More Aggressive Ball Python Issues - PLEASE HELP!!!

[Skep]

I have a 1 and a half year old ball python. I've had him for around 11 months, and he has always been extremely docile. He's very healthy and he's never had any problems shedding. However, a few weeks ago, he started acting pretty aggressive. He settled down for a week or so while he was shedding, but now he's just back to his aggressive self. It's very hard to get him out of his tub because he constantly lashes out, even if I'm wearing gloves. Granted, I don't handle him as much as I used to. (Probably around 1-2 times a week, if I can get him out) I'm not afraid of him, and I'd love to handle him more, but it's extremely frustrating and gruelling to even get him out of his cage. However, if I successfully get him out of his cage and onto the floor of the room, he immediately settles down. Not sure if that even matters or not.

I keep him in a 32 QT/30 L sterilite tub. I have two hides at each end of the tub, a water bowl in the middle, and some fake leaves. I have a ZooMed UTH on the right side of the tub which I regulate using a HydroFarm thermostat. On the left side of the tub, I have a heat lamp with a 75 watt red bulb that stays on 24/7.
The cool side of the enclosure usually stays at 78-80 degrees, and the hot side usually stays around 90 degrees. His humidity is very consistent, 60-65% normally, and 70-75% when he's going into shed.

Should I move the heat lamp over to the same side that the UTH is on? He does have areas where he can escape the heat, but he doesn't necessarily have an entire side of the enclosure free of heat. I'm just afraid that if I put the heat lamp on the same side as the UTH, it would get way too hot...
However, I've had this set-up for the whole 11 months that he's been in my care, so I'm not sure why he would just start acting aggressive now.

I feed him 2 small rats every sunday. I also feed him in a separate enclosure. The rats weigh 45-84 grams each, according to the site that I bought them from. (MiceDirect)

Sorry about all of this info being a bit scattered. Any advice would be helpful, it stresses me out so much when he acts like this, I just want my sweet ball python back.

[bcr229]

I feed him 2 small rats every sunday. I also feed him in a separate enclosure. The rats weigh 45-84 grams each, according to the site that I bought them from. (MiceDirect)

At first I thought you might be underfeeding, but two smalls a week should be fine unless he's huge for an 18 month old.

My guess is that by feeding outside the enclosure he's been conditioned to think that removal from the tub = feeding time, so when you pull him out he expects to get fed. This is why feeding in the enclosure is now advised, as the snakes learn that leaving the enclosure = no food. It's probably also why he's ok once you put him on the floor - it's not where he gets fed.

Try feeding in his tub from now on, and otherwise when you want to get him out, touch him lightly first with a hook as a signal that there is no food coming.

[Skep]

At first I thought you might be underfeeding, but two smalls a week should be fine unless he's huge for an 18 month old.

My guess is that by feeding outside the enclosure he's been conditioned to think that removal from the tub = feeding time, so when you pull him out he expects to get fed. This is why feeding in the enclosure is now advised, as the snakes learn that leaving the enclosure = no food. It's probably also why he's ok once you put him on the floor - it's not where he gets fed.

Try feeding in his tub from now on, and otherwise when you want to get him out, touch him lightly first with a hook as a signal that there is no food coming.

Yeah, I'm pretty certain that I'm not over-feeding him. He doesn't seem hungry after he eats and he's growing normally.

I'm a bit iffy about feeding him in his enclosure, wouldn't he just get reconditioned into thinking that everything that comes into his enclosure is food?
What I might do is just tough it out and start getting him out of his cage a lot more frequently for handling, that way he knows that he's not always coming out of his enclosure just to eat.

[CryHavoc17]

Is he biting defensively or from a food response?

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[Skep]

Is he biting defensively or from a food response?

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk 2

I'm not exactly sure, is there a surefire way to tell?

My guess is a feeding response. He doesn't hiss or show any signs of defensive behavior. He just seems to want to chase down and snap at anything that moves.

[Wizard]

Unfortunately, some snakes are just jerks. I have one I've been working on for a couple years and I just can't shake her of her bad attitude.

[bcr229]

I'm a bit iffy about feeding him in his enclosure, wouldn't he just get reconditioned into thinking that everything that comes into his enclosure is food?

This is why I also advised using the hook to touch him before taking him out, so when the tub is opened one of two events happen:
- He get rubbed with a hook and then you pull out him out, spot clean, change water, handle him, etc. It's a "no food" event.
OR
- He gets fed.

[vangarret2000]

If he is biting and latching on its a food response. If he just biting and retracts them it's a defensive bite.

Handling him once or twice a week is a lot so only Doing it that much wouldn't result in that behaviour. If he is lashing while in the tank then calms down once he is out (which it seems like it is from what you wrote) that is just the snake being cage defensive. It's common. Generally just pulling them out with a hook is how to avoid issues.

Don't feed out of the tank. It's accent bad advice that doesn't die out because too many newbies just hear about, and it sounds reasonable, so they do it but it is completely unnecessary and has a better chance of a snake not eating then just feeding in the tank. Talk to anyone that is more experienced with snakes and you will see the vast majority just feed in the enclosures with no issues. Feed in the tank and just use the hook technique when you wanna handle it. Generally bps are so docile you don't even need to use the hook technique when you still feed in the tank but it sounds like yours deffinatly would.

If your issue is just the snake has become cage defensive it might seem like a big thing but it really is something that is easily balanced by using a hook and then it basically isn't an issue.

[CryHavoc17]

I'm not exactly sure, is there a surefire way to tell?

My guess is a feeding response. He doesn't hiss or show any signs of defensive behavior. He just seems to want to chase down and snap at anything that moves.

Sounds like a food response. Its pretty simple, just GENTLY tap him on the head with an object every time you open the tub and dont feed him. You can use a snake hook, a dowel rod, the cardboard paper towel tube, whatever. A soft touch on the head is almost always enough to get a ball out of food mode instantly.

Even better if you start feeding in the enclosure, so there is no confusion about what is about to happen when he gets picked up.

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[Skep]

If he is biting and latching on its a food response. If he just biting and retracts them it's a defensive bite.

Handling him once or twice a week is a lot so only Doing it that much wouldn't result in that behaviour. If he is lashing while in the tank then calms down once he is out (which it seems like it is from what you wrote) that is just the snake being cage defensive. It's common. Generally just pulling them out with a hook is how to avoid issues.

Don't feed out of the tank. It's accent bad advice that doesn't die out because too many newbies just hear about, and it sounds reasonable, so they do it but it is completely unnecessary and has a better chance of a snake not eating then just feeding in the tank. Talk to anyone that is more experienced with snakes and you will see the vast majority just feed in the enclosures with no issues. Feed in the tank and just use the hook technique when you wanna handle it. Generally bps are so docile you don't even need to use the hook technique when you still feed in the tank but it sounds like yours deffinatly would.

If your issue is just the snake has become cage defensive it might seem like a big thing but it really is something that is easily balanced by using a hook and then it basically isn't an issue.

When he bites, he doesn't latch on. But it honestly doesn't seem like a defensive bite to me... He chases my hand wherever it goes, as if it were food. Is there any way to tame the cage aggression? He's never had issues like this before, he's always been super sweet and docile, so why is he acting out now?