brothers dumb mistake now my responsiblity!

ok my brother was recently kicked out of his house and had to move in with a friend, and the friend said no way to the bp. well i now have the ball python and it is a little snappy, and i tried for an hr b4 the bp took the frozen/thawed large mouse. this bp is the snappiest thing i have ever seen and i have handeld a few mean rtbs. what are a few sure fire ways to retame a bp this is the bp that i owned almost 6-7 months ago. its in good health my brother just said he didnt handle it much. plz help

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Originally Posted by doobysnack

ok my brother was recently kicked out of his house and had to move in with a friend, and the friend said no way to the bp. well i now have the ball python and it is a little snappy, and i tried for an hr b4 the bp took the frozen/thawed large mouse. this bp is the snappiest thing i have ever seen and i have handeld a few mean rtbs. what are a few sure fire ways to retame a bp this is the bp that i owned almost 6-7 months ago. its in good health my brother just said he didnt handle it much. plz help

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First have you left it totaly alone for at least a week to settle in? If not start it as soon as possible.Then start like you did when you first owned him and take things slowly.You might want to pick up some gloves to use when you start handling him.Good luck

yes it has been about 2 weeks since i got him and my brother said about two days before i got him he had ate a very small rat and thats why i didnt want to touch it and then i feed him yesterday so it will be a few days before i can work with it but i plan to move it into a 4x2x2 cage this weekend and thats when i will try and hold him

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Originally Posted by doobysnack

yes it has been about 2 weeks since i got him and my brother said about two days before i got him he had ate a very small rat and thats why i didnt want to touch it and then i feed him yesterday so it will be a few days before i can work with it but i plan to move it into a 4x2x2 cage this weekend and thats when i will try and hold him

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I don't think that's a good idea. I think you should wait until he's had at least 4-5 consistent feeds before moving him to a new home. If you move him, you'll have to start over on the acclimation process again.

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Originally Posted by JasonGranger

I don't think that's a good idea. I think you should wait until he's had at least 4-5 consistent feeds before moving him to a new home. If you move him, you'll have to start over on the acclimation process again.

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I agree here.Unless you have not started building that enclosure or it will be awhile before you have money for the materials.Otherwise you will have to start all over.

well the thing is i dont think the enclosure is big enough and it has no heat under the enclosure just the light witch in my opinion is kinda cruel i am just trying to make stuff happen to fast i guess its a 20 gallon and the snake is about 11 months old and pretty good size exact length and width and weight are undetermined.

Since you said the BP was eating rats, then it's no wonder it may have given you a hassle over offering it a mouse, they do tend to be imprint feeders that way. I'd say if you have to move it if it's current home is very poor, get it over with, then let it settle in completely for another week or so. If it's healthy it won't suffer for a skipped meal or two.

As far as the aggressive behaviour, the keywords I think are patience and priorities. Priority one right now is getting the snake into a good environment and settled down. You might want to add in crumpled newspaper to aid in that process. Priority two is getting a regular feeding schedule in place for the next month or so. Handling issues for me are way down the list. Any snake that is feeling unsafe or hungry is going to strike at you, that's what they do. Get it happy, secure and well fed and then worry about attitude is my thought here. If you need to, use gloves...no need to take a bite if you don't have to.

Once you start slowing interacting with the snake, think in terms of weeks and months, not days. Snakes do nothing quickly (other than strike prey LOL) and change seems to come with time and simple routines they can learn to recognize. Establish habits now about how you do cage maintenace, feeding, etc. so the snake sees the same routines over and over. Eventually just expand those routines to include some touch and aqt some point removal from the enclosure for handling time. Remember handling is for your benefit and pleasure, not the snakes....so it's always a bit stressful for them and something some of them never take to.

Since joe said gloves..what kind do you guys use???
I have a pair of el cheap-o cotton yard gloves...which yes our snakes bit through and actually got 2 fingers pretty good....I was just wondering if there are a pair that will still allow alot of movement but keep tiny snake teeth out of.

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Originally Posted by TheAudOne

Since joe said gloves..what kind do you guys use???
I have a pair of el cheap-o cotton yard gloves...which yes our snakes bit through and actually got 2 fingers pretty good....I was just wondering if there are a pair that will still allow alot of movement but keep tiny snake teeth out of.

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Leather gloves used on construction sites are great.

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Originally Posted by TheAudOne

Since joe said gloves..what kind do you guys use???
I have a pair of el cheap-o cotton yard gloves...which yes our snakes bit through and actually got 2 fingers pretty good....I was just wondering if there are a pair that will still allow alot of movement but keep tiny snake teeth out of.

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I am sorry i did not specify the type of gloves:oops: .I have a pair of Welders gloves that i use when i have a biter.