need help

[rex322]

i just bought my first snake. its a baby ball python, about 12-14in long. it is captive bred. the store owner told me that he fed it the day that i bought it. since i had it, it has been snappn at me when i slowly walk by the tank and when i try to pick it up. could this be because of him just eatn and/or the move? how should i handle him to where hes calmer and trusts me more? thanks for the help.
IM me on aol or aim at dontalkjustlift or email me at donttalkjustlift@yahoo.com

[gen]

How long have you had him? You should give him a week or two to settle into his new home before trying to handle him or anything. He could just be stressed from the move.

[CrazyBoutHerps]

I've heard that baby balls can be a bit nippy. However, I agree with gen, give it time to adjust.

[freakoverdose1]

There is numerous reasons why this baby bp could be snapping at you.

1. The pet store could have not taken care of them the way they should be...ie...temps, food, humidity, handlying roughly.

2. All bp's get stressed moving from one home to another. As this snake may have moved more than once getting to the pet shop and not even being able to acclimate there because of people tapping on glass, and reasons stated above.

3. The BP just ate, remember that, one thing, you shouldn't have moved the BP the day that it fed, Ball pythons need a nice warm area where they can digest their food in peace.

Let this BP acclimate to his new home. Make sure you have to hides, warm and not, humid and not. And make sure your levels are all good and steady. What kind of setup do you have?

[freakoverdose1]

to=two

[JLC]

Welcome to the forum, Rex...

Everyone has pretty much covered what needed to be, to answer your post. I just want to stress one thing that may not have been made clear enough. A snake (ANY snake) should be left completely alone for at least 24 hours after it eats...48 hours is even better. If they get stressed out due to being handled, either emotionally or physically, it can cause them to regurgitate their meal....and that is very hard on a snake's body. It can make them very sick.

I hope you'll return to the forum and read everyone else's questions/answers as well. You can learn a lot from the people here. And please feel free to ask ANYthing about your snake here. There is no such thing as a stupid question, except the question that doesn't get asked.

[Mort]

My BP was nippy when I first got him. Don't worry... they outgrow it. And at that size, even when they do bite you can barely feel it. Just give it a few weeks to settle in before you try to handle him.

[Eddie_Z]

Rex contacted me from a different forum via my AIM name. I sent him right on over to you guys because I knew that anything that I couldn't help him with would be taken care of by the rest of you. You guys are the greatest!

Rex, make sure that when you post you get as specific as you did when you & I talked about this. Anytime you post with a question, the more specifics you can give to the group, the better we can assess & try to remedy your situation. Welcome to what will become your home for BP information!

[Tigergenesis]

Hey Eddie! Glad to see you joined here too. Love what you decided to name your BP - is that her permanent name? So how have the handling sessions been going?

[Eddie_Z]

tiger, i been here a while now! LOL!! As for the handling sessions, my gorgeous little princess turned out to be all hiss & no bite! After her bath, i started handling her a couple times each day for short periods &, though she still hisses & puffs up when i grab her, once she is outta the tank & safely wrapped around daddy's arm, she is just as gentle as can be. I am leaving her alone now though because she had a really tough day when we went to the vet. The vet is a good 45 minute trip for us. So, because I want to try to feed her next week, I want to really let her get acclamated to her surroundings & get nice & cozy. Hopefully the transition to f/t will be a painless one. We shall see. She is a little thin for where she should be right now so hopefully it won't take too much to get her eatin!