Aggressive/Defensive behavoir

Back on February 17th I purchased a 2014 male lesser from a breeder. Before I bought him a held him and he was perfectly fine. They had told me that they were feeding him mouse pinkies, so right there I figured he was going to be a very hungry boy. I let him settle into his home for about a week before I fed him. He would strike at the side of his tank whenever I would walk by so I put a towel around three of the sides and put a bigger hide box in there for him. When I went to take him out to feed him he was striking at me so i just put some gloves on so and set him in his feeding container. At first he was coming out after me and did want the live mouse but he eventually went after it and he even go my other ball pythons mouse since he refused to eat. After he ate he seemed to calm down for a few days but he is right back at being aggressive/defensive. I can put my hand in his tank to clean his water without getting striked at. He ate a rat pup on the 5th but of course when I put him in his feed tub he was coming after me and not the food. I am a little lost on what to do. I dont want him to tag me and end up hurting himself and I prefer not to get tagged but hey it happens. Any tips or thoughts on what might be up with the little man? (The first picture is the tub that he came home in. He is now in a size appropriate tank)
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Maybe it's just the lesser I have one and when he was younger he was the same why but after 6 months he has calmed down and no more problems

Wow, that is really a tough one. However, a couple of things to consider. IMO only, a bp that looks that healthy its hard to believe that he has been eating only pink mice. The striking at you when you walk by is a cage aggressive act that could come from several origins. It sounds like you are on point by covering three sides of the enclosure! That will help to remedy the exposure part of the equation. This poor guy has been underfed as you said he seemed to calm down after having a couple of mice [ that's progress]. He is going to have to be held often to start the dominance process that will be necessary to get rid of that behavior. He is still young so it can be attained. With your gloved hand, hold him in one, and cup your other hand over his head covering it. This is going to be a process over time but its a definite way to start to get him to trust you and calm down. And consider feeding him in his own enclosure to reduce the stress he already has. Maybe wait 2 weeks before you even start this and before he gets another meal. The cupping of the hand over the bps head is a technique from Justin Kobylka Reptiles on handling aggressive bps. There are several videos on you tube addressing this topic. Bob Barker Creations has a good technique also. Good luck and stay in peace not pieces. :gj:

I did try the cupping my hand over his head and it does help but when I feel him relaxing and let him move around he tries to rocket out of my hand. Once he goes into his little flight move it is hard to get him to ball back up. He also likes to attempt to strike at you after you put him back

Yeah, how old is this guy? It's going to take time. Main thing is don't add extra stress. Maybe do the practices for short periods on a daily basis. For right now I would just let him de stress in his enclosure for the next week or more. Only go in to change water and spot clean. I wouldn't handle him for about at least 10 days. Give him a extra hide and wait for now. You said he ate two mice so he should be good for the next 10 days. Relax and wait for now. Just IMO . :gj:

I am not sure of his hatch date but I know that he is a 2014.

How big is his enclosure? You said you gave him a bigger hide. They like small spaces. Give him a small hide that has only one entrance, the hide should be a little cramped. Also his enclosure may be to big. What size is it? Can you include a picture of your setup. What I'am getting at is he may feel threatened by being in such a big space. That's why you see him being so agressive. So please post the pictures of his home etc. I'm sure we can calm him down with a few adjustments.

He is in a 20 gallon reptile enclosure I got from the pet store. and three sides of his enclosure have a towel on it so its nice and dark. All the hide boxes that I did have he was too large to fit into them so the only other thing I had was a oversized box which Is getting replaced tomorrow along with the bedding.
Sorry the picture is not very good. He is laying on the other side of his box.
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Feed him in his enclosure. There is no reason to move a hungry snake - that is just asking to get tagged, and with ball pythons it can throw them out of food mode. Ask yourself why you need a separate feeding tub when people with 1) large collections, 2) larger snakes, or 3) venomous snakes feed in the enclosure.

He definitely needs some better hides. Until you find something even a loosely crumpled piece of newspaper that he can hide under will make him feel more secure.

Hello im new. But just browsing i have to say sell the tank and get rubbermaid tanks. These have taken my freaked out lesser cinny and made him so much better and care is 100% easier. Just a thought.

I am debating about switching over to tubs actually, but I was also going to build a four-five tank/tub rack out of my old dresser over the summer.

Heck ya. I built a plastic homedepot rack for mine. There are plent of guides online and its fairly cheap if you do not buy like boaphile or animal plastics.
Also look at a uth and a good thermo controller like vivarium electronics or helix its all worth the investment. Pm me if you need any help.

that box is waaay too big. ball pythons like to hind in things barely big enough for them to fit in. They get a sense of security in feeling the sides of the hide wrapped around them. He is most likely striking out of fear because he feels vulnerable. Take some small bowls and cut holes in them or even a tissue box. Also as someone else said, take wads of newspaper and clutter up his cage a bit then give him a week without bothering him. Let him get comfortable. Also like stated already, don't bother taking him out to feed. Let him hunt in his own enclosure.

I am really excited to make the new setup but I thought about doing it where it has Plexiglas sliding doors.

If you follow the above directions you should be fine. Please feed him in his enclosure. I just had a little not so fun time.With one of my six foot female boas. I was moving her to a different container, so that I could clean her cage. The problem is I had the feeding container in the snake room. I think it had just enough sent of rats to put her in feed mode. Well she turned it up a notch. Believe me its not fun when you just know you are going to get it bad. It worked out just fine, I avoided a bite this time. The point is it's best to feed them in there own enclosure. It's less stress on them and safer for you. Even if it is a small ball python.

Here is his Amun-Ra's setup for right now. He has Aspen bedding and a smaller hide. I'm waiting for the lake and river to flood so that it brings some nice drift wood up so I can use some for a really nice hide and scratch. I disinfect the wood by baking it in the Oven. Is there anything else I should I should do?
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I had the striking issue with my BP, she would strike at me every time I went to pick her up (this was a few months after I'd rescued her). I took her out and put her in a dark pillowcase that I essentially used as a snake bag. I got tagged putting her in there, but it's not a huge deal. Once I had her in the bag I weighed her and went by the "10-15%" bodyweight rule. You weigh them out, figure out what 10-15% of their body weight, and feed them a prey item of that size. I had been feeding her two adult mice every two weeks. After figuring out the correct weight of what size prey she needed, I found out I should have been feeding her a medium rat once a week! Needless to say she was being under fed. I don't remember which members had told me the 10-15% rule, but it worked wonders.

The pet store near my house has been out of medium rats which I had spaced to once every two weeks when her aggression went away. So I went up to large f/t rats once every other Thursday. Now she is happy and healthy.

I also feed in tank to avoid stressing her out. That's all about personal preference though. I noticed she was more aggressive in the feeding box than in her own home.

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Originally Posted by a_chute

Here is his Amun-Ra's setup for right now. He has Aspen bedding and a smaller hide. I'm waiting for the lake and river to flood so that it brings some nice drift wood up so I can use some for a really nice hide and scratch. I disinfect the wood by baking it in the Oven. Is there anything else I should I should do?
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...c0&oe=55888D40https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...4fb78609817c7chttps://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...4c&oe=5589716A

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You should have two hides. One on each end of the tank, which should be different temperatures. You should have a cool and warm side. Other than that it looks good. Also, be careful if you plan on getting wood from the wild to put in your tank. Some woods are poisonous to ball pythons. Make sure that you look up which could be harmful, and if those types of trees grow in your area, you might be better off getting the fake wood from the pet store.

Most of the trees around are oak, cherry, and hedge and I always take it to my mother and her bf to check it to make sure it is a safe wood to use for them. I am trying to find another small sized container to trim to set on the cool side for him. I also get my mice/rats from a local ball python breeder and I just tell him the snake's weight and he gets me a sized meal so I dont have to worry if if will be too large and too small. I'm worried about feeding in their tanks due to the bedding getting stuck to their food and the possibility of being swallowed. I'm also worried that they may develop a feeding response.

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Originally Posted by a_chute

Most of the trees around are oak, cherry, and hedge and I always take it to my mother and her bf to check it to make sure it is a safe wood to use for them. I am trying to find another small sized container to trim to set on the cool side for him. I also get my mice/rats from a local ball python breeder and I just tell him the snake's weight and he gets me a sized meal so I dont have to worry if if will be too large and too small. I'm worried about feeding in their tanks due to the bedding getting stuck to their food and the possibility of being swallowed. I'm also worried that they may develop a feeding response.

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I was worried about the same thing. One owner here did tell me something interesting, if they can digest bone, they can probably digest substrate. And they're masters at getting stuff out of their mouth.

As far as the feeding response goes, as long as you handle them more than just feeding them, and you set a strict feeding schedule, you should be fine. I feed mine a large rat every other Thursday around 5 pm. Although they can't tell time, they can see routine. If I pick up the tongs and take out her hide, it's feeding time. If I only lift the hide up, and don't take it out completely, I'm just holding her. Most people with rack systems feed in the snakes living enclosure. Moving them to eat can just stress them out.

When I got monty I had the same fears, because she had been fed in tank. So the first feed, I took her out and put her in a feeding box, and she ended up regurgitating. I think it's just unneeded stress. Although in your head, moving them makes sense, to them it doesn't.

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Originally Posted by Ben.Smith.512

Heck ya. I built a plastic homedepot rack for mine. There are plent of guides online and its fairly cheap if you do not buy like boaphile or animal plastics.
Also look at a uth and a good thermo controller like vivarium electronics or helix its all worth the investment. Pm me if you need any help.

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i want to build my own rack system from materials purchased at home depot


is pvc pipe a viable choice?