Help!!!!

Ok I know I've made a few mistakes with my ball python but I have fixed those and everything is perfect (his enclosure, diet, etc.) I have had a cat for 15 years and my snake since January and I think I have spent more money on him then my cat. But rather than calming down he is becoming more and more aggressive. It was so bad today that I had to do the big no, no and feed him in his enclosure (he was striking a lot and I was worried he would get too stressed out an not eat or spit up his food). He at first attacked the rats defensively then he constricted the first one but not all the way. He let go of it and is struggled a little before it eventually died (he has never done this before he has always been a good feeder). He then ate it and ate the second one as well. He is only 5 months old but he is about the size (if not slightly larger) of a snake that is at least one year old (he is eating large small to medium rats or two small rats). He finished shedding less then 10 days ago and today he showed me his belly which is BRIGHT PINK AGAIN which in him means he's about 4 days from shedding his skin (this is the fourth time he's shed since January). Also, his growth rate is excessive (again he is only 5 months old and eating large small to medium rats also I left him alone for about 10 days during his last shed since he seemed really stressed and aggressive and his girth grew at least half an inch and I didn't feed him at all during his last shed)I know some about snakes (I've had corn snakes before) but I don't know enough about snakes to know whether or not they suffer from some of the same ailments as mammals. My snake shows all of the symptoms of a pituitary tumor. Excessive growth (and it really is I showed him to some local breeders and they didn't believe me when I said he was only 5 months old), EXTREME AGGRESSION (I have him in an opaque bin [not clear] and he will attack anything that touches it), and today there was a horrible smell he let off after attacking the second rat and I checked his enclosure for poop and there was none so I know he wasn't crawling around in any. I'm really worried about him (it can't be good for him if he is constantly smashing his head against his enclosure to attack everything outside of it) also, I have small nephews and a cat and I am worried about their safety as well as the snakes. I don't know if snakes suffer from pituitary tumors but if they do I will take him to the vet (I want to find out if they do or not because it can cost hundreds to get the diagnosis so I want to be sure) and if that is the problem I will have him put down since he will die a slow painful death if I don't (at least that's what happens in mammals who have the same type of tumor). Does anyone have another explanation? I talked to some local breeders and they say I need to handle him more but his aggression is getting worse and worse each day.

P.S. he is hidden in a cornier behind my table so there is essentially no traffic around him (my cat doesn't even go back there anymore because the thumps of him attaching scare her). Also, he has always shown a little aggression since I got him (tracking mostly) but it was about a month ago when he started biting.

It is extremely possible and even likely the snake is simply stressed out and hungry.

Baby ball pythons eat voraciously and grow ridiculously fast. They level off in time.

Feeding in the enclosure is not a big no-no, the myth that you must move them to prevent aggression is just that, a myth. In fact moving them to feed can cause a lot of the stress symptoms and striking you describe. I have 15 balls myself, and they all eat in their enclosures, from hatchlings to breeder females.

Now, feeding him a "larger small to medium rat " should be enough food, so my guess is that he's stressed out and that is a large portion of his aggression. The horrible stink you smelled was almost certainly musk, which is what scared, stressed out snakes do, it's a defense mechanism.

I presume since you said you've spent a lot of money on him, that you have done your best to provide him with a safe, secure environment but I'm gonna ask anyway. What size is his enclosure ? How do you heat it ? Are the temps regulated by a thermostat ? What are you using for hides ? How big are the hides in relation to the snake ? How is the humidity ? You say he is in a opaque tub, is it white or colored or..? If he's in a corner, are at least two sides of the tub against the wall to afford some sense of privacy ? What about the lid to the tub ?

I'm sure someone with much more knowledge than myself can tell you about the disease in question, but these answers will provide us a starting point to help you figure out what is wrong.

Gale

Have you weighed him or the rats he's eating? Just trying to figure out just how big he is. I feed in the enclosures as well and have since day one and never see any problems. Can you upload pics of you're set up for us? It will be easier to narrow down the issue off we have all the husbandry specs.

sent from my EVO

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Originally Posted by angllady2

It is extremely possible and even likely the snake is simply stressed out and hungry.

Baby ball pythons eat voraciously and grow ridiculously fast. They level off in time.

Feeding in the enclosure is not a big no-no, the myth that you must move them to prevent aggression is just that, a myth. In fact moving them to feed can cause a lot of the stress symptoms and striking you describe. I have 15 balls myself, and they all eat in their enclosures, from hatchlings to breeder females.

Now, feeding him a "larger small to medium rat " should be enough food, so my guess is that he's stressed out and that is a large portion of his aggression. The horrible stink you smelled was almost certainly musk, which is what scared, stressed out snakes do, it's a defense mechanism.

I presume since you said you've spent a lot of money on him, that you have done your best to provide him with a safe, secure environment but I'm gonna ask anyway. What size is his enclosure ? How do you heat it ? Are the temps regulated by a thermostat ? What are you using for hides ? How big are the hides in relation to the snake ? How is the humidity ? You say he is in a opaque tub, is it white or colored or..? If he's in a corner, are at least two sides of the tub against the wall to afford some sense of privacy ? What about the lid to the tub ?

I'm sure someone with much more knowledge than myself can tell you about the disease in question, but these answers will provide us a starting point to help you figure out what is wrong.

Gale

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His enclosure is a 20gl bin with a white top and frosty sides no color (you can still see through a bit but it's difficult...half the time I can't tell the difference between the snake and his decorations), I use an under tank heater with an adjustable control panel I also have a red basking light and an acrylic heat lamp with an adjustable switch but the pad heats his enclosure nicely the lamps are pretty much back up just in case my heat goes out (which it did last weekend so they came in handy). I measure heat and humidity digitally and since I live in Colorado where it is really dry I have a large water bowl for him and I mist his cage daily to keep his humidity between 50-60%. I have cave hides (there only opening are small entrance holes although he tends to burrow into them from the back rather then use the entrances)and I put damp moss in them when he is in shed (I will be doing that on Tuesday) and he just fits in them (I think I'll have to get him bigger ones pretty soon). He's against the back wall (which covers the back of his enclosure) and I cover one side with a towel (the back wall is an outer wall and I didn't want two sides of his enclosure against an outer wall). The lid is a locking plastic lid which I have covered with tin foil (outside only so none of the foil is in his enclosure) to help keep the temp stable and the humidity up in the cold dry climate of Colorado. He has 20 relatively large air holes in his enclosure close to the ground so I know there is enough fresh airflow for him (actually I built his enclosure using blueprints I found on a herp site).

Here is a link to some photos of the habitat he is in. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id...7266&aid=72980

P.S. the tape is on the outside of the enclosure ONLY. I'v also added a couple other decorations. These photos were taken just before I moved him into this enclosure about a month ago.

Your photos are not public so we can't view them. Try uploading to a sharing site like photobucket.

It sounds like you have the set-up ok. Id still be interested on seeing a weight for him and his prey. You say he's 5 months right? How long have you had him and do you have accurate information on when he hatched?

sent from my EVO

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Originally Posted by jbean7916

Your photos are not public so we can't view them. Try uploading to a sharing site like photobucket.

It sounds like you have the set-up ok. Id still be interested on seeing a weight for him and his prey. You say he's 5 months right? How long have you had him and do you have accurate information on when he hatched?

sent from my EVO

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I got him in mid January and I was told he was hatched in November although I didn't buy him directly from his breeder so it is possible that the dates are wrong.

http://s1212.photobucket.com/albums/...Fewelch0029%2F

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Originally Posted by jbean7916

Your photos are not public so we can't view them. Try uploading to a sharing site like photobucket.

It sounds like you have the set-up ok. Id still be interested on seeing a weight for him and his prey. You say he's 5 months right? How long have you had him and do you have accurate information on when he hatched?

sent from my EVO

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I don't have the snakes weight but I can call the feed store where I get his food and get its weight tomorrow.

It sounds to my like your feeding him too large of meals and too many. A five month old snake shouldnt be eating small to medium rats, especially two of them. Try feeding him just one adult mouse per week. As for the aggression I dont know what to say, non of mine are aggressive and the ones that were got over it pretty quick, I just held them more and got them accustomed to seeing me and being held. I wouldnt worry about stressing him out, if you just leave him alone its probably going to get worse.

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Originally Posted by Domepiece

It sounds to my like your feeding him too large of meals and too many. A five month old snake shouldnt be eating small to medium rats, especially two of them. Try feeding him just one adult mouse per week. As for the aggression I dont know what to say, non of mine are aggressive and the ones that were got over it pretty quick, I just held them more and got them accustomed to seeing me and being held. I wouldnt worry about stressing him out, if you just leave him alone its probably going to get worse.

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He's way to big for mice. I feed him pray that is as big as he is round and he is pretty round.

that photobucket link you gave earlier just took me to this thread... try posting the images on here by copy pasting the "IMG" code next to the picture in photobucket.

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Originally Posted by ewelch

He's way to big for mice. I feed him pray that is as big as he is round and he is pretty round.

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Thats just a rule of thumb. If he is growing as fast as you say he is it isnt going to hurt him to feed him a mouse once a week. And hes probably that round because he is being overfed. Just a thought.

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Originally Posted by Domepiece

Thats just a rule of thumb. If he is growing as fast as you say he is it isnt going to hurt him to feed him a mouse once a week. And hes probably that round because he is being overfed. Just a thought.

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+1

Can you take a pic of him? With something to judge his size, like a dollar bill or a pop can?

I have a male that I picked up in october and he's just now eating small rats



sent from my EVO

First, where did you get this BP from? Is this a "Petsmart" special? Second, it sounds like it is just stressed out to the max!! I assume you left him alone, and didnt feed for atleast a week yes?

I never understand these threads about super aggressive BP's... maybe because I've never seen one in person that acts like this. Sure my Super Pastel girl huffs and puffs but its not really a big deal..... To me its like a puppy barking and biting your hands or something. Thats how you have to look at this. He has to get used to you. Dont be afraid of your snake! Its small, not venomous, and its not going to bite out a chunk of your flesh...lol

Your husbandry sounds good. I still think it's stress.

There are ball pythons out there who require more work than others. But something tells me this is not the case.

I'm trying to think. Has anything around his cage changed since this happened ? Different lighting, or new furniture or anything like that ? I know birds are extremely sensitive to changes in environment, perhaps he is as well.

As a kind of "shock" therapy for his stress, try filling up most of his tub with balls of crumpled paper. This is a common trick for hatchlings. Give him a few weeks in the tub with paper, and don't feed him in that time. He won't starve. If he stops the striking behavior, gradually remove a few of the paper balls at a time until you succeed in removing them all.

Take a really good look at your ball when he's a rest and see if you notice you can see skin between his scales, if you can it's a good bet he's overweight, and you should cut back on his food. If you can't, he's not overweight yet. If you are truly concerned about him eating too much you can easily cut back. He may not like it, but he certainly won't starve.

As far as handling goes, if you cannot get him to stop the striking behavior, it's still important you handle him. I don't know if you've ever been bitten, but it's really not a big deal. Especially if it's a defensive strike, since he'll hit and let go at once. If getting him out is an issue, approach him with your hand held palm out, to give him less of a target to latch onto. If he's really difficult, you may want to consider a small snake hook just for getting him out, Once you have him out, keep him in contact with you. If he's really flighty, you'll have your work cut out for you, but don't let him strike you and then get away. He'll associate biting with freedom, and that's not going to help you at all.

Don't give up on him yet, I'm confident with a little patience and work he'll come around.

Gale