Behavior/Weight Issues.

[LadyBall]

I have 2 ball pythons, 1 normal, 1 het yellow ghost, not sure of the genders. I was told the normal, Savage 60, is a female and the het yellow ghost, Phantom, was a male, and because it doesn't really matter to me either way, I went with that.

Phantom has always been a very docile, sweet boy, the kind of BP anyone can give face snuggles to without fear of him even pulling away, much less striking. I've had him for about a year, no incidents until about a month ago when I reached in his cage to pick him up, no rat smell on me of any kind on me, and he latched onto my hand. I've gotten much better at reading snake body language since my first bite when I was about 15, and while he was giving me 'the look' I didn't think he'd actually do it. Well, he did, and ever since then, he's been like that. To get him off, I ran his head under water and he let go on his own, and now it isn't just in his cage when he's aggressive. I'm used to this behavior from Savage, who used to behave that way all the time.

The thing is, Savage has turned into the puppy dog that Phantom used to be! She's now the sweet one that doesn't mind handling and snuggles. She's also the heavier of the 2, even though Phantom eats twice what she does, he never seems to put on weight, and she never seems to lose/gain any. What happened? They don't get fed in the tank, they get fed in the bath tub, seperate times, seperate tanks, everything. Their cages are designed the same, but that's about it.


Sorry to bombard you all with questions, this one's just been bothering me a while. Why have they switched personalities on me? It's sort of saddening, because Phantom has always been my favorite between the two.

Pictures, if they help?

Savage 60 -


Phantom -

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I am curious how much do you feed them and how often?

[LadyBall]

They get fed usually a F/T medium rat, in theory, once a week, but sometimes one of them won't want anything, or will only take a small rat or large mouse, or nothing at all.

I guess I should say I try to get them to eat a F/T medium rats every week. If they're still hungry, they get more, but usually Phantom will eat 2 every week, and Savage will eat 1 about every other week.

Sorry if that's confusing. When I got Phantom, he was being fed F/T baby quail, but that was way too expensive for me to keep up and too far to drive to get them, so it took a while to finally get him on rats.

EDIT- Not sure if it matters, but Phantom has gained about 300 grams from when I got him about 10 months ago, but he still looks scrawny. :/

[BPelizabeth]

I am wondering since it tis the season....if Phantom is looking to breed and that is why he or she is cranky??

[LadyBall]

I'm hoping that's all it is. The thought had crossed my mind, but I thought only females got snippy. Maybe he's really a girl? One of these days I'll take the 45 minute drive to have them both probed. I feel silly when people ask what gender they are, and my sentence ends in 'I think'.

[Kaorte]

You said they are sporadic eaters, which makes me think that feeding them in their home enclosures might make them more consistent.

He struck you and held on, which means it wasn't a "go away" bite and could be an "im hungry" bite. Try feeding in the home enclosure and see if they eat more often and if the aggression stops. Many snakes are easily stressed when moving around for feeding.

[LadyBall]

-headdesk-


I've always been told that feeding them in the cage makes them aggressive to things entering the cage, which is why I don't feed them in the cage. But, if they don't eat at all, I guess it defeats the point. I can try feeding them in the cage if that will help.

Phantom has been snappy with me tonight, even though he last ate a small rat 2 days ago, and 2 small rats 2 days before that. Should I give in and feed him again?

[Covington]

I have one big girl who got meaner as she got older. At first there were no problems. After about a year she started to strike every once in a while. Then came serious hissing and striking all the time, even once I got her out and into my hands. This year she was big enough to try breeding. For some reason, in the past month since I have been cycling a male through her cage she has completely calmed down. Could have been just hormonal changes??? None of my others are that way. I hope they never get that way. Nearly All the others I have are a year or older and are great.

[Covington]

FWIW, I have always fed all of them in their cages and only had issues with the one female.

[LadyBall]

Food in the cage it is, I guess!