My BP

So I've been really trying to go about making my BP lest hostile, its really a shock to me that I got one as 'aggressive' as this one seems to be, and just today I was cleaning around his cage and making sure he was good to go as far as cleaning up after him, but he actually hissed at me, and this is a first that I've ever heard him. He's snapped at, bit, and has hissed at me now and I can't help but wonder if I'm messing up some how, and I'm looking for any reason why he'd be so aggressive. His tank is clean, he has fresh water, he has 2 hides that fit him nicely (not to big but enough room for his body) and he has aspen substrate. I just fed him yesterday too. I'm actually starting to wonder if its not me, although I don't like to think that way, maybe he's just aggresive and needs to be conditioned, some how, to not be.

Any thoughts?

What are your temps? Also we have 2 snakes, the first ones is sweet to everyone, the second one is sweet to everyone but me!


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one side of the tank is 80 and the other is 87-90, normally 89.

He snaps at anything that's warm next to him, besides the person who's holding him, but will even strike at your other hand. If it wasnt for the fact that I've had him for approximately 2 months, I would have just exchanged him where I got him but now I think its to late for me to be able to do that, so my only option seems either figure out a way to calm him down, or get rid of him.

I really do NOT want to have to get rid of the little guy, tho he's been pretty hostile, I am pretty fond of him.

Is your little guy a baby? It seems like the majority of babies go through a spell of being very high-strung and defensive and will go around trying to look scarier than they are in case you're a predator who means harm. My baby hisses when startled, has struck with a closed mouth, and nipped my husband once (his fingers really do look a lot like rat fuzzies, though). I don't see her as aggressive, just frightened and vulnerable. It's possible your bp is acting entirely appropriate for a youngster just trying to increase his odds of survival.

I think that if you give it time, he'll most likely calm down as he grows up - at least, that seems to be the consensus on the boards up here. My girl hasn't reached the calming-down phase yet, but I believe she will. In the meantime, be careful not to approach him from directly in front of or over his head, but scoop him up from behind or to the side. And for now, if handling him stresses the both of you out, you could keep it to a minimum. How does he behave once you have him out of his enclosure?

I've been restraining from handling him because I don't want him to affiliate the process with aggression and stress. So I havn't handled him since about the 13th. I know he's under a year old, but I'm not sure on his age.

Do you know his weight? I think it's a size thing, not an age thing. If he's <300 g, I'd opt for the little-and-defensive excuse and give him time to grow. Others with more experience would know more about the size a baby usually stops acting like a paranoid basket case. Like I said, mine is still in that stage! We'll see when she grows out of it....stay tuned.

the cool side seems a little low, maybe try 83-85

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7DQs...ure=plpp_video

I have not personally tried this method. This video is a Justin Kolbylka Pro tips video i found a while ago to help with aggressive hatchlings. If your snake is small like the one in the video and your confortable with the method, it may help. If not i often read short handleing sessions 5-15 minutes at a time will start to help and eventually they will calm down.

I say if he's little, let him bite you. If you don't flinch away and react, he may eventually learn that it won't get him anywhere and he may just start to calm down. I know the idea of letting a snake bite you seems kinda wiggy, but bites from small BPs really don't hurt all that much.