Why are baby BPs so mean?

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Originally Posted by Twisted Reptiles

Lets not necessarily pin this all on the snake just being mean. There could be environmental variables at play here.

These are 2010 hatchlings. How much do they currently weigh? What are you feeding them and how often?

How is the husbandry? What are they being kept in? Do they have hides or at least the ability to hide if they so choose? What are your temps and what are you using to regulate temps?

Any or all of these things if not as they should be could be affecting your snakes' comfort levels and contributing to these reactions.

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I know they are not "mean". I have 5 snakes all kept in almost identical caging (my large female needs bigger hides). They are all kept in 41qt Rubbermaid tubs, that use flexwatt heat tape controlled by herpstat that provides belly heat at one end and is set to 92. They are kept on news paper and all have tupperware hides, one on each side. I know the tubs are a little big, but I couldn't afford to build 2 different sized racks, my large female was almost 1000g at the start of the month.
The two 2010 thats are fine are my spider BP who weighed 270 at the start of the month and my female spotnose who weighed 173 at the start of the month. The two that are not okay are my male spotnose who weighed 194 at the start of the month and my female pastel who weighed 253 when she arrived on the 7th. I feed on a 5-6 day feeding schedule and all eat f/t. My spotnoses are currently being offered weanling mice (because they are pretty big at the petstore I get them from) and they eat without problems. The other 2 are offered rat pups, my pastel is still a little freaked from being shipped so she refused her first feeding. They are all hiding most of the time, it's when they are not and I walk by or open their tubs that I get struck at. I had assumed hiding all the time was a good sign? Am I wrong?

I might guess they are hungry? I usually start out hatchling BP's on rat pups. A weanling mouse mite not be big enough.

I'd be willing to bet it's 95% stress and maybe the other 5% hunger.

Some balls take longer to adjust, plain and simple. I got a captive raised female, been handled regularly for years. When I brought her home, it took her 3 months to adjust, no joke. She snapped and struck, hissed and wouldn't eat, she meant business!

Then one day put of the blue, she was just all, " Oh, I remember what people are now, people bring yummies! Can I have that rat I didn't want please ?" And after that no problems.

Same token, I got an Import adult female, straight from Africa. She had every reason to be freaked out and nasty. Turns out she doesn't think people are bad right from the start. Now, if I could just convince her that a gerbil is just as good as an ASF, I'd have it made. :oops:

Gale