Our new BP (9mths?) seems stressed/frightened - help a newbie out

On Saturday we purchased a 7-9 month old male Pastel BP from a reptile expo. At the expo he was very docile, calm and easily handled. When we got him home he was the same. After being his new enclosure he is now fairly aggressive and striking at the glass. The enclosure is covered on 3 sides, he has 2 hides and everything else seems fine with it. I covered the front with a towel so he had complete privacy and left him alone completely. Today I took the towel away and almost immediately he struck again. We have not reached into the cage at all.

I've had some people tell me we should leave him alone and others tell me we should be handling him. I dont want to start out on the wrong foot with this guy. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.:confused:

I'd guess stressed, but what're your temp and humidity numbers? He should have at least 5-7 days to relax before you even look at them. It's only been three days, let him settle a little longer. Some people don't handle for at least a few feedings, but I would definitely leave him alone for a while longer.

The warm side is about 80-85 with a basking temp of 90. The cool side is 75. Humidity has been hovering around 40-50%. I'm hoping to feed him outside of his enclosure because I have kids that will be handling him and dont want accidental strikes associated with food entering the tank. I'll cover the cage back up for a while and check back in about a week.

Husbandry's good, looks like. Humidity could be a teeny bit higher. Cage aggression is a myth. Most snakes will stop feeding if they're in a different enclosure to eat. And think of it this way, won't they start to associate you going in there to pick them up with feeding time?

Besides, a bite from a baby BP feels like absolutely nothing and unless you go in there with your hand smelling like prey the likelihood of getting bit is low enough it's laughable. Baby BPs are mostly bluffing when they 'S' up/hiss/strike. Sometimes they'll strike and make contact but never open their mouth to bite.

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Originally Posted by cpodraza

The warm side is about 80-85 with a basking temp of 90. The cool side is 75. Humidity has been hovering around 40-50%. I'm hoping to feed him outside of his enclosure because I have kids that will be handling him and dont want accidental strikes associated with food entering the tank. I'll cover the cage back up for a while and check back in about a week.

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Actually, your temps are slightly off. Basking temp of 90 is perfect, but how is that basking spot created? By a light or UTH?? This makes a difference. And how is it controlled? Do you have a thermostat??

Your ambient temps should NEVER be below 76 and even that is really too low. 78-80 is what you want. Ambient = air temp measured on the cool side of the enclosure. Pick up an Accurite indoor/outdoor thermometer from Walmart (about $12) to accurately measure your temps. The little round dials are terribly misleading. And humidity should be about 60-70%. You might need to mist periodically to get that up a bit. But let's deal with the temps first.

Your BP could well be stressing due to the inability to properly thermoregulate. So let's get this fixed and see what happens. :gj:

Once you do that, leave him completely alone for at least a week to settle down. Then offer him his first meal. If he eats, wait 48hrs for him to digest, then you can begin handling him gently. ;)

Feeding in his enclosure will NOT make him aggressive or cause him to bite by thinking hands in the enclosure means food. That really is a myth. ALL of my snakes are fed in their enclosures and I can scoop up any one of them anytime without fear of being bitten. They learn when to expect food and when not to. For now at least, feed him in his enclosure until he settles down. If you are still unsure, we can discuss it more later. ;)

Oh! And welcome to the forums!! :D

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Originally Posted by cpodraza

On Saturday we purchased a 7-9 month old male Pastel BP from a reptile expo. At the expo he was very docile, calm and easily handled. When we got him home he was the same. After being his new enclosure he is now fairly aggressive and striking at the glass. The enclosure is covered on 3 sides, he has 2 hides and everything else seems fine with it. I covered the front with a towel so he had complete privacy and left him alone completely. Today I took the towel away and almost immediately he struck again. We have not reached into the cage at all.

I've had some people tell me we should leave him alone and others tell me we should be handling him. I dont want to start out on the wrong foot with this guy. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.:confused:

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lol i got a sable on sunday at a expo and shes doing the same thing. i know the husbandry is fine shes in a rack thats been running for months. idk sometimes they just get stressed in a new environment. give it about a week and try again. mine also just shed a couple hours ago so maybe it wants to eat. i'll find out tomorrow

X2 got our Black Pewter Saturday I know my husbandry is great and he is a little stressed just like yours. Your temps are a little off and humidity could be slightly higher. Check out the Caresheet I would also move him to the quietest spot in the house and leave him alone except for cleaning. I would also keep handeling to the minimum until he has eaten at least twice. Grats on the Picup which Expo were you at :)

Having vended at many shows and bought countless snakes from them as well, let me let you in a little show secret, low temps. Reptile shows are kept a comfetable temp for the human guests, not the reptile products. Normal room temp in those places is around 72-76. The snakes are sluggish at these temps. Don't worry, the couple of days that they are kept at these lower temps don't harm the snake over the long term, they just have the ability to temperarily calm all but the most aggressive of beasts. You get the snake home, get its temp up to the point where it gets its metabolism moving again and the snakes true colors may come out. Also hatchling balls are more instinctively more aggressive. Rememver that everything in their natural environment is a threat. Just keep trying with it and they normally calm down over time.

Also, your temps are great. Your snake as a wide range of temps to choose from.

Honestly it doesn't sound like the OP is doing anything that would cause the aggression. Yeah, the temps and humidity are a *tiny* bit off, but not enough to cause issues with the snake regulating its body temperature.

I would chalk it up to stress just from being in a new environment. Even if husbandry remained exactly the same the snake would probably calm down within a week.

I would give him space for a few more days, then try offering a meal.

I've upped the humidity (I'm just using a damp towel over the cool side of the enclosure) to 60%. The cooler side of the tank now sits at about 80. On the warm side, I have 2 digital thermometers. One near the top where the bulk of the heat from the light comes from and it reads 95 at the moment. The other one is near the bottom and it is about 85. There is a UTH on the warm side. At night I use a red light to maintain the warmer temps but let them drop slightly. He is kept in my daughters room - its one of the quietest places in the house.

Although he was under a heat light at the expo, I can see how the temperatures would vary and that makes sense about him being sluggish. It was a little chilly Saturday. To answer which expo - it was in St Charles, IL at the Kane County Fairgrounds. I forget the exact name - Midwest Bird/Reptile show or something to that effect.

Thanks for your help! This our first move to BPs after having had corn snakes so I appreciate the input greatly!

Before I start another thread, I'll bump this up and ask here and see what I get. So Sheldon has been home now for 8 days. We've kept the cage private and not bothered him much at all. Theres movement around the cage at night when I turn the other light on and when I put fresh water in there, but not much else. The towel is still covering the front. Last night I offered him food...a rat pup (f/t) which he ate like a champ. Today I had to remove some feces and fix the water bowl and he struck at me several times. I did it as fast as I could so as not to bother him.

So do we still keep him on complete privacy? No handling? I know since he just ate he should be left alone for a day or 2, but this just seems so frustrating. I'm nor worried that I should have got a younger snake rather than one this old already.

Thanks for the input.

I would keep him in privacy until he gets 3 consecutive meals in him.

Why are you worried about his age?

Not that its the same, but we had our corns since they were older hatchlings and have handled them all the time. I wondered if this guy wasnt handled at all if that would make him less likely to be docile. One of the reasons I agreed to a BP was because from everything I've read, they make excellent pets. I'm not as familiar with their nature as I am with corn snakes, so I'm a bit apprehensive with this guy. My daughter has wanted a much younger snake and I convinced her to get an older one that was already eating well.

I dont have any other place to put his enclosure other than where its at and although its quite and gets little foot traffic - my daughter is in there so theres movement, sounds, etc. As I mentioned - we just dont want to do the wrong thing.

If he ate for you, then things are going well. Trust me when I say that if anything is wrong a BP is very likely to show no interest in eating at all.

BP's tend to be nervous when they are brought into a new place.... once he eats 3 meals, start handling him every other day for 10 minutes at a time. even if he is aggressive now he should tame down 7-9 months old really isn't old at all as far as BP's go. Be confident when working with him, hesitating only gives them more time to bite you. Give him a month or so, I bet he will settle down and you will learn to love him.

Sounds ok by me... I was actually quite pleased that he ate so well. I wondered if his stress level would keep him from taking it, but he really took it quickly.

Hes back in "isolation" now with the towel covering the enclosure. I peek in only to check the temps/humidity and fill the water. And it was today I noticed the rather large poop... so at least everything seems ok health-wise.

Is feeding on a weekly schedule ok for this age? The striking wouldnt have anything to do with hunger would it?

He will be just fine...agree that if he is eating, he likes his enviornment. Don't over think it. Less is more. Our first BP was handled every day for 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night. all day we left him alone. Hides are very important! get one that is just big enough for him to fit in. not too big. They like to feel the sides touching them. our BP is very friendly now. we can touch his head, look in his mouth, basically anything we want and he is fine with it. 14 BP's later, he is still the friendliest. They all have their own personalities too. some like to be handled and some don't.

We have a Pastel girl that insists on coming out every night by pushing on the front of her tub. we take her out and she just chills on our lap for hours. others are like "screw you I am stayin' in the tub!"

That is why you have to collect them all! :D

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Originally Posted by cpodraza

Sounds ok by me... I was actually quite pleased that he ate so well. I wondered if his stress level would keep him from taking it, but he really took it quickly.

Hes back in "isolation" now with the towel covering the enclosure. I peek in only to check the temps/humidity and fill the water. And it was today I noticed the rather large poop... so at least everything seems ok health-wise.

Is feeding on a weekly schedule ok for this age? The striking wouldnt have anything to do with hunger would it?

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I feed mine every 4 days until they get up to 500-600 grams. then I move them to an 8 day feeding schedule. 7 days is fine if that is what you want to do, no problem at all.

"Is feeding on a weekly schedule ok for this age? The striking wouldnt have anything to do with hunger would it?

Yes and No...Yes once a week is good. it's best for consistency to pick a day and time. We pick Saturday night. If they refuse, don't offer again until next Saturday night. Keep records of feeds and refuses on a note card. sheds and poops and weight too if you want. whether you mark it on a calendar or a note card you should keep track of meals for your sake and for the snake.

No, the striking isn't hunger. it's defense/fear. once they get on a consistent schedule, that should calm down. consistency is key...temps, humidity, bedding, feeding etc... Consistency=Happy BP's

Just to ease your mind a little, I've bought hatchlings, yearlings, adults and with proper care, they all settle down with time. That's the great thing about BP's and even if they're a bit nippy and defensive, their bites are comparable to a mosquito bite so don't worry about getting tagged a few times. Generally, younger balls are defensive and when they haven't been handled much or they've recently been re-homed, they're even more defensive. You're a threat right now and anyone or anything that goes near your snakes cage is a threat. I have a yearling pied who is finally starting to settle to the point that he doesn't strike at the tub when I walk by and I also have a little YB who strikes endlessly the second I open the tub to clean. I've had balls that literally came out of the egg tame as could be. They're all different and they all calm down in their own time but the best way to judge how well your BP is doing is by their feeding habits. If your ball is feeding then you have nothing to worry about. That's a great sign. The first thing to suffer when a BP is severely stressed or in an inadequate habitat is their appetite. So I think you made a good decision - your snake seems to be adjusting well.

My rule of thumb is 3 consecutive feedings before I start to handle. Everyone's different and there's no golden rule but that works for me.

Good luck.

what size enclosure is he in?

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Originally Posted by babyknees

what size enclosure is he in?

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For now hes in a 20 long. I'm happy with the temps and humidity now and they seem stable. He moves easily from hide to hide throughout the day to regulate so all seems well there.

Sheldon has now been with us for just over a month. He has had 4 meals and taken them all with no issue. My concern is that he is still very aggressive. We have left him alone aside from the feeding and removal of waste. Despite my assurances to my daughter that he will be fine - shes frightened of him. She actually wants to get rid of him.

What else can we do to get him to calm down?

At this point you need to hold him, I would try holding him for 10 minutes every other day. It will take time. But almost every BP that is aggressive as a youngster will calm down with time.

How exactly is he being aggressive? Is he striking at you? Is it possible that you are mistaking defensive behavior for aggression? How is he once you have him out of the cage? Many snakes will be defensive when in their cage but once you get them out they are fine.

I suppose it could be defensive. There just is no way to really get him out of his enclosure without him striking. Despite the calls of "BP bite wont hurt that much" I cant make my brain know that. I only have one good hand at the moment so its difficult.

I got him out to take those pics, but it wasnt easy. And he stayed in that striking position the entire time. At this point, seeing as how he was always meant to be a pet for the family, I may just have to move on. If there is anyone in the Chicago area that is interested in him, please send me a message. Hes a beautiful python so I'm sure someone with more experience could do him justice. We'll stick to the corns.:(