bitten but don't know why

My ball python bit me but it wasn't a normal bite. I slowly went into his tub and removed his hide. He sorta puffed up a bit and started to breathe quicker than normal. I put my hand towards the mid part of his body away from his head and started petting him, when I did that he tensed his body and seemed to twitch away from my touch. I put my hand under him and brought him up in one motion and supported his body with both my hands. I could feel him breathing more quickly though he wasn't balled up. He started to explore and flicker his tongue after a little while. He was going in the direction of a watch and wristband I have. Then he slowly opened his mouth and started to bite my wristwatch. He let go after a little bit and flickered his tongue below my thumb and bit me. He also let go after a few seconds:confusd:. I placed him back in his cage and as I was moving his hides back in place he moved away from me more quickly. I'm asking this question because he did not strike at me, just opened his mouth and chomped on my wrist watch and thumb. I don't think he can be hungry because he is feeding on appropriately sized prey every 5 days [he was hatched on 8/15 and feeding on f/t small mice]. The forceps I used to feed him 3 days ago were in the room and away from his tub so I don't know if the smell is still in the room and mistook me for prey. I also wanted to know if him jerking away/breathing quicker from me softly petting him means I shouldn't approach him (I'm new to ball body language). I got him last Thursday and this is the first real handling session I have had with him (because I had to remove him completely out of his tub to clean a few hrs after he arrived. This whole session lasted a bit less than 5 min. Sorry for the long post but I want to know how to properly handle him, figure out if hes puffing up/breathing quicker means I should not handle him, and what to do to build trust with him. Thank you

Did you touch any rodents without washing the scent off before you touched him??


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The heavy breathing is him a bit stressed out. Typically I give them until they have at least three or four meals to settle in, then after that start gradually handling. A few minutes at a time, building up dependant on what he can handle. Is it possible you smelled like rodent at all?

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I don't think so, at least not on my hands. He has eaten twice for me, the 28 will be the 3rd time. The hemostat I used to feed was in the room [the only thing that comes in contact to the f/t rodent other than the bag I thaw it in]. He usually has his head sticking out of his hide and when I go to change his water/check to see if he peed or pooped [usually 1 or 2 times a day] he tucks his head in. Does that combined with the heavy breathing mean that I'm stressing him out/scaring him? Is there something I can do, other than wait to make him more comfortable? How should I go about grabbing and lifting him out of his cage. I try to slide my hand underneath him but I read that that might make him feel unstable and make him nervous, but I also heard that if you barge in there grabbing him from the top he might be defensive since he thinks I will try to eat him

I usually just barge in and scoop them up lol. I'll tap them once and if they look like they want to bite I tap them on the nose and they usually back off and ball up. I don't really handle my little ones all that often though since they think I'm a big scary monster.

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Yeah same here, sometimes I feel like if I let them get away with acting like that they think it will work every time leading to biting. So just pick em right up!!!!


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You'll figure out their body language soon enough, but I am not sure what he was thinking. It may be similar to the way that human babies have a response to things touching their mouths of trying to suckle on it. If we hadn't evolved that instinct we wouldn't automatically drink life giving milk from our mothers' breasts and it could be bad for the species. Likewise, while I have never seen this behavior myself, maybe he is just working on figuring out what scents are food and what scents are not. If so, he now knows that humans and wristwatches do NOT make a good meal. :P

Sounds like feeding response...and sounds like it fortunately decided that your watch and thumb was just not a suitable meal.

It happens. I wouldn't worry too much about it. The snake sounds stressed, but being a hatchling (I'm assuming) and still adjusting to a new place, it's not unusual. They'll lose the nervousness once they get some size to 'em

Sounds like a snake that was stressed, but also ready to eat and expecting a meal when a person came by.

There are plenty of snakes that are hungry even if they are being fed the "right amount" of food. Many will only act "full" if overfed.. you know, just like people and almost every other animal on the planet :salute:

That said, be willing to take another look at what you consider "appropriate". Some people do underfeed, and ball pythons are more than capable of taking large meals. From my sources of feeders, small mice are pretty darn small, but at two months old your snake could be a variety of sizes. I like my feeders to leave a visible lump in young ball pythons, if it's not then I know I can definitely feed something larger.

I think checking on him that frequently could be stressing him too. He needs time to settle in. Can you see his water, without going in and bothering him? If so, I would stop getting in there twice a day. Just go by and peek if you need to, without disrupting him. If you give him fresh water, it should ne fine for a couple days. Little hatchlings can get stressed really easy. Also, make sure he has snug fitting hides, that will help him feel secure.

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i gently tap mine on the nose everytime i open his enclosure. he did strike at me 2 days ago. but my own fault. i tried feeding him f/t.

he first tried to kill the already dead rodents tail. then his own. then struck at me. i got the rodent out. put it back in the bag and let it sit a few mintues in a cup of warm water then he took it.

but never had him stressed to be picked up or touched?