Sudden Aggression

[zomby_pengy]

My snake is still young, im not 100% sure about his size, but he eats adult mice, and i've had him for a few months and got him when he was a baby.

Anyways, as all of you know, its summer! Which means vacation! Now when i left for vacation, my snake was very comfortable with me holding him and handling him. I actually think he enjoyed it for the chance of being out of his cage. And when I left for vacation for a few weeks, I made sure he was fed. Which wasn't hard since he only eats once a week. But when i got back, I'm starting to think maybe he got used to not having anyone around. Because now whenever i so much as approach his cage, he hisses, attempts to strike...and even once he shook his tail at me.

Now I know that this is something that needs to be taken care of BEFORE he grows big enough to actually hurt me. But I wanted to know if any of you have any ideas on how I can regain his trust before he gets bigger. I've only ever been bitten by him once, when he was a baby...and that didn't hurt at all, but I do want to get him comfortable with me again before his bites become painful.

Hes not in the middle of a shedding cycle, as he just finished shedding about a week ago, I believe. So that can be ruled out as something that could be making him more aggressive. I think hes just angry or something.

So do any of you have any ideas on how I can regain his trust, without stressing him out even more?

[joepythons]

Start from the beggining with him is the only thing i can suggest doing.Was there someone taking care of him while your were away? Maybe somebody teased him and now he thinks your the one.I have several ball pythons and have left for a week or a month(hospital) at times and have never had one change there attitudes on me.

[shhhli]

Don't let him get the better of you, Crowley went through a phase like that a few months ago, Gettin sassy with me and such. I let him know real quick that when I open the cage, I dont care HOW long it takes, he's comming out. Patience + a sure hand worked for me, now he's his normal self. I'd open the top, leave it open, let him sniff around, stick your hand in at a distance from him and then when he settles down enough, pick him up from behind. Don't be shakey and if he flinches be gentle and persistant.