Aggro BP

I do 2 large mice a week and have for afew months. next time im in town I'll get small rats, hopefully petsmart will have them in this time lol.

Update-Well I got his terrarium up off the ground onto a large night stand and he seems to be doing better, I was actually able to come into contact today without him trying to strike at me lol. I got him some more large mice ( all the rats where sold out) and will be feeding him every three days or so instead of four to five.

something to remember is that to a snake, particularly a young one, you are a predator. they don't understand you are nice and want to take care of them right off. that being said they mostly want you to go away.

it is good that by changing its setup you are getting "better" behavior from the animal, though. just remember the best way to approach them is with firm, direct movements (I don't mean squeezing them). If you open the lid and it comes right up to the top that doesn't mean its after you, it could be exploring and just want out, it could be hungry and looking for that mouse, or it could just be an outgoing snake.

If you put your open palm in front of the snake does it track your hand with it's head back an cocked, or does it just pull it's head back (both can look like an "s" shape, but mean totally different things). Even if it looks like it's after you, if you can firmly (not showing fear) reach somewhat behind it and pick it up mid body, it will probably get over itself.

also why not just feed it a rat instead of feeding it multiple times?

Warming up, if he was too cold will also make him more alert and therefore perhaps more aggressive. DO NOT STOP HANDLING HIM. Otherwise, he'll just buffalo you every time you try

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Originally Posted by katia

with rats or hamsters you get much more versatility in size. i have a male BP whose 800 grams, and he eats a blackbear hamster about once every 3 weeks.

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you do not want to feed hamsters.

Hamsters are extremely aggressive rodents that can inflict serious damage. I have been bitten several times by hamsters and they draw blood and don't let go. This isn't like a rat nipping you (been there, done that as well). Would you want to risk that with your snake? Ball pythons can imprint on prey. Hamsters are expensive and not commonly found in a lot of areas. If you ever have to rehome your animal you'd be putting this burden on someone else. This is the same reason i'll recommend mice and rats over gerbils 100% of the time for CB snakes.

Rats and mice are suitable prey for ball pythons, they are also much more common and generally more affordable.

OP, how big is your snake, how much does it weigh and how old is it? Possibly a picture of the tank set up will help diagnose the issue as well.

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

you do not want to feed hamsters.

Hamsters are extremely aggressive rodents that can inflict serious damage. I have been bitten several times by hamsters and they draw blood and don't let go. This isn't like a rat nipping you (been there, done that as well). Would you want to risk that with your snake? Ball pythons can imprint on prey. Hamsters are expensive and not commonly found in a lot of areas. If you ever have to rehome your animal you'd be putting this burden on someone else. This is the same reason i'll recommend mice and rats over gerbils 100% of the time for CB snakes.

Rats and mice are suitable prey for ball pythons, they are also much more common and generally more affordable.

OP, how big is your snake, how much does it weigh and how old is it? Possibly a picture of the tank set up will help diagnose the issue as well.

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thanks for the assumption that i'm dumb enough to feed my snake live hamsters. i'm extremely aware of how aggressive they are

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Originally Posted by katia

thanks for the assumption that i'm dumb enough to feed my snake live hamsters. i'm extremely aware of how aggressive they are

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i'm not assuming anything. You stated you feed hamsters and recommended someone else try it, i listed the dangers of feeding that type of prey item since you neglected to add them into your own post or specify that you happen to feed F/T or Pk or something of that sort.

it doesn't matter the type of rodent, f/t is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS better. should that really be stated in every post about feeder rodents?

also, i suppose i could have worded it better. the point of my post was not to recommend the OP try hamsters, but rather to give an example of how long the snake goes between feeders.

i was not trying to say that feeding exclusively hamsters is a good idea

Well first thing first, I am going to feed him rats, once my petsmart is restocked, until then all I got is large mice.

Unfortunetly I was laid off before I could get a proper weight scale, so I am using the width trick " prey as thick as he is in the largest part" .

He does have a large terrarium, bout 45, but that hasn't bothered him before.

He will do lazy strikes, where his head wont even be in locked and loaded mode and he will still strike, which leads me to believe they are defensive.

He will track my hand if I move it back and forth.

His actions the past few days have led me to believe he is simply afraid of me ( which I kind of figured). I will continue to increase our interaction until I feel it is ok to pick him up. Im not afraid of the bite, more of him loseing teeth:(.

O and I forgot to mention earlier that when he comes towards me when I open the cage it is in the same stance and speed he approaches a mouse before strikeing....and its always towards my face lol.