Help! Behavioral striking issue

Okay so my 3 y/o normal female has been acting very strange the past week. She gets fed every 2 weeks, 1 large pre killed rat, so the chance of being bitten is very very minimal. She ate a week ago, has not had a bm yet, and I went into her enclosure to grab her and she struck at me 3 times. She has been striking at the glass when anyone walks near her enclosure and has just been very defensive. There hasn't been any changes to her enviornment or anything I can think of, does anybody have experience with this? Thanks.

Sounds like she's hungry. Feed her once a week instead of every two, that usually solves hunger issues...unless of course you don't give them a big enough prey item.
I am guilty of that. Rat was too small yesterday and I just missed being tagged by my big, normally puppy dog tame girl.

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Sounds like she's hungry. Feed her once a week instead of every two, that usually solves hunger issues...unless of course you don't give them a big enough prey item.
I am guilty of that. Rat was too small yesterday and I just missed being tagged by my big, normally puppy dog tame girl.

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Okay I thought of that, I fed her a rat on friday, then saturday morning she was looking for food, so I fed her a nice sized mouse, later that afternoon, she was looking again, so I yet again gave her another nice sized mouse, so that's 2 mice and 1 large rat in less than 48 hours, and now being a week later, she is still in defense / strike mode.

You mentioned striking at glass, so I'm guessing it's an aquarium? Is she in a high traffic area? Is it a large tank? How are her hides (do you have several spread around the cage)? How often has she been handled? It looks like you've many snakes and are probably more experienced than me, so please don't be offended, I'm just making sure Ockham is satisfied.

I agree with Argentra that she sounds hungry. It could be, too, that she's still catching up. Snakes I've rescued that have been malnourished won't stop eating-they'll eat until you stop putting food in the cage. I'd bump it to an every 5-7 day schedule and hold that routine for a month or two. I believe she'd calm down by then, assuming everything in the first paragraph is covered and it's not a temperament issue.

With a 3 yo female acting like that it most likely the 1st season she is showing signs of wanting to breed. There was another similar thread not to long ago of almost the same thing. This time of year she is more than likely looking to bulk up for her first breeding season and I can only say feed her. No matter what else you do it will not stop her from being the way she is right now.

Also you can look forward to her not eating for a period of time, so when that happens don't get alarmed. It is normal. Now get yourself a male to breed to her.

Hope this helps and good luck.