My snake is a JERK!

I have moved all of my BP's to tubs about a month ago (horray racks!), and everything has been going great. Until a few days ago....

My male cinny has suddenly decided that he must strike at ANYTHING that comes in front of his tank. He struck at me HARD 4 or 5 times a few days ago while I was tending to the snake in the tub above him. I was pretty convinced if he tried hard enough, he'd come right through the plastic!!! (ok, not really)

Its weird, because he's never shown any kind of behavior like this before. Now, every time anyone walks past his tub, he strikes. Hard. He's always S'ed up and ready to strike.

Could this be because its the mating season? Has he just turned into a huge butthead? I've been keeping a cover over him since, because as jerky as he is, I don't want him to hurt himself. I am the kind of person that handles each and every snake, and I'd hate to think he's turned into one of those snakes that just sits in his tub and is never handled. :snake:

That sucks, maybe he can smell other males and whats to roguh them up, or he can smell a girl and just cant get at her fast enough. Or maybe just stress from moving to a new "house" for him.

Reach in and hold him. Cage aggression in snakes is common and shouldn't be over looked cause its just a ball python.

Either he hates his cage or its a new developmental behavior

I did try and reach in. He struck at me several times. Eventually we got him out with a hook (which he struck at too), and you could tell he was really stressed being out.

I may put him in a different room. The other males I have are 2 shelves up and 3 shelves down, so I dunno if he smells them, or he just wants to be a crazy striking snake.

Its a total 180 from when I first got him. He was pretty relaxed. Though I suspect the people I got him from didn't give him the best of care (he has a large scar - maybe 6 or 7 inches along his back, which was was told was from mites). We'll see how it goes.

let him bite u once than he wont do it again hahahaha jk jk maybe hes just stressed out about his home i dont wont u to get bite because it those sucks but if u really go an handle all your snakes alot than then i would honestly go for it an try slowly to touch him an pick him but thats just me oh an if u get tagged remember to take a pic for the forum lol good luck

A scar like that wouldn't of come from mites... maybe a mouse or rat, or a heat source.

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Originally Posted by bsash

A scar like that wouldn't of come from mites... maybe a mouse or rat, or a heat source.

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I agree. I was pretty angry with the whole transaction (gotta love Craigslist!), but the price was right, and the lady was just looking to get rid of her animals. I can't help it, I am a sucker for snakes that need a good home! :(

Its a long thin line, and to be honest, it looks like he might have gotten it trying to escape (its on the top of his back). She 'claims' it looks better every time he sheds, but who knows really. Both my husband and I knew she was full of poo when she said it was from mites (had I been paying more then 20 dollars, I would have been really mad she didn't disclose this before showing me the animal).

I've moved him into a different room and I hope that this calms him down. At least he's eating like a champ!

Keep us posted! I hope the move helps him relax, and I applaud you for wanting to give our needy reptile friends a good home. :snake:

have you tried to put a blanket or towel over the cage so he cant see anything?

He's sexually deprived......:P

See, my sexually-deprived animals are all pretty sweet. Even the biters turn sweet when the hormones kick in, I guess because defensive striking at everything that moves doesn't really impress the girls.

Most cage aggression is associating the handler with food. Is he eating? If he's eating, it's a feeding response. If he's not, then I guess we're back to some kind of stress.

You know? I think this is one of those rare cases where you might want to consider moving a snake back to a glass tank. I'd definitely consider feeding him in a cardboard box instead of the tub/tank for a while.

Oh, and: wear gardening gloves when handling him. It's still no fun being struck at, but the gloves take away the actual damage. I don't know about you, but I start to get angry when I get bitten hard several times in a row. And that's really no good for anybody.

Yeah I would just throw on a set of gloves/long sleeves and just hold him till his tantrum is over. Its pretty freaky dealing with an aggressive snake but just keep telling yourself no matter what it wont kill you.

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Originally Posted by Monster Dodge

Yeah I would just throw on a set of gloves/long sleeves and just hold him till his tantrum is over. Its pretty freaky dealing with an aggressive snake but just keep telling yourself no matter what it wont kill you.

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That and you can try different placement in the rack either at the top or bottom. My burm HATED being at the bottom of the BP rack but once he got moved to the top he was fine. Such a prima donna