Quick Q: Hatchling BP strikes back!

Hi All, just a quick q. why does my female pastel strike like crazy!! i mean man, she is furious every time i open her bin...

i tried feeding her a rat pinky but she almost killed the rat by striking, but she never constricted... :( :( :(...

she is in a small shoe box sized tub with water and hide... i use zoomed aspen bedding as substrate. and my temps are 91 in the hot side...

is she gonna be a problem feeder? how do i feed her? her last meal was friday last week.

Sounds like she's striking defensively.. I'd give her some more time to settle in before offering food - she's probably just stressed.

John has it right. That snake is stressed. Hold off food for 4 or 5 days and try again with lights low and leave it alone.

Regards,

B

Same as above. How long have you had her, and was she shipped to you or bought locally?

thanks ya'll! appreciate it! :) i bought her locally from a breeder here... i just had to transport her via car (1.5 hours drive). I didnt touch her for 4 days, only water replacement...

anyway, i will follow your advice. 4 days no touch.. :) thanks i will post pics also soon.

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Originally Posted by John1982

Sounds like she's striking defensively.. I'd give her some more time to settle in before offering food - she's probably just stressed.

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x2

I would offer the appropriate sized prey, pinkies don't always register as food for young ball pythons, try a small fuzzy rat or larger hopper mouse.

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is she gonna be a problem feeder? how do i feed her? her last meal was friday last week.

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I actually enjoy my hatchlings that strike at anything that moves, they typically eat better than the docile ones.
Let her settle in a few more days and try again :gj:

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

I would offer the appropriate sized prey, pinkies don't always register as food for young ball pythons, try a small fuzzy rat or larger hopper mouse.


I actually enjoy my hatchlings that strike at anything that moves, they typically eat better than the docile ones.
Let her settle in a few more days and try again :gj:

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She is currently at 70ish grams i am not sure if i can offer anything bigger than a pinky? she just had her 1st shed 2 weeks ago, and 1st feeding last week with the breeder i got her from.

but yeah i actually them feisty ones also.. hehehe :)

Yea you can give her something slightly bigger. Of course, after giving her a few days do calm down :P

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Originally Posted by frost0214

She is currently at 70ish grams i am not sure if i can offer anything bigger than a pinky? she just had her 1st shed 2 weeks ago, and 1st feeding last week with the breeder i got her from.

but yeah i actually them feisty ones also.. hehehe :)

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Some hatchlings will eat rats right off but many will need a mouse or asf fuzzy to start off with.
About 50% of our hatchlings started on rats but the rest needed a few meals of asf's or mice to get going before switching to rat fuzzies.

Good luck!