Normal BP behavior??

My pastel bp is almost 2 months old. I got him on Halloween, the last time he ate was the 30th. The breeder had never handled him and my husband and I have only handled him once (for a short period of time 2 days ago.) Since we held him that one time, he hasn't wanted to come out of his hide. I looked at his tank quite a bit yesterday and he never came out, not even once. I did try to get him out of the tank and he hissed at me, so I left him alone. Is this normal behavior for a bp? I don't want to stress him out, but I do want him to get accustomed to be being handled. Advice would be very much appreciated!

His temps and humidity are also spot on, if that means anything. He hasn't pooped though. How often do they poop anyways?

Snakes are like people. Every snake has it's own character. And there's a saying sleeping snake is happy snake.

And other suggestion would be to take it easy and let him first get accustomed ;-)

The other option would be he's in shedding and then it's best to leave them alone until they shed. It's not the best time for them.

I've never really heard of a BP hissing/striking....although I know some hatchings can be more "aggressive". normally if they're stressed they roll themselves into a ball. Since you just got it I would honestly leave it alone for awhile to get used to it's new surroundings and the activity level of your house. I would wait on trying to feed as well until she seems more relaxed as that can add to stress as well.
Hopefully someone more experienced can chime in :) Good luck!

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Originally Posted by jxl

The other option would be he's in shedding and then it's best to leave them alone until they shed. It's not the best time for them.

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You were completely right. He let me handle him for a second tonight and I noticed he is going into shed. How long does the shedding process normally tank? It's my first snake :)

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Originally Posted by Smarion0006

You were completely right. He let me handle him for a second tonight and I noticed he is going into shed. How long does the shedding process normally tank? It's my first snake :)

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http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...edding-Process

Excellent thread for the entire shed process with pics and timelines so you know what to expect and how long each step lasts.

That may not have been a hiss. Sometimes they suck in a lot of air to keep themselves stuck in their hides or to appear bigger and the hissing noise is them sucking the air in or exhaling. I would wait to hold him until after the shed. If he still behaves like this, I use the hide to move them a little so they know I'm there. Then pick them up from the side he isn't facing, at a low angle. Never from directly above.

You may also want to give him more time to get used to his surroundings. If you got him on halloween then it's only been barely a week. The move is very stressful for a snake and some take longer than others a calm down. Handling him so soon could agitate him even more and it may cause him to refuse food. I had a butter that acted that way for a month. I thought he was just going to be a jerk. But it took me giving him a hide and covering the sides of his tank so the movements on the outside wouldn't scare him. He's happy and inquisitive now.

When they go into shed they do make a wheezing sound that most people mistakenly take as a hiss..:gj: