How do u tame a extremely defensive python

...this is again another post but It is because iam realizing the fact that my snake is quite weird and I can't find any answers online on in books that are specific to my problems.

My ball python comes out at night and is really aggressive or defensive. So should I handle him at night or in the day where he is hiding.

Can you actually tame ball pythons. And make the transition from defensive to passive?

Should I let him bite me or not. My snake tries to bite me a lot. Should I pull back or let him bite me. Will he get used to biting me?

I haven't seen my snake drink water before. But he seems hydrated , and his skin isn't wrinkly , should I be worried?

Everytime take my snake out in the day, he is curled up as a ball and his head poking out, ready to strike at anything in front of it. What should I do?

Yesturday, I took him out and out him in my palm, he kept striking at my legs even though it was below him. He also didn't bite with his teeth, he stroked at me without opening his mouth.
Is this normal

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Joshwah

...this is again another post but It is because iam realizing the fact that my snake is quite weird and I can't find any answers online on in books that are specific to my problems.

My ball python comes out at night and is really aggressive or defensive. So should I handle him at night or in the day where he is hiding.

Can you actually tame ball pythons. And make the transition from defensive to passive?

Should I let him bite me or not. My snake tries to bite me a lot. Should I pull back or let him bite me. Will he get used to biting me?

I haven't seen my snake drink water before. But he seems hydrated , and his skin isn't wrinkly , should I be worried?

Everytime take my snake out in the day, he is curled up as a ball and his head poking out, ready to strike at anything in front of it. What should I do?

Yesturday, I took him out and out him in my palm, he kept striking at my legs even though it was below him. He also didn't bite with his teeth, he stroked at me without opening his mouth.
Is this normal

---

How long have you had the bp? You should let a new snake settle in and take about 3 meals before you start to handle. I only really notice my snakes drink after they eat. They get a lot of their water from their prey.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Short answers is no to “is this normal...” with that being said, can we talk more about the snakes age, feeding schedule, prey size, enclosure set up? I think that would help out quite a bit if we had that information.

I have had him for 2 weeks and 1 day. I have fed him 3 medium sized mice.

He is 3 years old


I feed him 1 medium sized mice a week.

Idk what size the enclosure is. But if I straighten him he will not fit in any dimensions

His cage is mainly glass and plastic with holes.

He has 2 hides

Wood shavings from reptibark

He also has one wood log in it

And a small soy sauce plate used for water

A 40 gallon breeder 36” x 18” is the minimum tank size for an adult male. If your enclosure is smaller you need to upgrade. Thankfully there are affordable options and if you need recommendations just ask :) As for dealing with the defensive behavior, let him settle in first. If you just got him leave him alone for 3 weeks and/or 3+ meals. Then buy leather gloves (to help with confidence, bp bite isn’t bad) and work with him. In a few weeks he’ll get used to you and stop striking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok. I think we have identified one problem. A medium mouse once a week for a 3 year old BP is underfed. He should be on small rats. I would try and up his prey size, make sure you aren’t handling at him too much and then see what happens. If he’s 3 and you changed his set up around dramatically and decreased his prey size that could account for some of the aggression. Maybe also try to see how he was housed before and start over.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Moose84

Ok. I think we have identified one problem. A medium mouse once a week for a 3 year old BP is underfed. He should be on small rats. I would try and up his prey size, make sure you aren’t handling at him too much and then see what happens. If he’s 3 and you changed his set up around dramatically and decreased his prey size that could account for some of the aggression. Maybe also try to see how he was housed before and start over.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

This is great advice here. He is hungry so his instinct is to hunt and strike warm things. Mice are to small for adults.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skyrivers

This is great advice here. He is hungry so his instinct is to hunt and strike warm things. Mice are to small for adults.

---

I agree, great advice. I didn’t catch that. I feed my male a medium rat every two to three weeks depending on behavior. Typically I can tell when he’s ready to feed again and offer then to avoid wasting food. You can either feed larger food items less often or smaller items more often, whichever works best for your animal. My bp won’t eat smaller rats which is weird lol Guess he likes to gorge himself.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkL1561

I agree, great advice. I didn’t catch that. I feed my male a medium rat every two to three weeks depending on behavior. Typically I can tell when he’s ready to feed again and offer then to avoid wasting food. You can either feed larger food items less often or smaller items more often, whichever works best for your animal. My bp won’t eat smaller rats which is weird lol Guess he likes to gorge himself.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

Most males will never need mediums, good to see you stretch it out. And F.Y.I, A 20 long is fine for most to all adult male ball pythons. Peace

Another question, but what is your setup like? How is the humidity? You mentioned that your snake seems dehydrated, with a ball python you want upper 55ish% humidity. Higher when in shed, up to 70%. If the humidity is low and the snake is dehydrating, that could certainly add to the defensive behavior.

Snake is not "aggressive"-
....he may be defensive because he is new & scared, & that's normal. You mentioned he is 3 years old...it's also possible he was handled very little by previous owner. A BP that tucks himself into a ball is scared to death of you.
....he's probably hunting & hungry, & your hands are "warm & wiggling" like prey, so he's just being a snake ("strike first & ask questions later"). Up to you to prevent
by making sure he learns to recognize you, but only after he has time to settle in, & only after he is feeding regularly on adequately-sized prey. I think you've been
rushing him: eating reliably comes first, then the handling problem may take care of itself, with a little patience.

Yup, I agree with most of what's been said already. Those mice are way too small for a 3 year old BP.
Plus you're handling too soon.

So between the stress and the hunger his behaviors are perfectly normal.

Let your guy settle in for a while before handling again. I suggest starting over with the "three consecutive meals without refusal" rule of thumb. So basically, pretend you just got him today. Up his prey to appropriately sized rats. No handling until he's eaten three consecutive meals without refusal.

He'll settle in for you. You just need to be patient. You'll have 20+ years to handle him. Take your time and you'll see positive results.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sonny1318

Most males will never need mediums, good to see you stretch it out. And F.Y.I, A 20 long is fine for most to all adult male ball pythons. Peace

---

Great info here. I have ONE male who is still subadult who is just growing like a weed. Even then I would be surprised if he ever reaches medium rats. I agree 100% on the enclosure info.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sonny1318

Most males will never need mediums, good to see you stretch it out. And F.Y.I, A 20 long is fine for most to all adult male ball pythons. Peace

---

A 20 long is not large enough imo. That would be extremely cramped but not my animal [emoji2371] My male is almost 4’... I’d feel horrible shoving him in a tiny 20 gallon. If you’re breeding and it’s temporary that’s a different story. I guess it’s ultimately whatever the keeper prefers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkL1561

A 20 long is not large enough imo. That would be extremely cramped but not my animal [emoji2371] My male is almost 4’... I’d feel horrible shoving him in a tiny 20 gallon. If you’re breeding and it’s temporary that’s a different story. I guess it’s ultimately whatever the keeper prefers...

---

Agree, and in a smaller tank, it's also hard to offer a good thermal gradient for a larger snake, as the temps. all sorta run together.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkL1561

A 20 long is not large enough imo. That would be extremely cramped but not my animal [emoji2371] My male is almost 4’... I’d feel horrible shoving him in a tiny 20 gallon. If you’re breeding and it’s temporary that’s a different story. I guess it’s ultimately whatever the keeper prefers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Agree, and in a smaller tank, it's also hard to offer a good thermal gradient for a larger snake, as the temps. all sorta run together.

---

I have to agree. My 1100 gram boy is in a 40 breeder and I'd feel bad putting in anything smaller. And there's no way I'd put my 1400 gram boy in a 20.
I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying I'd rather give them the room and allow them to use it when they choose.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkL1561

A 40 gallon breeder 36” x 18” is the minimum tank size for an adult male. If your enclosure is smaller you need to upgrade. Thankfully there are affordable options and if you need recommendations just ask :) As for dealing with the defensive behavior, let him settle in first. If you just got him leave him alone for 3 weeks and/or 3+ meals. Then buy leather gloves (to help with confidence, bp bite isn’t bad) and work with him. In a few weeks he’ll get used to you and stop striking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

Ok,I was guessing, but with careful observations I can tell that the cage is 2/3 size of python wife and length is slightly larger .

Today he escaped and I found him. When I put him back he didn't go in his hide and he is just outside his hide slithering around. Should I be worried and what does this mean?

Should I handle him and if so I'm a bit scared of him biting me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Joshwah

Ok,I was guessing, but with careful observations I can tell that the cage is 2/3 size of python wife and length is slightly larger .

Today he escaped and I found him. When I put him back he didn't go in his hide and he is just outside his hide slithering around. Should I be worried and what does this mean?

Should I handle him and if so I'm a bit scared of him biting me.

---

No, you should NOT hold him. Almost every reply above mentioned letting him settle in...for a reason.

Now you need to figure out how he escaped and fix that, cause if he did once,he will again. And next time you might not be lucky enough to find him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Joshwah

Ok,I was guessing, but with careful observations I can tell that the cage is 2/3 size of python wife and length is slightly larger .

Today he escaped and I found him. When I put him back he didn't go in his hide and he is just outside his hide slithering around. Should I be worried and what does this mean?

Should I handle him and if so I'm a bit scared of him biting me.

---

He escaped!? That’s something you are going to want to fix ASAP. If you just have an aquarium with a screen top they make clips/locks to secure the lid. It’s not ideal but it’ll work. He is just freaked out from his little adventure. Sounds like you’ll need to get husbandry down prior to working on handling. If you can please upload some pictures of your setup, may assist users in helping you:)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk