help! biting

I had my ball python since 2004 and just recently he/she has been very aggressive. Everytime I or my girlfriend try to handle him he bites. This only started recently. Possable causes i suspect could be.. more handleing (not daily), my new 30 gallon fish tank (small room), the heat here has been in the 90's and thats about it. I never sexed he/she and was always handled through shedding and has stayed docile until now.. any thoughts?
could he/she be in heat? sheading? is it the temurature? new smells (my girlfriend, fishtank)?

ball pythons cannot be in heat...

it sounds to me like you just put him in a 30 gal tank, which is too large for them. ball pythons like tight areas, small spaces, and lots of privacy. so putting him/her in a larger enclosure could make him get defensive.

do you mind describing your set up. temps, humidity, how you are heating the tank, what kind of thermometers, substrate, ect? this might help determine why the change.

if anything his tank is the perfect size he/she is almost 4 feet long, and 3 years old now. his substrae has always been repti-bark, his temp and humidity has stayed the same, only the outside temp has changed, he gets misted when nessisary and always has water, he uses a heating pad, and stays in his log most of the day as normal
temp: 94-96 degrees (it's been very hot here)
humidity: 70%

he/she is not a baby so he's not small.. he's had his cage since i got him/her

i also have past experiences owning snakes (not just balls) and none have acted like this before

Hi,


High temperatures with no way of escape might increase his stress level which could cause this change in temperament. But there are so many things that can cause stress that I'm not sure it's that simple really.:confused:

Is he due to go into a shed? any signs of an impending shed (pink belly etc)?

Is there any way you can get the ambient temps down to a more reasonable level of 80-84 at the cool end of his tank?

I would suggest cutting back on the handling anyway if it is causing him stress.

When he strikes what kind are they? Closed mouth headbutts, strike bite and releases or hang on and "chew like buggery" while constricting your arm?

Did this start suddenly or gradually - if suddenly can you think of anything that happened at the time?


dr del

He/she should be going into shed soon but the biting started few weeks ago and has't been handled since he bit my girlfriend (about a week and a half) till tonight when he bit me.

i can't bring down the temp without some sort of cooler.. no airconditioning we all suffer the same heat
the bites are strikes.. he's distracted by movement and strikes at movement..
he/she just began striking more than once and remaining aggressive (staying by the bite.. grazing the area.. seeming very tense)

i've never seen this before.. i had wild snakes( black snake, garders) that where more docile during hot months like this

Hi,


Well there are a few things you could try to do to lower the temps, increase ventilation and spray more (the evaporating water should cool it a little and the extra ventialtion should stop the humidity getting too high), direct a fan onto the cold end of the tank etc.

But , If I'm reading this correctly, you only recently moved him into the tank as Kevin pointed out so maybe reviewing the setup might be of use.

Does he have enough hides and cover and does he use them?

A new tank can definately stress them out and was it just after the move he bit your girlfriend?

How is he eating?

Also when you say his temps are constant but the outside temp has changed how are you controling his heating element on the warm side?


dr del

he/she had the tank since i brought him/her home from the petstore at about a foot long 3 years ago

he has a log and a peice of driftwood he spends the day in his log

he eats 3 full grown prekilled mice each week.. which he dosnt attack at all. he eats them slowly

he bit my girlfriend like he does his food, but he attacked me.. struck more than once

my snake "Blunts" has always been docile.. he hides from moving objects, he never bites and never tryes to escape.. this is why i dont know whats wrong with him/her

do any of you have fish tanks in the room with your snake cage?
my girlfriend's room frickin stinks from fish tanks and mine has taken on an oder.... could he be smelling the fish?

it's either that or the heat... what do u guys do in the summer to keep your temps down... i mist 3-4 times daily now that the temp has stayed in the 90's... and the heat sources have been off for the most part (except when it rains and goes into the 70's)

his undertank heating pad has stayed off.. i only had the heat lamp on yesterday for a short time.. for basking

Hey,


Did she drop him when he bit her? If he got frightened then it may take him time to settle dwn again.

So the new fish tank is actually full of fish? is it sitting near his tank in such a way the vibrations of the pump/filter/airpump could be disturbing him?

I would recomend getting two hides for his tank - we recomend 2 identical ones one on the hot side and one on the cool. The logs aren't the best as they seem to prefer being touched on all sides by their hides - do a search on this site to see some really good inexpensive things you could try without breaking the bank.

You didnt answer the heating question so could I ask that again and also how you measure the temperatures inside his tank - just in case it is actually much worse in his tank as extreme heat can kill reptiles very quickly and needs to be gaurded against.


dr del

she did not drop him

the vibrations from the airpump on the fishtank are on the other side of the room yes fish inhabate the tank

fully adjustable heat sources... gauges on the inside of the tank indicate temp and humidity

Hi,


O.k. so when he bit her he didnt get scared by any reactions or anything and the fishtank is probably not a factor - I don't see the smell as that likely a factor but I may be proved wrong later. :D

O.k so lets see if we can narrow it down even further.

When you say gauges inside the tank please tell me its not those little stick on round things? - the temp one proved to be almost 2o dgrees F out for one of our members. We recomend the accurite digital in/out humidity weather station things that wallmart sell for around $14.

When you say fully adjustable heat sources do you mean thermostatically controlled? Or just a lamp dimmer or something similar?

My first instincts are to increase his feelings of security and try to lower the temps in his cage.

What type of tank is he kept in at the moment? Glass tank,wooden vivarium,
tub - or something else? I'm asking so I don't waste your time discussing irrelevant solutions etc.

Has he eaten since the first bite? or have you not offered yet?


dr del

~his heat lamp has a dimmer (controller)
~i not only have expensive gauges... but i also test with digital thermometers 2-3 times a week.. i dont have a thermostat.. he's my only snake right now
~ he lives in a glass tank until i can upgrade it (which i am building)
~ i'll take ur advice and get him another log
~ he always eats all his food when fed (weekly)

i'm just affraid to go near him again... he's been so aggressive with everyone .. i question even considering handling him..... which is no good..... i don't want a snake i can't handle

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doug13

~his heat lamp has a dimmer (controller)
~i not only have expensive gauges... but i also test with digital thermometers 2-3 times a week.. i dont have a thermostat.. he's my only snake right now
~ he lives in a glass tank until i can upgrade it (which i am building)
~ i'll take ur advice and get him another log
~ he always eats all his food when fed (weekly)

i'm just affraid to go near him again... he's been so aggressive with everyone .. i question even considering handling him..... which is no good..... i don't want a snake i can't handle

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O.k,

Their bites don't hurt much really.:)

Rather than get another log I would recomend either the drip trays for under plant pots or nice,non see through, plastic bowls - check the local dollar stores etc and then either chip a hole in the edges or drill a large enough hole in the top. Those will be darker and feel more secure than most logs for him - and will probably cost you less. No sense breaking the bank untill you know if they are a solution or not.:)

One exception to this rule mind you is thermostats - I would recomend getting the best you can afford ( jhonson controls,ranco,herpstat or helix seem to be the most recomended brands) - I think they can be purchased for around $80-$120 and would save you having to keep adjusting and checking all the time.

Anyone with a better idea of pricing feel free to chime in at this point as I'm on the wrong continent to be certain.:P

Glass tanks are renowned for being hard to get to hold the heat and humidity so I would think of trying the spraying/more ventilation trick to see if you can create a cool end for him to thermoregulate effectively.

Most BP's come round ok - especially if they were fine being handled before.

**edit**

I just noticed you didn't say how the uth was controlled - this is important as some brands can get hot enough to actually cause burns on the underside of the animal if not controlled.

Also I should have asked before - are there any other signs of changed behaviour you have noticed?

**end edit**



dr del

Are they defensive strikes or feeding response strikes. I had a snake that would strike and kill his food but not eat it when temps were on the higher side. Did you say the fish tank is new to his enviroment, maybe the scent is freaking him out and and causing a combant mode? I am only guessing. Is there any chance there is a rodent in the area (wild maybe). Some of my snakes start striking as soon as I bring the rodents in the room. They smell them and will strike at the first heat signal that comes near them(me). Also if he isn't able to cool himself it maybe stressing him out big time. I just puchased a portable AC unit to keep my snake room from getting too hot. Temps are very important for health, feeding, breeding predictability. He needs a cool side in the lower to mid 80's.

Maybe not the best idea, and i don't know how people feel about this, but it's what i do.

It gets pretty hot in my room, i can usually keep the heat right, but sometimes on hot days my cooler end gets up into close 90s.

So i put a fan on the cool end, outside of the tank and it usually puts the temp back down at about 83-84.

Even when it's on, and i go to handle my BP, he's friendly and doesn't seem stressed int he least bit, so i don't think the fan is really making him nervous or stressed.

Just what i do when i have that problem, that's just my 2 cents and experiance, right or wrong, it gets the job done.

Aggression in snakes comes from the fear and insecurity. So for what ever reason he is feeling insecure. Also as mentioned excessive heat will cause stress which could be compounding your problem Giving him places to hide and a thermo gradient, that will hopefully reduce his stress level and end the aggressive behavior. I would limit handling. However not handling isn't a good thing either. If every time you pick him up he bites you and you put him down it isn't hard to see how that will work out. I would get a pair of heavy gloves welding or good gardening glove if it bothers you. Good luck


Chuck

i don't know if this will help you or if its happened to any one else. i've only been bitten by my bp once; but she does get very very very when its time to up the size of her hides or prey. most snakes feel more confortable with shallow hides having only one entrance/exit, ie flower pots. also what are you feeding him and how often?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thunder Kat

also what are you feeding him and how often?

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I'm pretty sure he mentioned this earlier.

Edit:

Yes he did. Here you go.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doug13

he eats 3 full grown prekilled mice each week.. which he dosnt attack at all. he eats them slowly

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doug13

~ he always eats all his food when fed (weekly)

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This is slightly off the main topic (the heat), but have you tried feeding rats?
in my experience, (though i'm far from an expert) i've had better luck
in general feeding one good sized meal every three to four weeks.

Sometimes they don't make the switch from mice to rats, and then, you do what you have to....but if you haven't, maybe giving that a shot might help him/her out in the long run. I would think you'd save some money too, not having to feed every week.
3 adult mice would probably equal at least a medium rat, (someone please correct me if I'm wrong :) ) and you could try feeding every other week until the snake is used to the change.

just my :2cent: . :)