Do I need to worry?

[justinsane82]

I'm new to owning BP's but feel that I have learned a lot in the short time I've had them. I started off with a baby BP and have never really had an issue. However, I recently picked up a second, 2 year old in which I'm unsure of the history other than being told that he's never struck anyone. The other day, after setting up his new tank I noticed that he kept going under his water dish. As this dish is rather heavy, I worried that he would get stuck or hurt himself so I picked the dish up and then picked him up, moved some bedding out of the way and put the dish back down. I then put the BP down and taped him on the back a few times to get him to go into his rock so I could clean the tank and as I was moving some bedding from the entrance of his rock, he struck at me, missing and hitting his nose on the rock itself. Now, can I chalk this up to me being stupid and by me tapping on his back it either scared him or pissed him off so he was just getting back at me or do I have a BP that I need to always be worried about him taking a shot at me?

[withonor]

You made him nervous is all. All the movement associated with cleaning the tank was probably very stressful. I put my snakes in a separate tub while I clean to prevent this. I wouldn't worry about it but take it for what it is. He struck at you which means you pushed him as far as you can. Try to maintain his security and you'll be fine.

[justinsane82]

I hope so. He seems like a good boy...very laid back, seems to like to be handled and like to move around his tank where as my younger one loves his rock and up until very recently, didn't want to be held without wanting to try to take off and explore.

[BPelizabeth]

He clearly liked being under his dish...lol BP's are fairly docile, private and gental creatures. I think like the other poster stated....you just stressed him out. You moved his stuff (as I have one that loves her set up to stay the same and when I clean her cage....she looks annoyed and has to redo stuff). Maybe it was his way of telling you....I'll do what I want to do...don't push me". Also seeing how you don't know his history...he might not of been handled often. So maybe he is just getting use to it. Either way...I would not worry about it.

[Kaorte]

Depending on how recently you got him, it is most definitely stress. Hiding under the water bowl leads me to believe he doesn't like his hides or isn't used to them yet.

[justinsane82]

I'll add a bit of back story. I purchased him from a younger guy who was moving out of the country and was unable to bring his snake with him. When I went to pick him up, the guy was using a shirt as his hiding spot, had aquarium rocks as bedding, a water dish that was WAY too small and under the bedding he had some sort of grate set up that under it had this really weird clear slim and mold on top of that, he had just come off what appeared to be a very bad shed. So his home now is MUCH different with proper heating both under his hiding rock and through a heat lamp, proper humidity levels, bedding consisting of a mix of aspen and eco earth, two hiding spots and a water dish that he loves to just soak in.

[jason79]

If he is soaking in the dish I would check him for mites. They do not usually soak.

[FatBoy]

Definately sounds stress related, also, never move your hand around the hide opening while the animal is in it. This can cause a feeding response strike. You said this snake moves around a lot...that is also a sign of stress. They should hide during the day and cruise at night. Give us some detailed info on your setup, size tank, type of hides, decorations, ect.

[BPelizabeth]

Aww the poor guy!!! Good on you for the rescue!! I agree with the other guy....with conditions such as check him for mites and ticks. There are some threads on here as to what to look for that are very informative.

[justinsane82]

Definately sounds stress related, also, never move your hand around the hide opening while the animal is in it. This can cause a feeding response strike. You said this snake moves around a lot...that is also a sign of stress. They should hide during the day and cruise at night. Give us some detailed info on your setup, size tank, type of hides, decorations, ect.

He's calmed down quite a bit since I put him in his new set up. He's spending most of his day in his rock where before he would be all over the place or sitting on top of a stick I have in there for him. When I first picked him up a week ago, he wouldn't eat for the life of me, however, last night, he did take his first meal which I was proud of him for.

As for the set up he's in a 40 gallon tank with aspen and eco earth for bedding. He had a hiding rock and a UTH on one side and his water dish and some fake bushes on the right which I can tell he likes at night as I can basically tell where he's been by the imprints in the bedding. Other than that, there are 2 temp gauges and 1 humidity gauge and that's about it.

As for the lounging in the water dish, I may have made it sound more than it is. My younger snake usually will just rush over his water dish and nothing more where this new one will go in and sit for a minute or two and move on his way. I've also had my landlord come check him out as she is a vet and gave me the thumbs up.