Re: How do I do this ?!?!?! Help
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ClarkT
On a more serious note, (be sure to get and post pics of this), put your face in there and see if you can get bit on the nose. We'll all have a good giggle. :D :rofl: just kidding.
He'll settle down, I hope. We have one that's just ornery, no matter what we do with her. I still haven't gotten bit by her, but it's just a matter of time. I'm almost jealous of your cute little snakey biting at you. Maybe I'm a little twisted, but it's gotta look funny to have that tiny little snake biting at you. As if. And after you got bit, you think, "that's it?" haha.
Anyway. Keep waiting and let him settle in.
Hahahah no way I'm sticking my face in there lol the bit doesn't even hurt its just scares the crap out of me more than anything ....Im just kinda torn up by this because I have been into reptiles for about 9 years now and always had this thing snakes weren't for me until someone told me too hold an adult ball python and I totally loved it .... Thing is my first impression of a ball python was completely amazing I didn't feel threatened nor did the snake .... Now I get mine and its like the complete opposite so its kind of a turn off .... But I hope he will calm himself after I leave him be for another week or so .:)
Re: How do I do this ?!?!?! Help
He's probably just scared you're going to eat him. :P Young snakes in the wild are almost always going to be seen as something yummy to other animals. My girl never bit at me, but she was extremely jumpy when I brought her home. So after a week I'd take her out and just put her on my lap, and only touch her if she was about to go somewhere I didn't want her to. Now she even lets me touch her head, which she'd FLIP about before.
It's all about patience. :D
Re: How do I do this ?!?!?! Help
Quote:
Originally Posted by
xFenrir
He's probably just scared you're going to eat him. :P Young snakes in the wild are almost always going to be seen as something yummy to other animals. My girl never bit at me, but she was extremely jumpy when I brought her home. So after a week I'd take her out and just put her on my lap, and only touch her if she was about to go somewhere I didn't want her to. Now she even lets me touch her head, which she'd FLIP about before.
It's all about patience. :D
Yah im just going to try leaving him for another feeding or two then slowly introduce him to some handling ....I guess im just moving to fast for him so I will let him tell me when he feels comfortable to being handled and go from there ....So i will see what happens when I grab him in a couple of weeks
Re: How do I do this ?!?!?! Help
I dont want to keep dragging this on or anything but you know this whole thing has really kind of discouraged me from ball pythons . Im not saying im going to get rid of him or anything but to make a long story short I was never a fan of snakes until I held a ball python and was so gentle and calm and did not make me feel scared or threatened by it and I totally fell in love with them ....Reason that ticked me off is I went out of my way to get and find my certain morph that I really like and bought it ....Now its like the one I bought is a complete :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: and has (not gunna lie) brought my fear back into my head about snakes ...I am never one to give up early but I would like someone to reasure me about this ! ..Do you really think he will calm down after another feeding and a week or so of leaving him alone ? And do you think he is snapping and hissing because he is stressed/scared from the move ?
I dont want to keep bugging you guys about this and posting all the time but this is really bothering me right now .:(
Re: How do I do this ?!?!?! Help
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Foschi Exotic Serpents
I doubt he's going to calm down in just a week. If he ate right away for you and keeps biting then he has a great feeding response. What I would do is bump him up to eating every 5 days for awhile if you can. When a ball wants to eat that often, especially when young, give it what it wants. There will probably come a time when he won't eat every week so fatten him up as much as possible now.
Use long tongs to offer the rat so you don't get bit and just feed him and leave alone otherwise. Even the most aggressive feeders will eventually back down from food and will ignore you.
It will take longer than a week but you may be able to break him of the biting this way.
I have a female that was a voracious feeder when I got her. She was over a year old but still ate twice a week. She bit at me every time also. Once I got her through that stage and she no longer wanted food so often she calmed down considerably and stopped trying to bite.
You may have just been unlucky and got one of the few pissy BP's. Either give him time or try to trade him for a more laid back one.
Okay sounds good ,I don't expect him to calm down in a week or so but maybe just not be as nippy as he is right now .I had talked to the breeder that I got him from today and he told me its going to take time he was in a tub setup for 6 months of its life from a hatchling until you bought him he only had human contact for water and feeding other than that he was not handled so that new to him right now and also his enclosure is new so he is still settling in ... also saying "you lucky you have one that is eating for you rather than having one that doesn't bite and doesn't eat for you "...I really don't want to switch my ball for another one for 3 main reasons #1 I really like his color and patterns #2 All the other spider balls I saw at the breeders facility were nippy right out of there tub ... the one I got didn't do that which made me feel comfortable #3 I don't want to go threw this with another ball .... Also I never thought of that it biting was a feeding response even the breeder told me that but I never thought that switching his meals from 7 days to 5 days will make a difference but hey its a try ....Do you think he will get messed up from being fed every 7 days to being fed every 5 days ? Since he was fed on a 7 day schedule since a baby. What do you suggest to do so I don't keep on getting bit ? Should I fed every 5 days now and leave him alone with no handling ? Or should I fed every 5 days but still try handling lets say in a week ? Or should I stay on the 7 day schedule for feeding ?.........I also heard a snake that is young like mine at 6 months are all nippy once the reach an older age they will calm down more even if it hasn't been handled basically saying your snake will be tame if its handled or not once it starts getting older ? I don't know if this is true or not but i thought I would share .... defiantly want to hear more about changing his feeding from 7 to 5 days !!
hope i explained this well and would love to hear more and some more advice
thanks for all the replies so far:)
Re: How do I do this ?!?!?! Help
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Foschi Exotic Serpents
Feeding him every 5 days is not going to harm him or mess anything up. Most breeders do this anyway to get good weight on newer babies. The best way to quickly curb the biting is to be sure he is not hungry.
It's true what the breeder told you. You have greatly changed his environment. He will calm down. You can still handle him but I'd still give him at least a week or 2 to settle in before handling him. Then you can get a few meals in him also.
You really can't over feed a young ball like you can with other snakes. Eventually he will stop eating. Breeding season, or when he hits a certain size. Bumping up the feeding is just a good way to curb biting while ensuring he is thick & healthy.
Okay thats awesome Im going to defiantly bump his feeding up to 5 days and let him settle for at least 2 weeks or more and see what happens from there hopefully all of that will make him somewhat more settled down and calm while handling .It does make sense to me what your saying because #1 he ate for me after a day being in his new home which is a good sign #2 he was always fed live at the breeders and he excepted his first F/T rat from me ...So I'm pretty sure he is just a hungry little bugger I'm not going to give up but I'm just going to give him some time and feed every 5 days .... Thanks for your help I will keep you posted .
Thanks you Foschi Exotic Serpents !!
Re: How do I do this ?!?!?! Help
Just to add to all the great info already:
Once your about to enter your snakes enclosure you notcie he is hissing and in strike mode correct? One of the ways you can take him out of strike mode that I found helpful is have a spray bottle on hand. Spray it above the snake a couple times and then let it rain down on him if you will. This will completely change his mind about striking because what he/she thought was about to happen just took a completely different turn and has since put you back in control:gj:
