Sudden change in temperament

Hello. Looking for advice our ball python is a little over a year old and has always had a calm and sweet temperament. Handled well, ate well and shed well. We’ve been busy these few months and other than a feeding and rehydrating substrate haven’t really handled him. This week we went into hand him and he tagged me twice. Then yesterday when I went in to feed him he hissed which he’s never done before. Is it because we haven’t handled him on over a month? Is this something that will get better with more handling? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

I've been keeping snakes- many snakes- for a long time, so I don't always handle each snake very often. I'm always been impressed that snakes seem to quickly remember they know me, even if it's "been a while". So based on that, no, I don't think it was a month+ of not handling him that brought about his negative reaction to you. More likely he's going into a shed cycle, not yet obvious visibly to you (but snakes FEEL it, I'm positive), or perhaps he's not feeling well for some other reason? I'd suggest paying more attention to any injuries he might have gotten, or see if his stool looks (or smells) odd (& if so, have a vet check it for issues that might need treatment). Is he overly hungry? Do you feed live prey? Is there anything "new" in his vicinity? (ie. more commotion from the rest of the household, new pets, disturbing smells etc) Do you keep dogs or cats that might be scaring him? Or children that teased him without your knowing? SO many possibilities...;)

Did he tag you defensively or do you think it's feeding response? I've never had one change temperament on me. In my experience they're either snappy or not lol. Next time I would just try to touch his body from behind so he is aware of you and doesn't pick up on the temp of your hand. I find that if they are looking to eat this will generally snap them out of the feeding mode. Then just be as gentle as possible while picking him up and handling him. The more gentle and calm you are the better the reaction from the animal in my experience. I've always heard of conditioning them but I've never really tried it. Hopefully that will help, best of luck.

Also Bogertophis brings up a good point about possibly going into shed or something stressing him that you're unaware of.

Maybe your sudden approach just startled him? Remember that most snakes (like BPs) don't recognize us visually- & it may take a moment for your scent & touch to "register". No matter how long your snake is your "pet", his self-defense instincts are still there. And any big creature approaching him could be a predator wanting "lunch". ;)

My first guess would have been a feeding response since maybe he hasn't been handled lately and every time the enclosure opens it means food. I've had temperament change for the positive, but at least in BPs, never towards defensive outside of trying to pull eggs. The hissing though kind of makes me wonder if it's a shed cycle or him not feeling well like others have said.

Have you tried tap/hook training?

I do that for my bigger snakes and those with a strong food response. Occasionally I will use with my BP if she's looking for food, but most of the time she's fine. It's the boas and Carpet Python I have to be careful with.

Any questions on hook training, just ask. It' designed to let the snake know that food isn't coming and it's handling time.

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Originally Posted by dakski

Have you tried tap/hook training?

I do that for my bigger snakes and those with a strong food response. Occasionally I will use with my BP if she's looking for food, but most of the time she's fine. It's the boas and Carpet Python I have to be careful with.

Any questions on hook training, just ask. It' designed to let the snake know that food isn't coming and it's handling time.

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I agree with this as it lets the snakes with strong feeding response know it's not food time. I do this with my aggressive feeders who tend to be in food mode.

I've had my snakes for almost ten years and there are times where I don't handle them often and haven't had an instance where they "forgot" me.

With that being said, the hissing sounds very defensive and that can be for a variety of reasons. I'd start with double checking your husbandry and then also give your BP a break. Is your terrarium located in a quiet place?


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Thank you everyone! Checked husbandry and everything seems to be in order. He also just pooped and it seemed normal. Upon closer inspection I think he might be going into shed I know he takes two weeks to fully complete his shed. He’s only just starting to look a little ghosty on his darker spots but his belly hasn’t turned pink. But he took a meal that day so I’m guessing it’s the initial stages of shed like you guys mentioned. Will leave him be for a week to see if it is indeed a shed cycle. Thank you all again! Really appreciate it.

I would definitely like to know more about tap/hook training. How would I go about doing this?

Hook training is relatively simple. Every time you open the enclosure to handle (not feed) you rub the snakes head with a snake hook or paper towel roll. The snake makes the association between it's head being rubbed and handling and it puts them out of feeding mode. Tap training is similar except you tap the snakes cage instead of rubbing the snakes head. This can help for snakes that launch out of their enclosure for food.