BP online purchasing

Recently I purchased a juvenile male Champagne ball python but he turned out to be VERY aggressive in nature. Do any of you know if when purchasing ball pythons online and having them shipped to you, do they usually turn out to be aggressive? Thanks in advance...:D

I've had three shipped to me and none have been aggressive. Did you leave him to settle in for a good amount of time? Most people leave them be for at least a week or until after they've eaten their first meal for you (whichever comes second). Stress can make young ball pythons nippy, so leaving them be for a bit usually helps them calm down.

Younger BPs tend to be more defensive in their demeanor simply because they think everything's trying to eat them because they're small. Simply shipping an animal won't change its overall personality. The stress of shipping could influence their actions a bit in the short term, but I haven't found it to be related in a more significant way than that.

I'm glad you asked this, I will be having mine shipped to me within th nxt few wks & was wondering how that affects them their 1st few days. I'm definitely planning on taking mine out of the box, weighing him & immediately putting him into his home for at least 5/6 days to settle in. Then I'll offer him something to eat:) I'm planning on getting my sister to record his arrival & put it on YouTube

It's definitely a really exciting experience. I hope it all goes well for you!:)

I've had him for about a week now and have only held him a couple times. One of which was to help him get some skin off his face, (that was on the first day!) I guess they had shipped him to me during his shed. Which probably didn't help his temper at all. I'm planning on shipping him back tomorrow, because of how aggressive he is. He will even strike the glass when I walk by. (pretty hard, too) And I don't want him hurting himself. He's only my second ball python and I'm really not ready to deal with one that aggressive:( Unfortunate, really. He's such a beautiful snake.

BP can be defensive for various reasons those are mainly due to stress (over handling, husbandry issues, shed etc)

They can be stressed following shipping but if your husbandry is spot it should not last more than a day or two.

As mentioned younger individuals will be defensive but will grow out of it as they grow.

So bottom line make sure your husbandry is optimal, do not handle your animal until it eats with consistency, offer appropriately sized meals and remember that those are wild animals and that expectations should be different than those you would have with a dog.

I have shipped a few feisty baby ball pythons to different customers. I was always curious to how their first interactions with the babies would go. They would email me when they arrived and the story was always the same. "He/she is so nice...."

I was thinking shipping them may have calmed them down.

He could be hungry too if just shed I found most my snakes want food after they shed and is striking out at the glass due to the heat sig your putting off thinking your food. I would not ship back right away I give him a couple weeks to calm down and at least eat I bet he will inhale the first prey he given.

My limited experience with my BPs the ones that started off more aggresive have been some of my best eaters never missing meals and have calmed down towards me as they got older, but still very aggresive eaters. I have also let a couple of them bite me and it seems as though after they realize that im not food they tend to mellow out afterwards.

Shipping him would cause so much more stress to that baby. As others have said, give him time to settle in, start eating for you, and get used to his new home.

Are you sure your setup and husbandry are correct? He could be feeling very insecure in a glass tank.

Like Drake said, babies that are a little snappy settle down with time and are usually fantastic eaters. I've never met a truly aggressive ball python. I've seen scared and defensive, but not outright aggressive.

Personally, with new additions I don't handle for anything other than cleaning or a quick photo shoot for the entire quarantine period (minimum 2 months).

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Originally Posted by Drake Moonslayer

My limited experience with my BPs the ones that started off more aggresive have been some of my best eaters never missing meals and have calmed down towards me as they got older, but still very aggresive eaters. I have also let a couple of them bite me and it seems as though after they realize that im not food they tend to mellow out afterwards.

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This always seemed to help me when I was working with babies/juveniles. Let them take a crack at me and they realize I'm too big and also not food. The ones that continuously strike the tank/tub walls I would cover up and let them chill for a few days. Every animal is going to react to stress differently. Some get over it faster than others and they all just take some time and patience. OP I woudn't send the snake back immediately. Give the little guy some time to settle in for you and maybe after a few feedings they'll relax. He/she is defending themselves the only way they know how: striking.

Give the snake time to get used to the new surroundings.

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Originally Posted by maudie

I've had him for about a week now and have only held him a couple times. One of which was to help him get some skin off his face, (that was on the first day!) I guess they had shipped him to me during his shed. Which probably didn't help his temper at all. I'm planning on shipping him back tomorrow, because of how aggressive he is. He will even strike the glass when I walk by. (pretty hard, too) And I don't want him hurting himself. He's only my second ball python and I'm really not ready to deal with one that aggressive:( Unfortunate, really. He's such a beautiful snake.

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Don't be so quick to send him back. He needs plenty of time to settle in, even stuck shed can wait a few days.

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Originally Posted by maudie

It's definitely a really exciting experience. I hope it all goes well for you!:)

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I agree with everyone to give the animal time to adjust to the new smells and sights. Along with double checking your husbandry ,is to immediately tape some dark non see through paper to 3 of the 4 sides of the enclosure! This should have a immediate positive decline in his stress level. Stay in peace and not pieces. :gj:

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Originally Posted by maudie

I've had him for about a week now and have only held him a couple times. One of which was to help him get some skin off his face, (that was on the first day!) I guess they had shipped him to me during his shed. Which probably didn't help his temper at all. I'm planning on shipping him back tomorrow, because of how aggressive he is. He will even strike the glass when I walk by. (pretty hard, too) And I don't want him hurting himself. He's only my second ball python and I'm really not ready to deal with one that aggressive:( Unfortunate, really. He's such a beautiful snake.

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Don't send him back. Your snake sounds like my bumblebee Bubo when I first got him. He was 175g when he arrived at my house and he was very very defensive. He would strike at the glass, the mesh top, anything lol. He bit me a ton of times but never even broke the skin. But his defensiveness stemmed from my improper husbandry and once I fixed it he was as calm an sweet as can be. Now he's close to 1000g and still very sweet :) just give the little guy a chance to settle and make sure your husbandry is perfect. Check on this thread on setting up a glass tank it shows you everything you need :)

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-With-Pictures!

All of the advice in this thread is great :) don't give up on the little guy so soon. If you send him back you may be missing out on a really great pet. Keep us updated please.

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Originally Posted by maudie

I've had him for about a week now and have only held him a couple times. One of which was to help him get some skin off his face, (that was on the first day!) I guess they had shipped him to me during his shed. Which probably didn't help his temper at all. I'm planning on shipping him back tomorrow, because of how aggressive he is. He will even strike the glass when I walk by. (pretty hard, too) And I don't want him hurting himself. He's only my second ball python and I'm really not ready to deal with one that aggressive:( Unfortunate, really. He's such a beautiful snake.

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If you ship him back my guess is that YOU are not ready to own a snake especially a young one.

Those are snakes not puppies, everyone owning a snake should expect this at some point even more so when not allowing the snake to settle properly.