My BP struck at me for the first time =(

So i was trying to take her out of her hide because i was replacing them sso they could be identical and as i reach my hand in for her she tries to bite me! ,,,now shes curled up under her little tree and doesnt want to move...

Don't worry, it's a snake, it happens. Just give it some space.

My advice: Don't back off when you get bitten, or else the snake will always attempt to bite you because it knows that's how it can get rid of you. If you ignore the bites, it will bite less and less. Good luck.

my norm striked at my face during my first few weeks with him... i had a mouse in my hand, and i put it in the box... he wasnt interested so i went to pull it out and it straight up went for my face!

then it went for teh mouse ^-^.

Thats what they do. You probably startled it when you pulled the hide off without warning.

How should i go about it next time?

You should let it know you are in it's presence so it won't be alarmed. Try to approach it slowly.

Possibility that you may have startled it. Don't worry though, it'll be fine. I remember when I was misting my male BP's enclosure and I had him in one hand and the other hand was misting the tank with a spray bottle and he struck at my other hand because maybe he found that to be a threat and I admit I was misting the enclosure quite fast just to get it over with. Sometimes he still gives me that "wtf" look and stares at me, so I will never put my hand in his face just in case lol. I know I can put my hand in my female BP's face though, she does not care if I do so.

when u pick it up next time try to go around the snake and pick it up... if it bites dont worry too much i got bit 6 times by a few of my babbies last week lol

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Originally Posted by Beto510

How should i go about it next time?

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They don't have good hearing (if at all?), so the best way is to alert them with movement. Usually I'll tap on the hide before lifting it, so I don't catch them completely by surprise... you'll see them tighten or curl inside their hide, which lets you know they're aware of your presence. So far Delilah has been my only snappy BP, and she did tag me once when I bothered her during shed - it hurt less than a paper cut, so don't let them scare you. :D

My little guy tagged me the first day of having him. I was trying to move something in his tank and he seemed very very tense the whole time, so I am not suprised. It was closed mouth tho so no biggy.

I lift up his hide all the time when he is in it. I tried to do it slowly at first tho, so it moves a little and he realizes Im there, then I take it away normal speed.

Im not an expert by any means (obviously), this is just how it seems to be working for me.

When was the last time that you fed her? If she was napping (and it's hard for us to tell, since they don't have eyelids) and then woke up suddenly and saw movement, it may have been instinctual to quickly "ambush" the prey that suddenly entered her enclosure.

Getting bitten when you own snakes is inevitable at some point - they're still instinctual animals. The fear of a bite from a ball python is far worse than the actual bite itself.

This is what snakes do, from time to time. No big deal.

im supposed to feed her tommorow for the first time since i got her =) so i was looking forward to that but i think she migh refuse since i startled her.. or is it no biggie??

It's nothing to be frowned upon :) I think most if not all of us has been or will be bitten by our pet BP :D.
Like others have said, try not to put your hand in, straight on their face. I think it's very threatening to them.

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Originally Posted by Beto510

im supposed to feed her tommorow for the first time since i got her =) so i was looking forward to that but i think she migh refuse since i startled her.. or is it no biggie??

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I don't think it will be a problem, since my cranky female will even eat during a shed... might as well give it a try! Will you be feeding live or F/T?

well right now the pet store has been feeding her live so im goin to stay with that for now until she gets a little more conforrtable with me then i might switch to F/T

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Originally Posted by rabernet

If she was napping (and it's hard for us to tell, since they don't have eyelids)

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I know, that totally tripped me out at first! Once I caught Toby fast asleep with his head laying sideways, and thought for a second he was dead... when I realized he was just asleep, I also realized how darned cute he looked. :)

Sounds like you just got her so you may want to double check your temps and hides to make sure all of her husbandry needs are met, its possible she is over stressed. Other than that dont worry they do that. A few tips I use when pickin them up is I always aproach from the back of the snake. If the snake is extra pissed off that day for some reason then I try to leave them alone, if I have to deal with them then I have a towel that I throw over them before I pick them up.

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Originally Posted by Beto510

im supposed to feed her tommorow for the first time since i got her =) so i was looking forward to that but i think she migh refuse since i startled her.. or is it no biggie??

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I don't think you answered rabernets question. When did you get her, how long ago? Since this is your first time feeding her, i'm going to assume you've read other posts, and had her for about a week?

i know how it feels, but yesterday i was handling her and using the comp at the same time. And i had my thumb sticking out and she prob though it was food :taz: so then i felt some pain in my thumb and i realized she wanted to eat my finger lol and she started curling/ constricting my hand so i quickly got up walked to her cage unwraped her tail and put my hand in the cage and she let go =]

Did you try tapping her? I find that if you go from the side of the head and lightly tap their side a few times then grasp them, they realize that you are there to pick them up and more receptive to the idea. GL

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Originally Posted by donkiez

Sounds like you just got her so you may want to double check your temps and hides to make sure all of her husbandry needs are met, its possible she is over stressed. Other than that dont worry they do that. A few tips I use when pickin them up is I always aproach from the back of the snake. If the snake is extra pissed off that day for some reason then I try to leave them alone, if I have to deal with them then I have a towel that I throw over them before I pick them up.

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Yea i had her for a week now