Aggressive Hatchling

I know that hatchling ball pythons can be a bit nippy, but I have one bumblebee male that is simply put...psycho. I was trying to feed him last week and he hasn't eaten since hatching a little after Mid-September. I put the mouse in the tub and he not really interested in the mouse at all. Instead, he looks up at me, opens his mouth and just sits there, staring at me. I move pick up the mouse with the tongs and he lunges at me, full body flipping over with the force of the strike. He immediately rights himself and swivels around to face me. Again, he opens his mouth, ready to bite me the moment I'm within range. This little dance goes on for over 5 minutes. I've just never seen a ball python open its mouth as a way of threatening someone before. Usually they just strike, but this little guy was trying his hardest to bite me. (A week prior to this, he had bitten my finger). This week when I was trying to feed him, he kept striking the mouse, coiling it for a second, then letting it go.

Normally, I'm just find and dandy with aggressive babies. The only thing is, this male is supposed to be going to a friend of mine. She's used to extremely laid back snakes.

Has anyone ever had a hatchling this aggressive calm down once they start eating?

I actually have no idea I have not bred any myself and have never seen or heard of this from any ball python. However in an interesting event this past weekend I encountered the most aggressive hatchling I have ever seen it stayed S'd up and stuck at anything that moved repeatedly. The odd bit is it too is a bumblebee male connection? I don't think so but we have a zoo breeder here that is working with big snakes and is breeding for temperament in retics and rocks, temperament is genetic with many mammals so it could be with snakes too.

I have a hatchling pastel male that behaves very similar to this. Every time I come near his tub he strikes at me to the point I can barely pick him up. Yesterday, I fed him a f/t hopper mouse and he got so pissed at me that he struck at the mouse and coiled it but then proceeded to drop it and begin striking at me. He however, did end up eating his meal.

Ive seen sub adult WC BP's do it. In fact, we had a whole group of them at the store i worked at that all did the same thing that u described. They coiled up and opened their mouths and any type of movement on my behalf, or even customers walking by, they were lunging half way across the enclosure! I mean, they were almost jumping! Only difference was they were all excellent live eaters. Its different when you are trying to get a hatchling to take a meal and all he/she wants to do is take a blood sample from your hand! WC BP's are usually in defense mode pretty badly when they first come in. Good luck.

Edit: try leaving your snake a fuzzy or something, where you can leave the two alone for a while. Sounds like your snake is too distracted by you to eat.

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Originally Posted by Reakt20

try leaving your snake a fuzzy or something, where you can leave the two alone for a while. Sounds like your snake is too distracted by you to eat.

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x2 He's worried about being eaten by the big, bad monster, instead of eating. Just leave the hopper in overnight and check in the morning.

as far as him calming down, i say just take the bite and pick him up anyways. :weirdface yup, i said it. lol eventually he'll realize you mean him no harm and he'll calm down. most of the time, once you get them into your hands and as long as you don't move quickly around their head, they'll calm right down.

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Originally Posted by Reakt20

as far as him calming down, i say just take the bite and pick him up anyways. :weirdface yup, i said it. lol eventually he'll realize you mean him no harm and he'll calm down. most of the time, once you get them into your hands and as long as you don't move quickly around their head, they'll calm right down.

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I agree that you pretty much just have to handle them, but instead of just taking a bite, put a pair of gloves on. :P

I had a couple of BPs that were super defensive when I got them, my enchi male still hates, but I can at least handle them now.

Also fun fact, you are just as likely to get bit while holding a snake if it's defensive like that. 90% of the connecting bites I've received happened while I holding them. It's harder to dodge when they bite the hand that's holding them. :P

i have 2 hatchlings that are like that. another one has calmed down a bit since it started eating and putting on weight. but these two, they sit with their mouths open too. they strike at their food over and over but do end up eating it. picking them up is tricky. for their safety, i put something over their head and pick them up from behind. sometimes once theyre out they calm down, but sometimes they just try to bite. its doesnt hurt but i dont want them to hurt any teeth or enything. once they eat and put some weight on they should calm down a bit, and try to handle for a few minutes when u clean out their tubs. thats what ive been doing and it seems to help a lil bit.

I have a female cinnamon like this :rofl:

She is so silly. She is always in strike position and if I so much as move past the tub (she's in a 6-quart tub in a rack) she will start striking continuously at the plastic. One time she struck so hard at the plastic that she knocked herself out for a second or two... like "Huh? What's this thing in the way?"

Hi y'all! This is my first time posting on any forum...YAY for me :cool: lol. Well, about a week ago my husband & I were in PETCO & they had their 2 spider balls marked 50% off, which brought them to right under $100. We decided to bring one home(even though one of the clerks said that these 2 snakes would viciously strike at anything that moved and had bitten several people)! We set him up & left him alone for a couple of days and all seemed fine. We could reach in, pull him out by hand (they had to use a hook at PETCO) & he would even cautiously approach us during "play-time" with the other balls (which are lovely babies that can't get enough attention!!) We had no problem getting him to take his food and I thought Wow this is great :) and was even thinking about going to pick up the other one left. Then, WOW, he totally changed for no obvious reason :confusd:. Now it's repeated strikes at any movement, even when he's in his tank! Someone walks by and Blam, he hits the glass! My question(after my novella lol), is what would cause this totally unpredictable behavior after he seemed to be settled in so well?

This is our first "pet shop snake" and I'm not sure if maybe this has something to do with it?? Someone help :(