my ball keeps biteing me

whats wrong or what do i do?my ball just started this about a wek ago.i fed him on a thursday and then i waited three days to hold him so i wouldnt upset him digesting the mouse like i always do.sunday when i reached in for him he bit me.i picked him up and he ws ok it seemed ,no more strikes at me that day.tonight i tried to pick him up again,this time he struck at me several times wildly and wouldnt let me pick him up.......what could this wild behavior be,hes always been so timid when id hold him.could he be hungry already or what?

are you feeding him weekly? how big is he weight and length. is the mouse you are feeding him the right size for him? my baby spider ball was giving me indications that the prey i was giving her was too small by being active after feeding for a whole day. so i upped the size of her prey and now she is sleeping off her rat pup. ive noticed if i feed my snakes too small of a prey they tend to go in hunt mode around the tub.

i dont have any scales....hes about 2 feet long ,maybe less,and maybe 1 1,2 inches thick at his thickest point,hes still retty small as he can ball up in the palm of my hand.......im feeding him one fuzzy a week,he will lay around for about 3 days after feeding,could him being hungry cause the problem.i have no problem feeding him whatever or doing whatever it takes to make him happy and less aggressive.one note....he doesnt strike if i use a glove its only against a bare finger.

are you feeding it in its cage?

yeah ,am i not supposed to?

The prey size sounds a bit too small to me. Prey size should be same size to a maximum of 1.5 of the girth size of your baby.
Besides hunger there are many other reasons for why a BP could strike/bite. Here are a few:
Handling prey items or petting the family dog/cat without washing hands prior to reaching into the snake's enclosure.
Startling the sleeping snake by lifting it up without first making sure that it is aware of its keeper's presence.
Using the same routine to handle the snake as is being used to feed the snake. - If you are feeding in the enclosure, try feeding in a separate feeding box. Some (not all) develop what's called cage aggression when fed in the enclosure. I've never fooled around with it and can't say whether that really is an issue, since all my snakes have always been fed in separate feeding boxes.
Infrequent handling - You mentioned that you leave the baby alone for three days after feeding. If you are feeding it only small fuzzies, it certainly wouldn't take it that long to digest them. Two of my juvies are still on rat pups. It takes them two days to digest those and then they are out and about and ready to be handled again.
My suggestion, if it's indeed the meal size: Up the meal size, feed in a separate container and start from scratch regarding handling. Handle him routinely at the same time every day (give him two days of rest after meals). Use gloves at first and be calm and persistent when removing him from the enclosure. Keep him out for just a minute or two and put him back in. Increase that time every day until you feel comfortable enough to remove one glove. Touch him (don't pet him) with your bare hand. Once he doesn't jump anymore when touched with your bare hand you are safe to remove the other glove.
Remember, that snakes do not have the ability to memorize for a very long time. Once your BP knows that he's safe with you continue handling him regulary. He'll recognize your smell and the feel of your hands and will associate safety with it and will stay sociable.
"i have no problem feeding him whatever or doing whatever it takes to make him happy and less aggressive" - Love your attitude!
Best of luck!

Well thats open for debate, some people say not to feed in there cage they live in and to feed in a seperate tub. This is the belief that if you feed in there enclosure they could believe that everytime you open it they could think that it is dinner time. Personally i feed in mine and have no problems at all, many people i know feed in enclosure there enclosures as well. So two questions, how long have you had him and could he be in shed? You can not always tell when they are going into shed, and mine start to get testy before they shed.

I know if my rack gets to warm all my snakes get jumpy and some try to bite. check the temps. also is he always on the hot side of the tank when you pick him up?

how old is he?

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Originally Posted by superdave76

whats wrong or what do i do?my ball just started this about a wek ago.i fed him on a thursday and then i waited three days to hold him so i wouldnt upset him digesting the mouse like i always do.sunday when i reached in for him he bit me.i picked him up and he ws ok it seemed ,no more strikes at me that day.tonight i tried to pick him up again,this time he struck at me several times wildly and wouldnt let me pick him up.......what could this wild behavior be,hes always been so timid when id hold him.could he be hungry already or what?

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How long have you had your snake for?
How old is your BP?
How big is your snake (length, weight)?
What type of enclosure do you use?
How big is your enclosure?
Is your enclosure in a low traffic area?
What are your temps (cool & warm side)?
What is your humidity?
What type of thermometer/hygrometer do you use (dial,stick,or digital)?
What kind of hides do you provide (log, homemade, cubbyholes etc) and how many do you have?
Are your hides tight (all side touching your BP's body) and identical?
What do you usually feed to your BP (size)?

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Originally Posted by SoundUnsleep

If you are feeding in the enclosure, try feeding in a separate feeding box. Some (not all) develop what's called cage aggression when fed in the enclosure.

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This is myth, feeding outside the enclosure is not necessary.

he is generally on a log in the cooler side of the cage.hes always eaten in the cage and never had a problem.im thinking ive just not been feeding him big enough prey,ive been reading a little more on here about the size of prey and the animal......ive been starving him probably...im gonna up the feed size friday for sure.if that doesnt work then ill look into feeding him only in another enclosure.my female who is the same size and age and is in a identical enclosure has not gotten aggressive yet but ill up the size of her diet as well.thanks to all for the help........and my babies, BO and Bell thank you too

Quote:

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Originally Posted by superdave76

he is generally on a log in the cooler side of the cage.hes always eaten in the cage and never had a problem.im thinking ive just not been feeding him big enough prey,ive been reading a little more on here about the size of prey and the animal......ive been starving him probably...im gonna up the feed size friday for sure.if that doesnt work then ill look into feeding him only in another enclosure.my female who is the same size and age and is in a identical enclosure has not gotten aggressive yet but ill up the size of her diet as well.thanks to all for the help........and my babies, BO and Bell thank you too

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Whether or not your female is in the same type of enclosure does not really matter. Stress can vary from one individual to another, and while one might be thriving the other might not, and this is why it is very important for you to know your animals.

The feeding might not be the only problem I would suggest you to double check everything cover the basics temps, humidity etc

Also I would recommend you to provide 2 tight (all side touching your BP's body) and identical hides (so your BP does not chose security over thermo-regulation).

Also log hides while great fro lizards make very poor hides for BP, not offering enough security.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by superdave76

i dont have any scales....hes about 2 feet long ,maybe less,and maybe 1 1,2 inches thick at his thickest point,hes still retty small as he can ball up in the palm of my hand.......im feeding him one fuzzy a week,he will lay around for about 3 days after feeding,could him being hungry cause the problem.i have no problem feeding him whatever or doing whatever it takes to make him happy and less aggressive.one note....he doesnt strike if i use a glove its only against a bare finger.

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Your only feeding him a fuzzy a week? My ball is approx the same size as yours and he downs adult mice like crazy....

yeha i was only feeding him a fuzzie,I now know better,Petsmart and the local petstore both told me thats what to feed him........but everyone with a snake tells me otherwise......i visited with a freind today and he fed his adult mice at that age........Im guilty,i should of checked into this sooner,i just took the pet store at their word.......he should be happy after a few good hungryman size meals hopefully,thanks to all.

Don't listen to pet store employees. 90% of them know NOTHING about snake care and will give you info they read off the outdated care sheet, heard from someone, or that applies to lizards. Now, I'm not saying they're all idiots...so don't go off on me all you Petsmart and Petco people...I used to work there to. :D I'm just saying that your chances of getting someone who really knows their stuff on snakes is really really slim.

But I would agree that you should double check all your stuff just to rule out other problems, as well as up that prey size ASAP. My girl is the same size and age as yours and eats large adult or small jumbo mice once a week. :)

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Don't listen to pet store employees. 90% of them know NOTHING about snake care and will give you info they read off the outdated care sheet, heard from someone, or that applies to lizards.

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True story that just happened a couple days ago:
I went to a pet store (PetSmart or PetsPlus, something like that) in search of a thermostat... so the child working behind the counter handed me off to their "reptile expert" who supposedly owns reptiles himself. Out comes an older man, maybe 50s, so I actually had a glimmer of hope. I ask him about proportional thermostats for a UTH that will regulate a preset temperature. He then explains (in a slow, demeaning tone) that heating pads are pre-regulated. So I again explain what I'm looking for. The guy looks me in the eye and says, "Nooooo, I don't believe they even make such a thing."

I just thanked him for his time and left. Why bother?

As it turns out, I had to drive an hour out of the city to a Reptile Zoo to pick one up. :rolleye2:

I find it kind of amazing or funny how people come on here and ask for help for their problem. Then the vast majority of them have 2 snakes in one cage.

Yeah... that's typical. The problem is that most pet stores have no desire or no care to fix the situations or enlighten their employees. I've heard that bull about pads being pre-regulated for proper temps, as well as a whole ton of other stuff you wouldn't believe. People have 2 or more snakes in one cage because they "saw the ones at the store like that, so it has to be ok". Then, they get defensive and angry when experienced people try to correct them...especially since it involves spending more money getting a separate setup. It's infuriating how that happens...animals getting the bum deal because of misinformation and ignorance.

you guys have helped me so much,ive learned tons just by reading posts on here.wehn i first bought my second snake about a month after the first,i put them both in a 55 gal tank because as you said thats what i had seen in the pet store.I instaltly noticed that my first snake stoped eating and didnt move much at all.I quickly put them in seperate conatiners.......the question i posted here was the result of the same misconception.when i bought my snakes they told me to give them one pinky about every ten days and dont over feed them.I followed that for awhile and then after about 3 months went up to a fuzzy.since i asked this question ive uped the size of my pray to a adult mouse and fed them one last friday and one today.......already they have been doing so much better.......my male is back to his old self and is as pleasent to be around as can be,he lets me hold him and pick him up wiht no fear or jumpiness.i swear i can see that he has grown a little in the past week.maybe im wrong but he looks bigger,thicker.now im preparing them a seperate feeding container for each one....im going to get heaters and such for the feeding conatiners this friday so i can leave them in there for a little while after feeding and not worry about the temps.my next question is this........the adult mice im feeding them now are about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 the girth of the snake,and maybe 4 inches long or so.....the snakes handle them well......do i need to go even bigger.thanks guys for all your help