Temperamental Baby

[kldoss89]

I have a male regular ball python that I have had since Jan '12. I have never had a problem with him being temperamental from day one.

Now, my cousin gave me his pastel female that I am going to guess is about 6 months old because he cannot handle her. He tried to hold her one day and for whatever reason, she struck at him. Ever since then, he was afraid to hold her. He would go 4-5 weeks without holding her once, which of course made her even more likely to bite. He knew this was not fair for her, so he gave her to me.

I have no fear of getting bitten. She has struck at me several times, and it has been no big deal. However, I do want to know about how long it will take for a snake in this situation to calm down on average. That way I will know if it is only the fact that she was not handled before or if she really does just have a mean streak in her. I know her age does not help either.

Also, just for reference (tips are definitely welcome), I handle her every day except for the day before, day of, and day after a feeding. No one else is allowed to be around her but me when I hold her. I will sit there perfectly still with her in my hands while she either curls up, explores, or sits there tensely. The feeding schedule he had her on was either one large or two small mice every week. However, he fed her live, which I am leery of doing. I was successfully able to feed her prekilled though after just one day, and am hoping to feed her frozen/thawed eventually. I did not start handling her until I had a successful feed.

I really hope I am doing this right. I am following my instincts and what I did from the beginning with mine. Any tips/suggestions/advice would be helpful!

[Skittles1101]

Some never snap out of it unfortunately. My male ghost is 2 years old and I still just leave him alone because he hates my guts. Unfortunately there is no time frame to give you because it usually depends on their personality. Not all ball pythons are nice and cuddly.

[DooLittle]

It very well could just be her personality. My butter is over 2 years old and still very grumpy. What kind of set up is she in? Maybe try adding a few more hides, give her more security? How much does she weigh? She probably could eat every 5 days, and that may help.

[kldoss89]

she is in a glass aquarium that i covered from the outside with window film to make it more opaque (the aquarium came with the snake). she has 2 identical hides, one on each side. i dont THINK that all of her feisty temper is due to her nature simply (although it could be of course) because according to him, she would strike every few seconds the whole time she was out, and i just put her in her cage from being out with me and she only struck at me once, but did not bite. i never thought about her hides being an issue but it makes sense. he only had one hide for her and it was not fully enclosed plus he had her in a glass tank. as for feeding, i might up the feeding, but i really want to keep her on a 7 day schedule, simply because i always feed them on my day off. my next step though is going to be to get her on rats, which seem to be more filling.

oh, and just for reference, something i forgot to add earlier is she is not kept in the same room as my male. i also wash my hands after handling one and give myself a good couple of hours before i handle the other.

i was just asking because it has been about 3 weeks of having her and 2 of handling her and i didnt know if i was maybe doing something wrong or making it worse. she has started SLOOOOWLY calming down but she definitely has days where she is a little fireball still.

[Slim]

Just keep working with her. She may never become a puppy dog, but she should get used to regular handling. I know of several BPs out there that are such butt-heads, they only get messed with for feeding and enclosure maintenance. By far, they are in minority, though.