Confusing BP aggression?

Okay, two days ago i purchased a Adult Male Yellow Belly breeder. Hes a big boy. Future breeder to my Normal Female. I had him in a 20 gallon tank, only one i had available and he seemed fine. Last night i moved him into a 40 gallon breeder tank, and he has become quite aggressive? Striking at movement and always in a defensive strike position. I also fed him a medium rat yesterday. I placed a nice sized box with a small whole in it for a good privacy hide. I have a UTH and the temps/humidity is good. I checked on him this morning and he was in the box, i opened the top slowly and he was ready to strike some more... So im confused now. :confused:

Please ask any questions.
If this is in the wrong section, i apologize. First time on this site.
( i know 20 gallon tank is too small, it was a holding tank )

My guess would be that he's stressed from all the changes in his environment (first moving to your care in general, and secondly the tank switch) and thus defensive.

Is he in a high traffic area?

Leave him alone for a few days and see if he gets any better.

I purchased him from a pet store here locally and he along with another breeder male came from a breeder they use to get there ball pythons. I believe they had him for a few days and then he came home with me. I taped up the two sides of tank with towels to indicate darkness maybe it will help with his stress maybe. No traffic where they are.

Just leave him be for about a week.

BTW- Some new information was just reported to me from the shop i got him from. The breeder who had him last only fed him 6 adult mice a month?! I was so stumped on why you'd do that. He was born in 2008. Apparently he was just a producer, not being held alot too. Sucks, hes a good looking snake hopefully he'll turn around...

Is the UTH regulated?

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Is the UTH regulated?

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That was my next post :P

No it isnt.

Then it needs to be unplugged, it is probably the cause of your issues. Unregulated they can (and will) get hot enough to kill a BP.

You must have a thermostat.

Here are 2 good ones, don't bother with the junk sold in pet stores.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NZZG3S

http://spyderrobotics.com/

Do you at least have a probed thermometer?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Then it needs to be unplugged, it is probably the cause of your issues. Unregulated they can (and will) get hot enough to kill a BP.

You must have a thermostat.

Here are 2 good ones, don't bother with the junk sold in pet stores.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NZZG3S

http://spyderrobotics.com/

Do you at least have a probed thermometer?

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x2! :gj:

What a lot of folks don't realize is that reptiles are not like higher animals and they won't always move away from an excessive heat source and will literally cook themselves alive. Unregulated heat mats can easily get to 130+ degrees Fahrenheit, which is more that hot enough to kill a ball python in short order.

Oh, okay ill look into them. The one from amazon can you plug more than one into it/them?

Probably not. If you want to plug more than one UTH into a single thermostat you're going to want to get a Herpstat 2 or multiple thermostats.

You can plug more than one into them, they can handle it power wise... But the cages and heat sources need to be identical in EVERY way, and even still it can be risky as there is only one temperature probe.

Get your husbandry corrected and leave the snake alone for a week. Get him on a regular weekly feeding schedule. I bet you a dollar to a doughnut that he'll be a puppy dog in a month.

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Originally Posted by Slim

Get your husbandry corrected and leave the snake alone for a week. Get him on a regular weekly feeding schedule. I bet you a dollar to a doughnut that he'll be a puppy dog in a month.

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:O
:rofl:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slim

Get your husbandry corrected and leave the snake alone for a week. Get him on a regular weekly feeding schedule. I bet you a dollar to a doughnut that he'll be a puppy dog in a month.

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Puppy dog? Aren't those things illegal? :P This is a family-friendly site, Slim, control yourself! :D

Yeah, I should have caught that. In the interest of keeping it family friendly, I'm going to edit those posts and issue myself a warning ;)

Not to hijack but the amazon thermostat would be a perfect candidate for say a reptile rack with a heat cord right? I've been looking for one for my rack from animal plastics

I'd go with something more reliable for a rack system like a Herpstat or Helix. You could probably run a rack off a cheap 'stat like a hydrofarm, but why would you risk it?

i have regulated the heat mat temp and he is still very aggressive.

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Originally Posted by Deland352

i have regulated the heat mat temp and he is still very aggressive.

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For starters, it's only been two days since you first posted, so he hasn't had time to adjust to his new temps and settle in. Second, how big is he (in grams)? Why do you say the 20gal is too big? He sounds like he was more comfortable in the smaller enclosure. Also, what do you mean by "good sized" in reference to his hide? Does he have more than one? Although the UTH definitely needed to be regulated, I think your main issue is that he feels insecure. You mentioned your self that he was striking defensively. Can you post pics of him in his enclosure so we can see how you have it set up?

Aclamate (terrible speller sorry if it is wrong) him! Since he's being defensive I would suggest a week and a half if not two weeks since he just ate. Also, since he isn't used to being handled and he's used to being studded out it may take him a while to being a family pet. Just take your time with him he has gone through A LOT the past few weeks from what you've told us. Don't think of this as bringing a pet home, think of this as a rehabilitation and resituation of his mindset. He isn't broken, I'm not saying that at all, it's just a new chapter in his life and he needs some down time. Hope all goes well and good luck!!!

My bumblebee does just fine in his 20 gallon tank.

These things don't happen over night. As everyone has said, leave him alone for a week at minimum.