Biting Ball Python

Greetings,
I am a new owner to a Ball Python that I purchased off of CL. The gentleman was very selective to whom his snake would reside with so purchased the snake and it's habitat from him. He has owned the snake since it was a baby, 2007, and when me and my fiancee' held the snake it was very docile and no issues what-so-ever. We have now had the snake for two weeks and both of us have had issues with the snake. About two weeks ago my fiancee' went to hold the snake, which she has had three BP's in the past and very familiar with this breed, and when she sat in a chair it struck her leg; luckily a blanket was on her lap. The snake held onto the blanket and curled all around it and all I heard was screams because owning three BP's in the past she has never once been struck at or bitten. I picked the blanket up and placed it into his habitat until he released it, which was about 30 minutes.

A few days ago I stroked his back and decided to hold the snake. He was not aggitated at all and picked him up after ensuring he was calm. I held him in my right hand and he curled around my arm and not in a restrictive manner then he brought his head around my wrist and bit down on the palm of my hand where the thumb is and tried to constrict onto my arm. After about a minute of unwrapping him I was able to get him to release and placed him back into his habitat. I have contacted the previous owner and he is absolutely shocked and dismayed of the snakes actions. He suggested that possibly he might be hungry; he had eaten about one month ago. On a side note, when no one is in the room with the snake he lays out longwise in the habitat and pretty much is still. When someone walks in the room he is very active with going up the side of the glass and his nose to the top of the cage the entire time someone is in there.

I do not believe that the snake was agressive what-so-ever and do not think that I was duped into the purchase. I was on the phone with the previous owner last night for over an hour and he wanted to come over to handle the snake to see what is wrong. He suggested that possilbly the habitat is not setup exactly as it was in his home and suggested to feed him a medium to large rat due to the biting could be that he is hungry. The snake has never hissed before biting or has it lunged in the air striking nor has it curled up to strike. So I'm asking to see what could be causing this situation and what I can do to resolve it. My fiancee' is horrified of the snake b/c of never had this issue before and I am trying to instill confidence again, thanks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by texasvet

He suggested that possibly he might be hungry; he had eaten about one month ago.

---

Yes it Definitely seems like he is hungry!
Feeding once a month is not enough and not recommended.
Most of us on here feed our adults an appropriate sized rat once ever 7-14 days.

For us personally we offer our males a small rat every week and our females a medium rat every week.

Thank you for the advice. I will go and get him a medium rat today or tomorrow and feed him. The previous owner fed him in his habitat and my fiancee' does not agree with that and always fed hers in a separate container, which she called a restaurant. Is there any harm of continuing to feed him in the habitat or should I move him to something else for feeding.

Also, what kind of timeframe should I allow before I should try and handle him again once he is fed?

Thanks,

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by texasvet

Thank you for the advice. I will go and get him a medium rat today or tomorrow and feed him. The previous owner fed him in his habitat and my fiancee' does not agree with that and always fed hers in a separate container, which she called a restaurant. Is there any harm of continuing to feed him in the habitat or should I move him to something else for feeding.

Also, what kind of timeframe should I allow before I should try and handle him again once he is fed?

Thanks,

---

I like to give my snakes 48 hours after they eat before handling them. Moving to a different enclosure seems like an ongoing debate some do it others don't.

In-habitat feeding is very common, and is less stressful for the snake. When moving from container to container, a snake can get very disoriented, and if the air already smells like dinner, forget about it-- chances are you'll get bitten before you even put him down for his meal. You also don't have to move a snake that could potentially still be in feeding mode after eating.

Feeding a snake in or out of it's enclosure is purely preference. You do that with a 20 something foot retic and it can associate meal time with coming out and you're there. There was a post about that I think from Harry Wessels.

Now granted a bp doesn't get that big. I used to feed my yellow anaconda in a separate enclosure purely out of preference because I didn't want her to eat any cypress mulch.

For a rule of thumb here's a good rule to go by:

If a snake bites and constricts, this is going to be a feeding response. It could be hungry or you could have something it's keen to scent wise on your hand. This is why you either wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before handling your snake.

If a snake bites you and pulls away or just bites you. This is a defensive bite. This could be the fact it's nervous or stressed or a number of things.

Good luck and do a lot of reading and research so you can properly care for your snake. I mean this in the nicest way possible, but just because your fiance has had snakes in the past doesn't mean she knows how to properly care for them. Pet stores commonly give out horrible advice.

I wanted to give a huge thanks for the advice I have received on this forum. Last night I went and purchased a f/t small rat and was sceptical since the previous owner had only fed him live rats. I followed the directions from the packager and this website and when the rat was ready I walked in the room with it and the snake stopped it's usual movement in it's habitat and went to a corner. I held the rat with tongs in the middle of the cage and he lunged fast as lightening for the food. He has barely moved since he has eaten it and seemed so happy. Now the trick will be trying to handle in another day or so giving him 48 hours of digestion to see if he bites again.

If he bites again, he's probably still hungry. Not eating for a month will do that. If you can, try to find out how often and number of prey items the previous owner was offering. Your guy may take more for a couple feedings then taper off.

Example: When I bring a new snake home, the first 2-3 feedings are to test how much it wants to eat. So the first feeding I'll offer 1 prey item appropriately sized. Second feeding I'll offer 2 items of the same size. Third feeding I'll offer 2 again. If the snake takes one and leaves the 2nd I know it'll be a 1 prey item snake for the time being and occasionally offer a 2nd when it starts getting bigger. If it takes 2, then on the 4th feeding I offer a 3rd prey item assuming it'll leave the 3rd one alone. The third or fourth feeding is when I really find out what the snake is going to eat on a weekly/bi-weekly basis.

Haha this is basically my story as well. I just posted about it. Sounds like he is hungry, as I got nipped this morning I am now thawing out some mice for mine. Good luck. And post some pics!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pyrate81

If he bites again, he's probably still hungry. Not eating for a month will do that. If you can, try to find out how often and number of prey items the previous owner was offering. Your guy may take more for a couple feedings then taper off.

Example: When I bring a new snake home, the first 2-3 feedings are to test how much it wants to eat. So the first feeding I'll offer 1 prey item appropriately sized. Second feeding I'll offer 2 items of the same size. Third feeding I'll offer 2 again. If the snake takes one and leaves the 2nd I know it'll be a 1 prey item snake for the time being and occasionally offer a 2nd when it starts getting bigger. If it takes 2, then on the 4th feeding I offer a 3rd prey item assuming it'll leave the 3rd one alone. The third or fourth feeding is when I really find out what the snake is going to eat on a weekly/bi-weekly basis.

---

Well he has bitten again. On Sunday my son went to handle the snake, petted him gently and picked him up. He said the snake reared around and bit him on his forearm. He never told me that he was bitten so when I came home on Sunday it looks as if he was hungry and fed him another small rat and he took it. I am really start to question a snake that he previous owner said he has never been bitten by and me, my fiancee' and my son have all been bitten by....