1st Ball Python, Bitting Question, Needing Advice

[ocelotfire]

I need some advice with a handling and biting issue with my new ~four month old ball python. He's my first that I got abut two weeks ago. After months of set up research and handling my friend's, I wanted to finally get my own. According to all I have read and looked up, I should have his habitat just fine. When I first went to get him, his temperament was amazing, and pretty much just a classic, chill BP. I got him home, let him acclimate for a several days then according to his feed log I was given, it was time for him to feed again and he ate great with no issues and seems to be drinking from his water just fine. I gave him two days to digest and rest from the feeding then tried to hold him again. Everything seemed fine and he had the same relaxed temperament as when I first held him, just loosely moving about my arms and hands. After a while he started oddly "nuzzling" (for lack of better term) against the side of my wrist and arm and after a few seconds slowly opened his mouth and bit down and tried to throw a coil around his own head and the side of my arm. After maybe half a minute or less he let go again and I set him back in his tank. He show's no signs of being in shed, eyes are still bright and clear as well as his scales.
He barely broke the skin, just bit down enough to leave tiny red indents.
I tried looking up what could have cause this kind of odd bite and found nothing.
I thought maybe in an off chance I had something that "smelled" like food on me and maybe that was why, but this wasn't how he reacted with his food. With the mouse I fed him he did actually 'strike' for it like normal, but this bite on my arm was more of a lazy chomp like a human biting into a cheeseburger.
Today I tried again to hold him, this time making sure my hands and arms were freshly cleaned of any possible food smells but again, several minutes into holding him he slowly started to open his mouth for my palm (the 'mound' joint area of my thumb) where his chin was resting at the time, but I was able to move my hand out of the way this time. It doesn't seem to be out of defense or fear and definitely is not a striking tag. I've never even seen him "S" up since getting him.

I guess my biggest question is: is this normal for a young ball python and is it something I'm possibly doing wrong to correct? I can't seem to find any information or examples of this kind of bite anywhere.

[6037201]

My best guess is that he was yawning and accidentally closed his mouth with your arm or thumb in it

[ocelotfire]

Thankie! I thought that might be it, but wanted to make sure. It was the "nuzzling" before that confused me with the first bite.

[Sallos]

I'm certainly no expert, but it sounds like it could be he's mistaking your hand for food. The nuzzling and deliberate biting is how they start to ingest a dead prey item. I'd just make sure I was feeding him an appropriate sized food item every 5-7 days, keep up the hand washing, and he'll probably figure out soon enough that you are not food.

[ocelotfire]

Thankie for advice! I'll give him a while then maybe try to hold him again (with washed hands of course) and just try to watch his movements very closely to figure out if its a yawn or a food bite. This last time with the thumb there wasn't any "nuzzling" before. He was resting his chin on my palm/thumb area then after a bit started to turn his head sideways and open his mouth so I just moved that hand away.
If it is a mistaking for food kind of bite, with more handling do you think that association will break over time?
Right now he is eating frozen thawed 'medium' mouse once every 5 days (going by the 'width of their girth' rule of thumb).

[DLena]

If you aren't already, rub a good amount of purell onto your hands, wrists and up a little more. Your snake will associate the odor with handling, not eating.

[redshepherd]

It definitely sounds like he keeps mistaking your hand for dead food, for some reason. Maybe he's a quirky one, or maybe you have a unique scent that he picks up that reminds him of food lol!

The nuzzling behavior is what they do before they start to slowly bite down and ingest food, like Sallos said. Especially followed by the slow wrapping, which they do sometimes to make sure they got a nice hold on what they're swallowing.

+1 to rubbing hand sanitizer all over your arms and hands before handling from now on. That strong scent should keep him off.

[Craiga 01453]

I agree with the hand sanitizer "trick". I believe your snake will quickly disassociate your hand/wrist area with food if it has the alcohol scent from the hand sanitizer. With regular, short handling sessions your snake will probably soon recognize you as a non-threat and not a prey item.

This is an interesting one, good luck and thanks for sharing!

[ocelotfire]

An update: So far the hand sanitizer trick seems to be working. Thank you again everyone for the advice!

[Yzmasmom]

Lol, love bites. Glad the problem seems to be solved.