Newbie in need of advice!

Holding the snake "more" is a hard thing to define. Excessive handling can be just as much of a trigger for some snakes to cause defensive strikes due to stress. It's about balance and getting to know that specific snake and the bigger picture around it to determine why it's striking. There's no definitive answer there really.

Handling a snake while under the influence is a good recipe for disaster for you and for your snake.

Remember in the end...this is a snake. Snakes hiss, slither off to hide, coil defensively, target heat and movement when they are hungry, musk, pee and poop on you just to name a few. They are incredibly amazing and fascinating creatures and a joy to own but they are in the end, first and foremost....a snake. Being surprised a snake struck at you is like being amazed your dog barked...it does happen. :)

Your job as it's owner I figure is to determine if this is just a reactive incident or if there is anything in how you keep or handle the snake that could be adjusted to make the snake feel less defensive.

she's a Leucistic Texas Rat Snake, and a feisty one i have to wear leather batting gloves just to clean her tub or change her water. and when i handle her i have to be in this little kiddy pool so that she can't head for the hills on me.

she also thinks she's a rattle snake, and anytime any one walks by her tub she rattles her tail on the ground making a buzzing sound. it's so cool.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Big, never be embarrassed to ask questions. No one here will think less of you or be allowed to flame a newcomer with newcomer type questions.

Before I answer it would be helpful to have some basic info on this snake. How big a snake is this? How long have you had this snake? What is your normal handling routines with this snake? How often does the snake eat and what does it eat?

They may seem like basic questions but often the best and most concise answers to a specific problem can come from these details. :)

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first off, thanks a ton for your collective input. i feel much better about the whole situation now. admittedly, there were times when i thought i couldnt handle snake ownership and i contemplated giving her to a friend (I "inherited" her from a colleague who inherited her from a friend and so on), but then i thought about how much ive invested in her (existentially as well as financially), and now i feel like i want and need to stick it out.

second, a little background on her...
her name is Tequila, shes a female (obvi), and shes about 3 1/2 feet long. Her guesstimated age is somewhere between 9 and 11 years old. I've had her for about 10 months now, though I havent picked her up in about 2

her CURRENT habitat (the bad one) is a mesh cage about 3 feet high 4 feet long and about a foot wide. there is no bedding at present. she has a hide thats pretty much a wooden soap box with the bottom and one side missing.
I've been able to do some minor housekeeping (picking up her sheds, poo, etc) but i havent been able to give her cage a thorough cleaning in about 2 months.
she used to have a 75W clamp lamp that id turn on and off in 11-12 hour cycles, but the bulb burnt out about 3 months ago and i havent had a chance or the moolah to get a new one.

her living conditions now aren't optimal, like ive said, but she has a brand new unused 40 gallon tank waiting for her. it doesnt have a light source yet, but thats on my definite list of pickups once i get a job.
I bought a ZooMed brand heat pad and mounted it dead center on the underside (btw, what is the best place to mount a pad?). I also have coconut fiber bedding that i bought in bricks.

when i did handle her, i would usually just ease one hand under about the last 1/3 of her body and gently lift. then once she started to move a little, id get the other hand under the first 1/3. she would often rest around my neck or on my belly. if i wore a hoodie she would chill in the front pouch or on the side by my hip. we used to get along real well.

she eats live medium sized rats about once every 4-5 weeks. I tried feeding her every three weeks but she would literally sit nose to nose with the rat and not even react, so now, with a 4-5 week regimen, she strikes within a matter of seconds.

so thats the 411 on me and Tequila. you guys are the experienced folk.
thanks again for all the input.
also, is there a definite time of day thats best for handling?

thanks again :)
-Big

Okay Big, I'm going to be honest and blunt, there's a lot here that's wrong in how you are keeping her but I think you already realize that and are truly looking for help so let's work from that viewpoint.

Her housing is all wrong as you know. That mesh won't work to keep in the needed heat and humidity. If you haven't already had a read through please do check out our BP caresheet. There's a link to it on the left side of the screen. The 40 while likely better while also present you with some issues. I'm assuming it's a normal tank, probably what they call a 40 breeder with a big mesh top. Mesh tops let out heat and humidity. Often the use of auxillary overhead lighting (not a regular bulb, the special purple heat bulbs) help with the heat issues but can suck out even more humidity. My experience isn't with BP's and these sorts of tanks so hopefully another member can help you set up her new home correctly and with an eye to a tight budget.

Now as to bedding aka substrate. WalMart sells bags of fine shred aspen for about $4.00. They are highly compressed and will go quite a long way with only one snake. Aspen is a cost effective and snake safe bedding for her. While you are at WalMart look for an Acu-Rite, this will cost you around $10 plus the cost of one AAA battery. This handy device will give you readings for two temps and overall humidity. In order to properly keep a snake like a BP, you must know these things so this is a real necessity item.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...g/Acu-Rite.jpg

Generally you will find this in the indoor/outdoor thermometer/weather station aisles in most WalMarts - Lowe's and Home Depot sell a similar item under a different brand name. All work just as well as long as they do an IN and an OUT temp plus humidity.

Ball pythons require two hides. Hides should be barely bigger than the snake is while coiled up, dark, easily cleaned. They need not be pricey and pretty....the snake could care less. Here's a couple of examples of hides...none cost me anything more than a buck and a minute to cut in an entrance way. For a bigger snake like this you can buy a small kitty litter pan for probably $2.00

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...chlingHide.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...nnaghinTub.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...MoragFeb07.jpg

A sturdy water dish that the snake can't easily tip over and that you can keep clean. Standing water in warm enclosures can get nasty. We use ceramic white ramekins that are very cost effective but really anything will do as long as it fits the need.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ewaterdish.jpg

So there we have a few improvements for less than $20.00 but they will help her live better and for you to more easily keep her healthy and happy.

As far as the eating. Ball pythons are opportunistic, ambush predators and are nocturnal by nature. In captivity it's been proven they do best when fed a girth or smaller than girth size prey item once every 7 days throughout their life (outside of breeding season). I would pull her back down in prey size, likely to a nice small rat and offer it once per week after dark. Hopefully this will stablize her feeding schedule for you. Here's some information on prey sizes for you to review.

http://www.frozenfeeder.com/sizing.html

http://www.rodentpro.com/products.asp (frozen feeders but an excellent site for information about sizes of rats/mice and how that changes as they mature)

As far as handling, it's no wonder this snake is reacting poorly. She's been through numerous owners, likely some very unstable care, definitely a lot of changes in her years and no real information on whether she's been handled correctly. I'd expect she'd be very reactive as on top of all this, she's being housed improperly right now. Basically Big, work on getting this poor snake in a proper setup...it really need not cost you much at all. After that, and some time for her to settle in you can slowly work on handling her so she doesn't react so negatively to it. For now, because you must handle her to properly clean out her enclosure....leaving it for months isn't acceptable...I would suggest a set of gloves and one of these.....

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...etransport.jpg

Found at any dollar or department store, just add in ventilation holes. You can put her in this to keep her safe while you do her cage maintenance (also handy for vet visits). When done simply very gently "pour" her back into her enclosure and she's got no really easy way to nail you.

Hope this helps. :)