Someone help me!

The last two days my ball python has been acting weird. I handle my snake just about everyday, and I noticed when my hand came into the tank, he sent into kill mode. And he's never done this until recently, what's going on?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/31/jyju4a4u.jpg
He just sits like this like he's ready to kill

When was the last time he ate?

Two days ago. I made a change in his mouse size, could this be contributing to him being a jerk? I originally was feeding him fuzzies, then I made the change to small mice because he seemed to eat the fuzzies in like 30 seconds.

Being a jerk. Haha, sorry.

I also read online that they get aggressive before a shed, is this true?

Don't handle him for a couple of days after feeding, he needs time to digest.

Also check your husbandry, make sure your warm and cool side temperatures are correct, humidity correct, hides aren't too big, etc.

One of mine gets very defensive and snappy when she's shedding, I just leave her alone except changing her water and cleaning up her messes until she's done.

Okay thank you. My temp on the hot side is 90-92 and the cool side is 80-84. My humidity could be better, but I just do daily mistings with a spray bottle on the decorations and cypress mulch. The weird thing is that it was so sudden and a huge attitude change in my snake

Have you changed the way you enter the cage? Does he have a proper set of hides? Have you gotten any new pets? Are his eyes milky?

No I have not, it's a screen top and I take the lid off every time I handle him. And his skin is looking a little dry, but no milky eyes yet. I just don't understand, he literally sits in the "ready to kill" position now, and if my hand enters the tank his head immediately faces the direction of my hand

I have one hide box on the cool side, one large climbing branch on the warm side for basking that he occasionally hides under, and lots of cover with artificial plants

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Originally Posted by EntertheWutang

No I have not, it's a screen top and I take the lid off every time I handle him. And his skin is looking a little dry, but no milky eyes yet. I just don't understand, he literally sits in the "ready to kill" position now, and if my hand enters the tank his head immediately faces the direction of my hand

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Sounds like hunger to me. Do you know how much he weighs?

I fed him two days ago, I made the switch to small mice from fuzzies, so I don't think he's hungry

Do you know how much he weighs? A 100 gram hatchling can eat a small mouse. He may need to be on rat pups or something bigger.

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Originally Posted by Inarikins

Do you know how much he weighs? A 100 gram hatchling can eat a small mouse. He may need to be on rat pups or something bigger.

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I actually don't know how much he weighs :( and dang I did not know that. I had him eating fuzzies every 5 days (that was what the petstore recommended and said they had been feeding him) At that time he was the most docile snake ever, then when I moved up to small mice cause of how easily he was feeding on the fuzzies, it seemed like all hell broke loose and now I'm seriously concerned, he is super moody and aggressive.

Well, number 1 would be to pick up a cheap digital scale to figure out his weight so we can guide you better on prey size.

2- get another hide for her cold side, preferably identical to the one you already have so he or she can thermo regulate and still feel secure.

3- leave him be for a bit. A hiding bp is a happy one, they may tolerate you holding them but 'liking' it is a stretch.

P.S.
A pic would be lovely *grin*

I have a feeling that you are feeding too small. Its hard to tell in the pic but it looks like he could be eating adult mice or bigger.

Try and pick up a digital scale, you want to aim for 10% - 15% of their body weight.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...psb873d309.jpg

Thank you guys, I seriously was worried. But if you guys think it's the size of the mice that is causing this, how come this hasn't happened before when I was feeding the fuzzies? Did my snake just finally decide to show that it's grumpy?

I'm going to list a picture, that is if my snake will let me..

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/31/umerura6.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/31/saru7y6u.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/31/nuqutu6a.jpg

This took a lot of guts haha

Yep, your guy there needs to be eating adult mice for sure!

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Originally Posted by Ronin

Yep, your guy there needs to be eating adult mice for sure!

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X2

he looks about the same size as my Nagini who gets a good sized adult mouse every 5-6 days. <she's a pig>

Oh wow. That's crazy, thank you guys so much! This is what I was going to feed him every 5 days But this without a doubt is too small?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/31/debamuha.jpg

Yup, too small. The packaging should say what that thing weighs my guess would be about 15 gr.

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

Yup, too small. The packaging should say what that thing weighs my guess would be about 15 gr.

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On the box it says 45, i guess my hands are large? if I feed my snake bigger I think it might explode!

Lol you must have night hands lol! You'll be suprised just how big of a meal they can eat.

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Originally Posted by EntertheWutang

On the box it says 45, i guess my hands are large? if I feed my snake bigger I think it might explode!

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Is that 45 per mouse or total weight? That can't be a 45 gr adult mouse.....

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

Is that 45 per mouse or total weight? That can't be a 45 gr adult mouse.....

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Yep, I'm betting 45 gr was the total package weight, not the weight per mouse. I would also suggest switching over to rats ASAP, cheaper to feed in the long run.

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Originally Posted by EntertheWutang

Thank you guys, I seriously was worried. But if you guys think it's the size of the mice that is causing this, how come this hasn't happened before when I was feeding the fuzzies? Did my snake just finally decide to show that it's grumpy?

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He could have reached the "tipping point" and finally decided enough was enough and he wanted something bigger. I would try to get him on rat pups or mice that weigh about ~20 grams. I'm betting that small mouse was only about 10 grams. That was my experience when I was forced to feed Petsmart F/T. I started mine out on the small mice and they were too small pretty much right away.

From my very recent experience it seems they can go awhile being underfed and at a particular feeding simply want 'more'. I just did this with my Cheddar, bumped him up to small rats and he's happier.

Oohh okay, makes sense! Thank you guys so much; I was thinking, there is no way this mouse weighs that much!

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Originally Posted by Inarikins

He could have reached the "tipping point" and finally decided enough was enough and he wanted something bigger. I would try to get him on rat pups or mice that weigh about ~20 grams. I'm betting that small mouse was only about 10 grams. That was my experience when I was forced to feed Petsmart F/T. I started mine out on the small mice and they were too small pretty much right away.

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Should I try feeding today? It's been 3 days since I last fed him? Should I give it a shot if he's that hungry?

If he has a schedule, honestly I would keep him on it, but bump him up to the right size meal.<he won't starve to death I promise but might be a bit testy until then.> I'm 'guessing', judging by the pic, he's somewhere between 160-200 gr so you can use the chart posted earlier in the thread to decide what to get him. He can easily do a large adult mouse or a small weaned rat. Should range between 25-30 grams if you use the 15% rule.

First thing though... get a digital scale. It's gonna help you a LOT as your baby grows.

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

If he has a schedule, honestly I would keep him on it, but bump him up to the right size meal.<he won't starve to death I promise but might be a bit testy until then.> I'm 'guessing', judging by the pic, he's somewhere between 160-200 gr so you can use the chart posted earlier in the thread to decide what to get him. He can easily do a large adult mouse or a small weaned rat. Should range between 25-30 grams if you use the 15% rule.

First thing though... get a digital scale. It's gonna help you a LOT as your baby grows.

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Thank you so much! You guys helped a lot!

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Originally Posted by EntertheWutang

Thank you so much! You guys helped a lot!

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I'm still learning as I go, all the things I 'suggest' are things that have been suggested to me on here... these guys <and gals> have been invaluable. I also have way too much time on my hands at work in the mornings so I'm here a lot learning. <and oogling at all the pics of pipping clutches and fresh out of the egg baby worm pics.>

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

I'm still learning as I go, all the things I 'suggest' are things that have been suggested to me on here... these guys <and gals> have been invaluable. I also have way too much time on my hands at work in the mornings so I'm here a lot learning. <and oogling at all the pics of pipping clutches and fresh out of the egg baby worm pics.>

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I went ahead and tried to feed him again (don't know if that's really bad..) but he ate the mouse instantly.

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Originally Posted by EntertheWutang

I went ahead and tried to feed him again (don't know if that's really bad..) but he ate the mouse instantly.

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LOL, no patience!!! Good deal but at some point you are going to have to get him back on a regular schedule with the right sized prey assuming what you fed him today was another of the small mice you already had.

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

LOL, no patience!!! Good deal but at some point you are going to have to get him back on a regular schedule with the right sized prey assuming what you fed him today was another of the small mice you already had.

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Haha I'm sorry! But it went down nice, now I'm going to wait six days, then take a trip to the pet store and get some adult mice!

I would guess that adding the hide on the warm side and upping his prey size would help tremendously. Keep in mind most pet stores simply maintenance feed their snakes; meaning they only feed the bare minimum. As stated, hatchling BPs can eat mouse hoppers and 100 gram+ BPs can eat 1 adult mouse every 7 days. Use the chart provided to choose the appropriate sized mouse or rat (which ever is more readily available to you). Keep prey weight to 10%-15% of your snakes body weight 1x per week until they reach 500 or so grams.

So if your snake weighs 150 grams, you should be feeding an adult mouse that weight 19-25 grams or a small rat pup (21-30 grams). This will depend on what is available to you for frozen/thawed feeders. You may or may not be able to get anything smaller than a small rat when it comes to rats. In that came by all means, feed appropriately sized mice.

This should get you and your snake off to a great start

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Originally Posted by Willie76

I would guess that adding the hide on the warm side and upping his prey size would help tremendously. Keep in mind most pet stores simply maintenance feed their snakes; meaning they only feed the bare minimum. As stated, hatchling BPs can eat mouse hoppers and 100 gram+ BPs can eat 1 adult mouse every 7 days. Use the chart provided to choose the appropriate sized mouse or rat (which ever is more readily available to you). Keep prey weight to 10%-15% of your snakes body weight 1x per week until they reach 500 or so grams.

So if your snake weighs 150 grams, you should be feeding an adult mouse that weight 19-25 grams or a small rat pup (21-30 grams). This will depend on what is available to you for frozen/thawed feeders. You may or may not be able to get anything smaller than a small rat when it comes to rats. In that came by all means, feed appropriately sized mice.

This should get you and your snake off to a great start

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Thank you very much, I'm going to invest in a scale for sure, you guys seem to know a great deal of this stuff ! :)

I got Dovah from petsmart and they were feeding him fuzzie mice too, so that's what I bought... I ended up giving him all 3 that came in the package at once and immediately made the switch to adult mice... now he's on large adult mice and soon to be switched to rats.

Also, if you're buying your mice from petsmart or petco, it might be a good idea to go looking around for a breeder, or a mom and pop pet store, their prices will definitely be cheaper! Once you get to small rats it becomes like $10 a rat at big chain stores! I can buy xl rats for $4 at my local pet store.

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Originally Posted by Kat_Dog

I got Dovah from petsmart and they were feeding him fuzzie mice too, so that's what I bought... I ended up giving him all 3 that came in the package at once and immediately made the switch to adult mice... now he's on large adult mice and soon to be switched to rats.

Also, if you're buying your mice from petsmart or petco, it might be a good idea to go looking around for a breeder, or a mom and pop pet store, their prices will definitely be cheaper! Once you get to small rats it becomes like $10 a rat at big chain stores! I can buy xl rats for $4 at my local pet store.

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I did the same thing! They must really not know why they're talking about then at petsmart! And wow that's a good deal! Thank you! You all are so helpful!

Like someone else has mentioned, I do recommend getting them started on rats while they are young and hungry. Once they start to get some age they will in print in the mice you are feeding it, it will be a nightmare to get them to eat rats then. Trust me! :rolleye2:

Not to say mice are bad, but as the BP gets older you are gonna have to start feeding 1, 2 and maybe 3 mice one after the other (adult mice don't get very big)... not very convenient for either of you and even less convenient for your wallet. :P

Try to find a Rat pup (baby rat) to feed it to.

Keep on listening to the people here, they really know what they are talking about. :)

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Originally Posted by Ronin

Lol you must have night hands lol! You'll be suprised just how big of a meal they can eat.

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Walmart, $15 for the scale. Until then, a good ballpark is a meal 1.5x the size of the thickest part of your snake.

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Originally Posted by Ronin

Lol you must have night hands lol! You'll be suprised just how big of a meal they can eat.

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Stupid auto correct lol:weirdface