A little sad tonight

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Originally Posted by masonhall

even more, he was extremely bitey (maybe just from trip). I put him in his cage and left him there for an hour or so. when i came back to hold him. He just lashes out whenever i get my hands near him. I offered him some food, but he just bit it, and went into a s shape. :snake: I thought that i should have waited, but the breeder said feed him immediately. i am very upset about his size because i wanted to breed him this upcoming season :(

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If you can't handle a hatchling snapping at you, you should reconsider breeding. What are you going to do when mama makes it clear she doesn't want you coming near her eggs?

Stop trying to handle him and give him the proper settling-in period. If you are concerned about his weight, post a pic and we can tell you if he looks underweight. If he doesn't, then it either isn't the same snake, or the "breeder" is a terrible guesser, or lied. Regardless, this doesn't have anything to do with Ben Siegal, since the "breeder" already gave you false information once. Where he originated is moot, though, if you like him and he isn't in poor body condition.

As for the smell, it is all guesswork on our end unless you can find the source of it (wet substrate, poo, a white lump, a regurgitated hairball, etc.). I would go ahead and re-clean his enclosure, if it smells that bad, so he's able to settle in without a mess.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

If you can't handle a hatchling snapping at you, you should reconsider breeding. What are you going to do when mama makes it clear she doesn't want you coming near her eggs?

Stop trying to handle him and give him the proper settling-in period. If you are concerned about his weight, post a pic and we can tell you if he looks underweight. If he doesn't, then it either isn't the same snake, or the "breeder" is a terrible guesser, or lied. Regardless, this doesn't have anything to do with Ben Siegal, since the "breeder" already gave you false information once. Where he originated is moot, though, if you like him and he isn't in poor body condition.

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I expect to put a t shirt over her. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone here I'm just not very experienced with this stuff. As for Ben Siegal, i think he is awesome but he has nothing to do with this. It is my and the breeders fault. Thanks for all the help everyone.


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It's not that you offended us. I don't think anyone here is offended. But you did send up a few red flags that are concerning to those of us who have a lot more experience. We point these things out to you, not to belittle you or criticize, but because we are concerned for you!

Breeding is NOT for everyone. There is a huge amount of responsibility involved. The fact that you mentioned you wanted to breed this snake in the coming year, yet did not know what to do when the snake snapped, when he didn't eat, or that his cage smells, suggests that you lack a lot of experience. My apologies if I'm drawing the wrong conclusions here.

You flat out state:

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.....I'm just not very experienced with this stuff.

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You need to be patient and get more experience with just this sort of "stuff" before you consider breeding. I apologize for being blunt, but these are just the sorts of things you do need to know.

Be mature and responsible about this situation: you got a very nice lesser as a b'day present. Be happy! Grow him out yourself - it'll be more satisfying anyway. $200 is a great price for a nice lesser even if it is a hatchling - they usually go for 250-300.

You didn't offend us. We are not trying to offend you. We only want to help you!

Is it right to be dominant over a youngish ball python? when it strikes at you, should you put it back in its enclosure or should one keep holding it and make it curl into a ball, touch its head etc. i think j. koblyka did a video on it.

I wouldn't handle him until you get him eating. Congrats on your first Bp. This is great place to come with all of your questions. There is a lot of knowledgable people here to help. Hope to see pictures of your boy soon.

He will grow out of it. Mostly all hatchlings are like that, he will be tame before you know it just leave him alone for now. Once he puts on some weight he will settle down especially if you handle him every so often.

Stop and take a deep breath. You need to completely leave him alone until he eats 3 consecutive times. No handling at all. This could be three weeks or 2 months. But if you leave him alone now it will be less time for him to start eating.

As for breeding i seriously think you need to stop and take a deep breath there too. In my opinion people need to do serious amounts of research before breeding. Like what will you do with the babies? How will you house them? What will you feed them? Incubation, egg cutting, common breeding problems. Etc etc etc. its important that you don't go into breeding without looking into things. And it sounds like you need to get basic things down first like why the baby is nippy. What that smell is, and how long acclimation periods should go for. Get the common sense ball keeping down first and then slowly approach breeding with a level, educated head on your shoulders.


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Originally Posted by masonhall

Is it right to be dominant over a youngish ball python? when it strikes at you, should you put it back in its enclosure or should one keep holding it and make it curl into a ball, touch its head etc. i think j. koblyka did a video on it.

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Yes but dont start trying to handle him like that until hes eating for you regularly. After mine have their first 2 meals in a row then i start handling them for fun. Before that though keep handling to a minimum and only do it for cage cleaning etc. when you have to. Some may never ever grow out of being a nervous snake. Most do though, so i wouldnt trade him back especially if you like him.
Describe the enclosure setup you have him in or post a pic of it...

Also dont think about breeding yet until youve mastered the care of the snakes you have got now lol. Having 8 hatchlings snapping at you and not eating doesnt sound like something you would be able to handle right now. Im not being mean, just being honest.

Yeah I'm just going to slow down with the breeding until I think I'm ready. Thanks for all the help guys! His enclosure is 15q. Is that too small for a 211gram snake? It has sphagnum moss, a Uth on one side (same as hide) and water bowl. Humidity so it only slightly condenses on the sides if at all. I have a thermometer but I don't trust it but temps are good but the hot spot is a little less than 90

Is your uth being controlled by a thermostat? Uth's can get very hot and burn your snake if you don't have a thermostat!

Also, you need to have two hides. Most will tell you they need to be identical, but that doesn't really matter, I've found. One on the hot side, and another on the cool side.


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