later so I thought it was just him wanting to hide from it.

I plan on letting him just chill in his cage today, I'm keeping an eye on the thermometers (he knocked the hot side on out of place again, ugh) and I'm thinking of turning the lights off and working out of another room today so he has more privacy. Anything else I should do?
I might just be worrying but I'm concerned that something might be wrong.
 
I've found that they often start doing this when they go blue. Check the eyes and see if they are cloudy.
 
Hmm...doesn't look like he's in blue, he did just shed on Sunday so it seems rather early to be doing it again.
I ended up fixing his thermometer and checking his water, he came out of the cave and stared at me for a bit when I did.
He's under his branch now, just looking out of the cage and ducking when I turn around to see what he's doing. Perhaps he's just not used to me yet?
 
Sorry, I missed the shed line.

So you fed him on Friday, he then shed 2 days later? And a smaller meal than he is used to? I wouldn't think that would do it. And you said you are watching the temps. Hmmmmmmmmm, I'm not sure what else to tell you. Sorry.
 
It's alright.
He seems to be watching me now, perhaps he was just hiding from the storm? I think I'll leave him alone until tomorrow just to be safe though.
 
In my experience they can be super hungry and snappy after a shed, and sometimes they just go through grumpy phases, I leave them alone and let them get over it on their own. But when I say grumpy phase I just mean they jump away from me if I tried to pick them up... they never go so far as to strike at me. Just give him some time I think.
 
Sometimes temps which are too high on the floor surface can make them a bit grumpy. As long as the floor isn't getting near 90, you should be fine.

Other than that, storms do affect them as they detect the change in air pressure. A good storm during mating season can really start the ball rolling :)
 
OOh, I'll keep that in mind! His hot side is at 86F right now.

Funny thing, Stig was still awake when my husband came home last night, and was practically begging him to get him out. Maybe he just doesn't want me picking him up because I'm smaller and jumpier than my husband?
 
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