New Ball Python just started hissing.

I got my first BP about a month ago from a reptile show in my area. I did a ton of research to make sure I could keep him in the conditions he needs. He is in a 20L tank with 3 sides covered with black foam insulation for privacy and to hold in heat. The top is covered with tin foil. I used a mixture of forest floor and eco earth as my substrate. I have a hide on the cool side and a large water dish in the middle I have an uth with hide on top for his hot spot on the opposite side. I also have a che to keep ambient temps on point. Both are controlled by a herpstat ez2. My numbers are 80 on the cool and 90 inside the hot hide with ambient temps always right around 80. Humidity usually stays between 48 and 55. He weighs about 190g and has been eating 2 hopper mice a week (waiting for rat pups to be delivered currently). He has shed once for me and pooped twice. He was fine with me handling him for the first 2 weeks but this last week he has started to hiss when I move his hide to check on him. If he is out of a hide and I go to his tank he usually darts inside of it. Is it just him being a new and young BP? Or could somethong else be causing it?

He just sounds scared to me. Normal for young snakes, they're small & easily preyed upon, & in their hide, they feel cornered when you move it...that's the
only "safe" spot they have. It takes longer than a month to overcome instincts & feel safe with a human picking them up...and you should stop wearing that
hawk-mask & file your fingernails...:D & try not to "swoop" in, lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

He just sounds scared to me. Normal for young snakes, they're small & easily preyed upon, & in their hide, they feel cornered when you move it...that's the
only "safe" spot they have. It takes longer than a month to overcome instincts & feel safe with a human picking them up...and you should stop wearing that
hawk-mask & file your fingernails...:D & try not to "swoop" in, lol.

---

I agree 100%.

When they're that little almost everything looks like a predator, including you.

How often are you handling the snake?

Thanks for your help. I feed on Monday nights so I was handling him on Thursday Friday and Saturdays. Letting him have 2 days to digest and leaving him alone the day before he eats. What would you guys recommend as far as handling frequency? He has never struck at me just hissing. Dont wanna stress the little guy out.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njbassman7689

Thanks for your help. I feed on Monday nights so I was handling him on Thursday Friday and Saturdays. Letting him have 2 days to digest and leaving him alone the day before he eats. What would you guys recommend as far as handling frequency? He has never struck at me just hissing. Dont wanna stress the little guy out.

---

When you handle him, how long do you have him out for? We all mean something slightly different by "handling"...;)

Between 5 and 10 minutes. Its usually just me in there with him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njbassman7689

I got my first BP about a month ago from a reptile show in my area. I did a ton of research to make sure I could keep him in the conditions he needs. He is in a 20L tank with 3 sides covered with black foam insulation for privacy and to hold in heat. The top is covered with tin foil. I used a mixture of forest floor and eco earth as my substrate. I have a hide on the cool side and a large water dish in the middle I have an uth with hide on top for his hot spot on the opposite side. I also have a che to keep ambient temps on point. Both are controlled by a herpstat ez2. My numbers are 80 on the cool and 90 inside the hot hide with ambient temps always right around 80. Humidity usually stays between 48 and 55. He weighs about 190g and has been eating 2 hopper mice a week (waiting for rat pups to be delivered currently). He has shed once for me and pooped twice. He was fine with me handling him for the first 2 weeks but this last week he has started to hiss when I move his hide to check on him. If he is out of a hide and I go to his tank he usually darts inside of it. Is it just him being a new and young BP? Or could somethong else be causing it?

---

Very good Research! You nailed it pretty darn well.
Do not worry!
It is totally normal and expected for teeny,tiny,baby,royal pythons to hiss and strike at monstrously gigantic mammals!
Lol

O, and btw, a baby ball python bite is almost hilariously weak, their teeth are very small at this age.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njbassman7689

Thanks for your help. I feed on Monday nights so I was handling him on Thursday Friday and Saturdays. Letting him have 2 days to digest and leaving him alone the day before he eats. What would you guys recommend as far as handling frequency? He has never struck at me just hissing. Dont wanna stress the little guy out.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njbassman7689

Between 5 and 10 minutes. Its usually just me in there with him.

---

Ok, I would just slow down a little bit with handling for a bit til he gets more comfortable. Once you build a trust for one another and he's got a bit more size on him he'll likely chill right out.
Instead of three consecutive handling days maybe cut out Friday so he's got a day in between to just chill.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njbassman7689

Between 5 and 10 minutes. Its usually just me in there with him.

---

In my experience* snakes are the MOST stressed right when we pick them up, so if you handle them for only 5-10 minutes, they hardly get a chance to feel safe with you.
What I suggest is to just sit down & watch tv or something while you hold a snake, sorta cuddling them to you so they feel safe & warm (they feel most afraid out in the
open & are more likely to bite defensively that way, especially if you move your hands suddenly, they assume it's an attack). Take at least 30 minutes, because during
that time they learn your scent & touch, & start to feel safe with you. Remember too that most snakes (like BPs) don't visually identify you...they recognize us primarily
by scent & touch, so don't be offended if your snake doesn't recognize you thru the glass/plexi, or at a distance...we're just a scary blur at that point, nothing personal.
BPs are snakes that like warmer temperatures too, so it's not likely they'll be over-heated if you hold one for 30 or more minutes, as other kinds might (since we're about
98.6* ourselves).
(*we don't all agree on this, plenty of ppl do the same thing you're doing, handling for a very short time.)

Snakes don't all have the same personality either, so if yours gets too stressed with back to back days of handling, he might need more time off. If your snake doesn't
feed well (reliably unless shedding), that's usually a sign that he needs more privacy. BPs are normally mellow snakes, so you'll have to "read between the lines" some.

I agree that longer handling sessions could be beneficial.

While handling your snake watch closely so you can learn his body language, mannerisms, etc...
Watch the way his tongue flicks, watch his lungs expand and contract.

Also handle with confidence and respect. Snakes are good at picking up stress, nervousness or anxiety on our end and will often be stressed if they sense we are.
Also handle with respect. Understand that at the heart of things, snakes are simple, primitive animals. They don't know much more than "eat and don't get eaten". They only have their mouths as self defense, and hissing is their way of saying " I'm not comfortable in this situation". From there, we need to learn their body language.

Take your time, be gentle, try to always end handling sessions on a positive note and gently let the snake slither off your hands when you return him to his enclosure.

One last thing... I've never done this, because I've never had a snake that I needed to with, but I've heard and read it can be very helpful and usually successful.
You can try putting a t-shirt or something of yours in the enclosure so that it familiarizes with your scent.

Good luck. Feel free to ask any questions you have.

Thank you all for the great advice. I've wanted a snake for a very long time and just wanna go what's best for him. One more question. If I go to handle him and I get a hiss should I leave him be or still continue to pick him up and handle?

If your BP is eating reliably (at least 3 times consecutively) then I'd say even if he gives you a hiss, go for it! That will probably help him learn that getting picked up by you doesn't cause him any harm, and also that hissing won't make you go away. I've also found that some BPs like to act like they're tough stuff while they're in their enclosure, but once you take them out they become sweet and docile.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njbassman7689

Thank you all for the great advice. I've wanted a snake for a very long time and just wanna go what's best for him. One more question. If I go to handle him and I get a hiss should I leave him be or still continue to pick him up and handle?

---

A little of both: years ago I took in a yearling boa (BCI) that had changed owners many times for biting/hissing at everyone before she was given to me. No way a
yearling boa is going to scare me off, LOL, but she tried. She tried hard...;) Initially I cuddled her with a little towel over her, so she learned my scent & touch without
seeing me (we're all big & scary "predators" to a snake that doesn't know any better!). After a month or so she learned to feel safe & quit hissing, so gradually I let her
look out & before you knew it, she was just fine, no towel. In all the years I had her, she never bit me even once, but she wanted to at first only because she was scared.
When I took her out of her cage I never rushed her though...snakes may need time (cues of scent &/or touch) to remember they do know you.

She learned I was "safe" to be with, but over the years, a few times her snakey-mind was "elsewhere" as if she forgot she knew me, & she'd give me a huge evil hisssss
when I wanted to pick her up. And by then she was big (7.5') so her teeth would have hurt...but I just pet her coils (not in her face) for a few minutes while she calmed
down (& remembered my touch), then I picked her up as usual...and she was just fine. Actually, she liked being out & cuddled so much, she often fought to avoid going
back in her cage... :snake:

See what I mean?

It can be anything from a stressed animal, to a defensive animal (normal behavior for young animals) to one that just like to be vocal I have a big 2500 grams female just like that (must have been a Bullsnake in a past life :rolleye2:)

The important is that it is hissing and not whistling and if I had to guess he will probably grow out of it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by njbassman7689

Thank you all for the great advice. I've wanted a snake for a very long time and just wanna go what's best for him. One more question. If I go to handle him and I get a hiss should I leave him be or still continue to pick him up and handle?

---

I have a female who is hissy at times. I wouldn't let it bother you too much. Focus more on his posture and it if he looks like he is getting defensive. My female hisses just to hiss no other defensive behavior. My opinion would be to continue to handle even if he does get a little hissy... If he hisses and you leave him alone he will hiss knowing that you will leave him alone. If he hisses and you notice he's super stiff and in a defensive position then I might back off or cover his head.