Cranky Snake

I've had Emrys for a little over 3 weeks now, He's been fed twice in my care and handled almost every day, but yesterday when I went to clean out his tub he was scrunched up in that tight "s" shape and following my hand somewhat aggressively. I decided I'd leave him alone and went about my day. I checked up on him today as well, and it was the same story. His tub isn't soiled or anything, I'd just like to check it because it smells just a little. It's a little hot, 83 on the low side and 96 on the high side with 58% humidity, but I turned the heat in my room off (we'd had a cold front the last few days) and my fan is on. He didn't strike at me, though honestly I didn't give him much of a chance to. I'm just wondering if the temp is making him cranky, or if it could be something else.

I have a young female het albino who is the exact same way . She's always in a bad mood . I'm hoping in time she grows out of it


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This is the first time he's ever been in a bad mood though.

What's his home like? Maybe going into shed?

A lot of times being in a bad mood is a sign of poor husbandry, or conditions with which your snake doesn't agree. Temps/humidity? Hides? Size of snakey?

Could also just be acting hungry? Or maybe there's still some residual food scent from the last time he ate, and it has him expecting more. My snake had a very messy feed awhile ago, and I wanted to give him a couple days to digest before bothering him to clean up. In the meantime, he was just prowling all around the area where the mouse had gotten smeared around... Once I cleaned off the glass and the hides and the bedding he stopped being so intensely interested in that one spot.

Hot side temp of 96f is a bit high! How are you measuring the temperature? How are you heating the enclosure also? :cool:

If your husbandry is in good limits, it could be he just needs a break.

You said he has been handled almost every day. Did you give him any time of no handling when you got him? It could be that he's just not settled in yet, and needs some time to rest, and acclimate to his new home. Aside from feeing and changing the water, I'd just leave him alone for 4 or 5 days and then try again.

I've only had my bp for about 6 months, but have found that there are just some days when she doesn't really want to be handled. I can handle her, but she's not the same. Other days, she almost seems happy to come out and stretch her scales. I think it's just their behavior.

A friend of mine said he might still be in "shed mode" because his shed was so quick. I'll just keep checking on him and see if he stops the behavior. I just hope he doesn't soil his bedding until then. He hasn't struck at me yet, but I'd rather not find out if he bothers with a warning strike or not.

You may just have a Bi-Polar BP :P. I have a girl like that and she is getting pretty big. She was a sweet hatchling until around 200g and then she became a mean thing and would strike at me like crazy (no husbandry changes same tub, same rack, same temps, same setup). With a leather glove and constant handling at about 400g she calmed down. Now she is 600+ grams and mostly calm but some days she just snaps and may strike at me a couple of times. Not so bad that I need the leather glove again but still keeps me on my toes :D. If you husbandry is on point you just may need to give him some space. If he continues to get aggressive AKA Dave did a great video for aggressive BPs

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...P-Handling-101

Good Luck!! :gj: