my bp is aggressive all of a sudden.

All of a sudden my bp is acting very aggressive, hissing and is rather jumpy everytime I try to pick him up. I haven't really changed anything in his tank. Yesterday I easily picked him up and he was just fine, then I believe I was a bit rough on him (i was a bit drunk - bad idea) and he was being very jumpy so I put him back.

Today, he moved form the cool side to the warm side about few hours ago and just now I tried picking him up but he is jumpy and aggressive. Hasn't hissed yet really but I feel like it's coming. Wondering why this may be. He is due to shed but his belly hasn't started turning pink and his eyes are very clear.

Setup: 20g long tank. I've got two hides, water bowl and a climbing tree. One side is 83F and the other 90.1 as of right now. Humidity is 45%. The tank has a background image and the other two shorter sides are covered with foam board. The top is also covered with the foam board.

sounds normal..........Bp's are shy, hissing's not aggressive. striking maybe, but not hissing........

You have good days and bad days, days where you don't want to be bothered. Why wouldn't he?

I have to agree if he is not striking it is not agression, hissing is pretty common if they dont want you to mess with them. Just because you can not see the signs of him being in shed it does not mean that it has not started and he is feeling all tight and uncomfortable.

Well I'm pretty sure he would've struck if I continued bothering him.

And you stopped bothering him and he didn't strike...cause and effect. This is a snake, simple basic instinctive brained snake. It's going to act like a snake.

Handling it will under the influence isn't a great idea for you or for your snake.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Handling it while under the influence isn't a great idea for you or for your snake.

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I have to agree with that!:colbert:

I know and I understand that. What I don't understand is how he can go from being the friendliest snake (that would slither ONTO my hand if i put it infront of his head) in the world to being aggressive like this. He was hissing today as well when I was changing his water. I'm not really fussing about this that much. Just wondering why he might be acting like this. He should start shedding any day so I hope that's the reason. Well, one way or another I'm gonna have to take him out and clean up the tank and change the substrate before he starts shedding.

Hissing is NOT aggression. He simply doesn't want to be bothered - can you respect that in your relationship with him? He's telling you to Hiss off and leave him alone.

I wouldnt be too worried... if hes in shed thats most likely why hes hissing... I dont mess with mine until they shed... Unless theres like crap everywhere and the tank NEEDS to be cleaned I wouldnt mess with him at all... Some of my snakes hiss but its just a front so dont think theyre turning mean or anything... im sure after his shed hell be back to normal again.

Well, in preparation for his shed I need to change the aspen bedding to something more moisture holding one. So one way or another I have to take him out. I'll try feeding him today and see how that goes. If he doesn't accept it, is it okay to refreeze the f/T?

Hey guys. Some updates. I'm cleaning his tank right now. Switching his bedding, so I was cleaning out the aspen when he struck at me from under his hide. I had taken everything out other than the hide he was under. He just ate 2 days ago so I'm sure he's not in the "feeding" state. Any idea why? I looked at his eyes but they seem very clear. I doubt he's in the "blind" state yet. Any ideas what's going on?

maybe hes hissing at you cuz youre bothering him too much. it seems like he never gets a chance to just chill. i agree with everyone else that hissing is not agression. even the friendliest of my snakes will hiss if they just dont want to be handled. you said you were going to feed him while in shed. i dont understand why especially since you also said that he just ate 2 days ago. they only need to eat once a week and if he doesnt eat the f/t rat dont refreeze it. either put it in the fridge and try again within a day or two or throw it out.

bigballs you misunderstood me. He's not shedding yet. I think he might be getting into the "blind" state where his eyes become shadowy. I feed him once a week on mondays. I haven't handled him almost at all since Saturday which is when these aggressive symptoms started. I fed him on monday and haven't touched him since then till now. So I haven't been handling him too much really. Before I took him out, he struck at me or something (my hand was far from him) and went right back in the hide. Then I took him out easily although he did hiss slightly. Right now he's sitting in a little box until I clean up his tank.

First step, take a breath and be calm about this. I truly believe snakes pick up on stress hormones or whatever it is us humans project when we're nervous or upset.

Step back and reassess. Is this just a bit of hissing from a snake that's just not interested in being bothered at the moment? Is this the snake's reaction to something in it's environment? Double check every aspect of your care step by step. Temps, humidity, hides, etc. Make sure they are dead on.

I noticed you mentioning about how you clean his enclosure. Perhaps those wipes are creating a residue that bothers him. Changing the type of substrate for shedding isn't needed either, find something that will work all the time or just mist during shed or adjust his caging so it holds humidity better. Messing about with their home upsets these snakes.

You mentioned feeding once per week. How big is this snake and what exactly does it eat (prey type and size)?

Try to determine if this is just a behaviour that's occurring occasionally or if this is a pattern that indicates there may be a problem.

This is the first time it has happened. I'm changing the substrate (for the first time) from aspen to coconut husk since I couldn't keep the humidity at around 55% on average with aspen. At times I had to put in wet paper towels to keep the humidity at 55%. This is the first and only time I'll be changing the substrate. I also haven't cleaned his enclosure with Colorox or Lysol yet. This is the first time as well, and that's why I was asking whether it was safe or not.

The snake is 19inches or so, eating an adult mouse per week. He used to be on fuzzies, but I switched him to adult mice and he's been feeding and growing nice and big ever since. To be honest I think this is just something he's into right now and will grow out of it. I'm not really scared of him, I just don't want to injure him or stress him too much.

Another update on this. It's been almost a week since this behavior has been in him. Just now I took off the hide to pick him up after 4 days of not bothering him and he snapped into a striking position, and then while I was staring at him behind the glass he stuck at me like 6-7 times. I had to mist at him a bit for him to tuck his head away and I replaced the hide. Honestly I have no idea what to think. The temps are perfect, hides are there, humidity is at 55%, he has water, the tank is closed off on both sides and the back has a jungle background. I just don't understand why he is like this.

He definitely seems stressed. Just wondering - are you in a college dorm? Is it loud in the room or a lot of activity? This kind of thing will stress him out too. Honestly - when I clean out by bps enclosure and put all his same stuff back exactly the way it was, he still spends at least one night roaming around smelling everything before he calms down. Between putting him in a box and changing out the substrate he feels a little stressed. I just leave him alone for a day and he goes right back to normal. When my daughter went away to college and I didn't know what I was doing, he struck the side of the enclosure once. Since figuring everything out (temps, humidity, feeding, handling, etc), he's never been aggressive again.

I have a spitfire too. She is one of my '07 babies. She hisses, and would strike if I let her. I stop this by Gently tapping her head back with the nozzle of an empty spray bottle when I slide her tub open. She recoils a bit, sits there, and I pick her up by Not grabbing for her head, but rather, lifting her by her lower 2/3 of her body. I have an adult female who assumes the S position when her tub's opened, but she means business; she once struck, and coiled, on me. This was not a defensive strike; it was a prey strike! To prevent this, again, I tap her gently (NOT hard) in the nose with the bottle, and she recoils and seems to stop and think. I then nonthreadteningly, but confidently, lift her by her body, not her head area, and do not point her nose at myself or another person. She and my little bratty one both get more interested in me, my shirt, the table, etc. after removed.

I would also recommend consistency in his tub. Changing substrates and hides is going to stress him. I would stick to one type of substrate (of course, cleaning it and replacing it with new, same-type substrate when dirty!)

No, I have my own apartment. He is located in the living room but we spend most of the time in the bedroom or outside. It's been 4 days since I've changed the substrate and I hadn't bothered him until yesterday. I thought that might be sufficient. The thing is when I first got him I let him be for upto 2 weeks I believe. he had gotten very jumpy and hissy but within 2 weeks I had him used to me and calmed him down a lot. Then RANDOMLY this happened. It happened before I changed substrates or for the matter of fact anything really. I thought he might be hungry so I fed him on monday and he happily ate :) Then I tried handling him for the first time yesterday and at first he seemed fine sitting in his ball tolerating my gentle strokes. At one point I made an attempt to pick him up but he hissed and I decided to take my time rather than just go for it and grab him. Then after 3-4 minutes he uncoiled out of the ball and the second he saw me snapped into that S striking position. It's a bummer really. The only explanation is that he might be shedding but I haven't seen his eyes turn blue yet. I doubt I've missed it since I've been paying a close attention to him for awhile now.

So here's my question. What would be the best course of action in my case? I'm not scared to take him out really, but would it be better to simply take him out and handle for 5 mins and put him back, and slowly work it up from there? ....or let him be for a week and get used to the substrate and perhaps even shed?