All hiss no bite??

I just got a Ball Python last Saturday. As it turns out, the store owner that I bought it from is pretty much a lying sack of poop that just told me what I wanted to hear so that he could make a sale. In my own haste & desire to own a BP, I did not evaluate the situation well enough either. I used to care for a BP & this thing was SO lovable that when I would reach into his tank, he would actually come to me. He LOVED being played with.

Anyhow, my little buddy is a cranky snake. He has been stressed really badly because of the move & was going through a tough shed on top of that. So, everytime i reached near it in the tank (I am told by the store owner that it is a male but with the amount of lies he told, i will not hold true to that for certain) he would hiss at me. I decided that last nite I NEEDED to give him a good soak to get the rest of that tough shed off of him & get his skin healthy again. So, I picked him up & handled him a ton wiping the dead skin off & catching him as he tried to make a couple of mad dashes for it. There was a ton of hissing but never once did he try to strike at me. Can I safely assume that he is just bluffing to try to scare me off??

Also, I have an appointment with the vet on tuesday & I am wondering what you kind folks think is the best method for transport? I still have the sack that I was sent home with him in, but I dunno that I want to stress him out again by puttin him back in there. I was thinking of putting him inside of a box that i have & putting an extra piece of reptile rug in there, maybe even with a hide for him. What is the best idea?? Thanks ahead of time for your advice! :lol:

Shouldn't this be in the BP husbandry forum? ;)
I had the same problem with The B_tch, my original BP. All I can say is, when you pick the snake out of the cage, do so in such a way that your hands never are going directly for its face.
Your BP might actually need a few weeks of alone-time to adjust to its new surroundings. Of course you have to handle her to get her vetted. Putting them in an old pillow case will help ease the stress on them during transport. Just put the snake in, tie with a secure knot, and watch the bag for the entire car ride!
My "severely agitated" female never was one of those BPs that you can let children hold, but she did cool down somewhat after a few months. She'd let you handle her and slithered in a slow, non-terrified manner when held. One of the hugest bonuses of her bad temper was the fact that she NEVER refused food on me!

Thanks for the heads up & yes, it should have been in another forum. I got a little lost! :oops: I am gunna post it over there now! :) Again though, thanks for the heads up. I don't have to worry about little ones runnin around & playin with him for a good long time now (i hope!) so that won't be a problem. I am hopin that most of the hissin is just about the little guy being scared & confused because of the move he just made. Time will tell. Thanks again!

Chances are he's just warning you off and doesn't intend to bite, but there are certainly worse things that could happen to you than getting bitten by a ball python. It's more scary than painful according to everyone who's been bitten by one (luckily, I haven't yet). I'm glad to hear you'll be taking him to the vet. When I take mine, I generally carry them in a critter-keeper type thing with a dark hand towel for them to hide in. A box as you described should be fine, as long as it closes securely.

Oh, and congrats on your new friend! :)

Welcome to the forum! :)

I haven't transported a snake anywhere except home from the petstore, so far...and they gave me a paper bag to do it in. :( ....But from what I hear, a cloth sack (such as a pillow-case) that is very securely tied at the top is one of the least stressful ways to transport a snake. If I were doing it, I would put the sack into a secured cage as well, like the critter-keeper Marla mentioned. Your primary goal should be escape-proof! No matter what you do, the trip will be stressful for him...but sometimes we have to find the lesser of the evils. After the trip to the vet, put him back into his home and just let him chill for a couple weeks without any handling other than absolutely necessary.

I place my BP in a pillowcase turned inside out (so his scales don't get caught on the threads) with a knot tied at the top. I then sit in in a cooler so that he can feel secure with a bottom and sides. If it's cold weather I put some of the warm hands heat packets in there.

Tigergenesis, you are the best!! I was going to ask if I should put some heat packs in there like that. Yes, I live in western New York so of course it is cold weather! LOL! Thanks for the advice everyone. You have all been a big help. I will let ya know how it goes on Tuesday nite after we get home! :D

Most pet store owners will tell you anything to sell you something. They are after all, a business. Thats why my next purchase will be from a breeder!

Ditto

Hope he does fine, Eddie. Do let us know how it goes. :)

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Originally Posted by iceman25

Most pet store owners will tell you anything to sell you something. They are after all, a business. Thats why my next purchase will be from a breeder!

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Unfortunately Ice, you are 100% correct. I had it in my head though, that i was not gunna settle for anything less than 100% certainty &, even though sumthin told me this guy was a shady character, I still got suckered in by that cute little face of Jack's. :D I couldn't help myself. Ya know what though? I am really glad that I got him because I would rather keep him with me where I know he is being cared for properly, than in the hands of some dirt ball that just wants to make money & clearly has no idea how to care for his snakes. Do you guys think that I should contact a local animal cruelty agency to check the rest of the herps in his store out!? :evil:

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Do you guys think that I should contact a local animal cruelty agency to check the rest of the herps in his store out!?

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Don't know...you didn't tell us what the conditions were like at the store...just that the owner was less than honest with you. (Unless I just missed reading it somewhere? :) ) Anyhow...good luck getting the animal control people to care about the conditions of reptiles, although there are a few who do. Things have to be pretty bad at a pet store before they'll step in, though.

My first snake (BP) was from a petstore. Since I bought him, the cleanliness has gone downhill. I've talked to strangers who say the same about the store. It's a shame because one of the owners is a great guy and very knowledgable, but I think he does more of the offsite education programs with his exotics and leaves the store more in his partner (brothers) hands. I even sent an email complaining to them. They straightened up for a bit, but didn't last long. Finally, a vet tech who works for an exotic vet and is a member of our cities Ferret club went in there and was disgusted. She filed a complaint with our Mayors Action Line. They will be given a certain length of time to fix things, etc or they will be closed. The club was able to get a petstore in one of our malls closed with complaints as well. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. My 2nd and 3rd snakes (and all future purchases) have been from breeders.

Come to think of it, I think some pet stores intentionally mistreat their herps so that a weak minded sap(Raj raises hand) would feel sorry and buy them to stop the mistreatment :(

Hmmmm. Interesting marketing tactic.

But then again a store that keeps their herps in real good condition will attract a lot more customers. I think they are just dumb and cruel people who want to make a quick buck :evil:

It probably wouldn't get me too far to file a complaint because the only noticable problem is that the tanks are kept FAR too dry. I guess that probably wouldn't be enough to get people in their to take a look.