From puppy dog, to overly nippy?

[catzeye21138]

I have a ball python, about 3 years old give or take, that just recently has become a big pain in the butt to handle. Here's the info:

• Up to this point, I could touch his head, handle him for extended periods of time, he was the tamest snake i've ever had.
• GREAT feeder. Never had a problem, except over zealousness.
• Never, ever tagged me.

At his last feeding, I let my older sister feed him. Unfortunatly, he missed and she got tagged. He did get the mouse, and finished it fine. I do feed him in a seperate tank, and I don't handle him 24 hours before or after I feed him. This was 3 days ago. Normal sized meal.

Today. I went in his tank to pick him up, and he striked at me 3 times. He's only done this once before, and that was when he hadn't been fed for two weeks. Not feeling like being tagged, I put on a mitten and picked him up. I had him out on the floor, he was flipping out. He struck the mitten I was wearing, and tried constricting it.

I tried touching his head previous to this, and he acted like I've never so much as touched him before.

All the temps are the same, humidity is fine, feeding schedule is normal. Why is he so suddenly acting like this? As of today, he's the second most vicious snake I've ever handled. (Second, only to one that was kept in a closet for 3 years.)

Any ideas as to why he's acting so peculiar is much appreciated! Thank you!

[mainbutter]

hrm.. my only guess is it could be something related to wanting to breed??? I've never experienced snakes getting moody out of nowhere, but I suppose the season could be getting to him..

[Bhikku]

Maybe he's injured himself in a way you can't obviously see? Pain can make otherwise tame animals aggressive for no reason.

I think a vet check is in order, personally.

[dr del]

Hi,

If he is three years old then he should really be eating more food than a mouse - even a retired breeder mouse.

So I vote he is still hungry.

If you can find one get a small rat (40-60g ) and try him with that next time to see if he will eat it.

Do you feed live or F/t?

Is there any chance that, after being tagged, your sister used the same mitten to feed him?

I ask because you say he constricted it which to me means he was in feeding mode rather than defense or agressive mode.


dr del

[twh]

the fact that he tried to strike and constrict your glove points to a feeding response.why is a 3 yr. old ball getting a mouse? how many mice per week? he could easily take a 50-75 gram rat.how much does he weigh?

[Kaorte]

He is 3 years old and you are only feeding him one mouse.

He should be eating small-medium rats by now....

[catzeye21138]

Hi,

If he is three years old then he should really be eating more food than a mouse - even a retired breeder mouse.

So I vote he is still hungry.

If you can find one get a small rat (40-60g ) and try him with that next time to see if he will eat it.

Do you feed live or F/t?

Is there any chance that, after being tagged, your sister used the same mitten to feed him?

I ask because you say he constricted it which to me means he was in feeding mode rather than defense or agressive mode.


dr del

Last time I checked he was about 650g. Is that a good weight? 3 years is a rough rough approximation. I got him in july a few years back. He isn't underweight, he looks nice and plump.

I feel f/t, but he used to feed on live.

I used to feed him two mice every 7 days, but it seemed to be too much. By the next feeding day, he'd only eat one.


Okay. Now I'm confused. I just went back into his tank, and he's acting like nothing happened. :/ False alarm, I guess. My snake might just be bipolar.

edit: Nah. We just dangle the mouse by the tail for feeding.
doubledeeedit: He weighs closer to 700 gm

[Kaorte]

One mouse a week is not enough for a 650g ball python. I would try a small rat that weighs about 50g and see how that works.

I have a one year old snake eating 70-80g rats once a week just fine.

[catzeye21138]

One mouse a week is not enough for a 650g ball python. I would try a small rat that weighs about 50g and see how that works.

I have a one year old snake eating 70-80g rats once a week just fine.

Thank you so much. : ) I will try a rat next time.

My guinea pigs; Brock, Jack, and Nibbie say hi to Bagles and Honey.

[dr del]

Hi,

They can grow at different rates but I tend to go more by body condition - he sounds big enough to eat a small rat if he wanted to.

But if he doesn't want to then there's no point in trying to make him.

It might just be he isn't keen on eating multiple prey items at the same sitting - my little 08 holdback is like that.

I'd try him on the rat next time to see how he does - pre-scent for a bit longer and make sure to heat up the rats head to make it more attractive for him to see if that helps too.

I'd generally just feed in his own tank as well but that's a decision you can make on your own based on seeing how he reacts.

Sometimes it's best to change only one component of an established feeding regime at a time and sometimes they don't seem to care.

Snakes huh?


dr del