Hissy Fit?

[ArvadaLanee]

On Monday, I experienced my first ever Hissy fit. It would have probably been pretty comical if anyone was there to see me, since like a total goof, I had no idea what was going on at first. I went to get her out, and I reached behind her, and started to slowly slide my hand under her, when I heard, (and I could swear I felt,) something different. I'm so used to my corns that don't hiss, so at first I had no idea what I was hearing, and my first reaction was to wonder what the heck got into her enclosure! I was all freaked out, like what's in there with my baby? And I was looking around her, and under her, and then she did it again, and I realized it WAS her. Duh! I was so caught off guard, and felt like such a dummy, I just set her back down, and left her alone for the rest of the day. I checked her heat and humidity levels, to be sure she wasn't trying to tell me something about those. Her humidity was a bit on the low side, so I added more damp moss for her, but other than that everything seemed fine. So I am guessing she hissed just because I was picking her up? I felt kind of nervous, wondering if I did the right thing. With the corn snakes, I don't put them down and leave them alone when they threaten me, because I know they will learn that the threat works then, and keep doing it, as where if they learn that it doesn't work, and I will hold them any way, they kind of give up on it. Are ball pythons like that as well? I did decide to try again yesterday, and I picked her up with no problem. She sat curled up in my hand for a bit, not hiding her head or anything, just looking around, and eventually started slowly roaming around on me, sniffing at everything, and doing her little periscope thing. She seems to love looking at my face when I talk to her. Sometimes she will even stick her head out of her hide if I am standing by her enclosure and talking to her.
So what do you guys think? Was she just having a pissy moment, and wanted to be left alone on Monday? Is it fine that I let her be? Is this a normal ball python thing, that they just do sometimes, or did I make some mistake I'm missing? Any tips on getting her used to regular handling? I'd like to get her used to it now, while she's still small, (she's 3 months old) rather than be trying to work with a large, crabby adult. Is that fine?
Thanks for your help, everyone.

[Prognathodon]

Yes, you want to treat BPs like you do your corns - don't reward them for unwanted behavior. OTOH, letting her alone once when she grumbled probably isn't a big deal.

The other day my jungle carpet python did *not* want to come out of his enclosure - hanging onto his jungle gym, heading to the back while I was dealing with the tail, etc. After a couple minutes I gave up. Had he struck I would have been more insistent, or at least kept my hands on him for a bit. But he was very polite about refusing, not even a hiss or a nose-bop, so I let him have his way.


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[ArvadaLanee]

What is with the nose bopping? Is that a bad thing? She has pushed her nose into me while I'm holding her, but it didn't seem aggressive at all. I actually thought it was rather cute. She's pushed her nose into me, rubbed the tip of her nose on me, (my corn snake once did that when he was trying to shed) and she often follows those up with just laying her head down on me in the spot she bumped, or rubbed. I may have been taking that the wrong way, as I had no idea that could be an aggressive thing. Is it always?

[Jon14]

It sounds like she may have felt threatened, or she just didn't want to be handled. With that being said, I would recommend that you treat her like your corn snakes, and do not let hissing deter you from handling. Especially since she is young, she may be less tolerable of your handling, but she should grow out of it, and be able to tolerate handling. Some BP hiss almost every time you go to handle them, and others won't hiss at all, it all depends on their attitude.

[Meech]

my girl hisses at me, she has a little attitude sometimes, but then other times shes fine with me.. females will be females. Nothing to worry about.

[ArvadaLanee]

Thanks. It's good to know that it's a normal bp thing, and not an indication of poor husbandry, or anything. I can handle a bit of attitude, as long as I know it's not caused by her being unhealthy, or in pain, or anything serious like that. I knew that they could hiss, but I wasn't sure if it was common. Now that I know, I won't be all freaked out next time. I think it was just that moment of not knowing what it was that really got me. I felt like such an idiot. LOL. At least she was over her attitude yesterday, and did just fine hanging out. I won't be handling today, as it's feeding day! So exciting. She did great last week, so I'm not as nervous. Overall, I think she's pretty happy in her new home, even if she does have her grouchy moments.

[ThePhenom]

Like Prognathodon said, just be confident going into her cage and picking her up. Some of my bigger females will do it from time to time. I have one sub-adult banana male who just does it EVERY single time I pick him up... but he has never struck, always happy, never balls up or scared and starts exploring as soon as I pick him up. He's not scared, it's just normal for him I guess. Like handling most animals, just don't show fear. Get in there and pick her up.

[ArvadaLanee]

I'm sure I will get more and more confident as time goes on. I was like this with the corn snakes at first, too. I asked about a ton of things our first one did, on the forum, and worried over everything. The first time Nightmare, our male corn, but me, I giggled, because it was just so cute that this tiny little guy, thought he could scare me off. I am a crazy animal lady, and I love to hold my babies. (Sometimes, whether they like it or not, as with my cats, who get irritated with my affections.) Our corn snakes are now so used to being handled, I have introduced them to a 2 year old, I do child care for, and she has even held them. I really hope that it will be easier for me to gain confidence with the new ball python, since now I at least have experience with snakes in general, and know that I have the ability to be a good snake Mama. I just want to be sure I am caring for her properly, and giving her the best home possible. I'm not afraid of her biting me. I just don't want her to get hurt, like breaking off a tooth in me, or anything, and I don't want to find out she is being aggressive because I'm making any stupid mistakes. I'm such a nut. My animals are my babies, and I do love to coddle them.

[Prognathodon]

A nose-bop (to me) is a quick closed-mouth warning strike. Kind of their way of telling you they're getting grumpy. It is different from bumping or exploring you with their nose when out cruising around, it kind of ends up being body language and speed to tell the difference. What you've described above sounds more the non-aggressive exploring thing.


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[ArvadaLanee]

A nose-bop (to me) is a quick closed-mouth warning strike. Kind of their way of telling you they're getting grumpy. It is different from bumping or exploring you with their nose when out cruising around, it kind of ends up being body language and speed to tell the difference. What you've described above sounds more the non-aggressive exploring thing.


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Oh, good. I was really hoping I wasn't misreading that, because it seemed so cute, and sweet. I love it when she bumps me and then lays her head down on me. It reminds me so much of my cats.