Attitude from a new snake, am I doing the right thing?

[artgecko]

I just got my third BP from the Atlanta show last month. She is small and came from a larger breeder (gourmet rodent) so she had zero handling before I got her. She is exhibiting extremely tense behavior whenever I have to clean her tub, pick her up, etc. During handling, she will ball up and when she un-balls, she will remain very tense and ready to strike. i.e. After having her out for about 5 minutes, she un-balled and I was holding her in one hand. She struck multiple times at my other hand (and I wasn't baiting her or making fast motions etc.). She connected with my hand once and attempted another strike. At that point I did something I have seen in a justin Kobyukla (sp?) video and put my hand over her head, at which point, she balled back up... but never went into "flight" mode.

I have even seen her do defensive strikes at her food... She ate fine the first 2 feedings taking the mouse right off. The third, she struck defensively a few times and didn't eat (I later realized that she was in shed). At my last feeding, she eventually took the rat pup, but only after 2 defensive strikes and leaving it with her alone in her tub (f/t).

At this point, I'm not sure if what I am doing will help mellow her out with time or if I need to do something differently. Hopefully I didnt just buy an extremely bitey (for life) BP as she is mostly for pet purposes.

If you have any input on what has worked for you in the past in similar situations, that would be great.

Thanks for your feedback!

[scalrtn]

You might try putting her in a pillow case during handling periods (which should probably be fairly minimal...and brief.) That at least reduces the added stress of unwelcome visual stimuli...I also covered its cage with construction paper (per forum suggestions) to help try and make my snake feel more secure in its new home.

[Lady mkrj58]

Alot of times no matter what the animal is if they are sick and don't feel good they will let it be known. I would take her to the Vet just to make sure she is healthy and does not have worms. If she's healthy then start looking at what you can do in the trust department.

Sent from my SGH-T999

[Lady mkrj58]

Lots of folks here that know the issues of an untamed Ballpython and can help you understand your Ballpython. I question the Breeder he sells these Babies as Pets and knows they are a little wild. Hum . Also check your snakes habitat and make sure it's setup is right as in Temperature ranges. You should take a picture of your new Baby and share we all like pictures.

Sent from my SGH-T999

[artgecko]

Thanks for the input guys.
I might try the pillowcase trick. I attempted handling her again today and even after she un-balled, she kept her neck in an "s" position the whole time.. She did attempt to explore a tiny bit, which is a step in the right direction I guess.

Lady mkrj58 - If only I had a reptile vet around, I might try that, but there are no vets with any reptile experience here... I haven't seen any signs of worms (she pooped / peed normally just a couple days ago), but I will keep that in mind. If she doesn't start putting on weight or looses weight, I might take her in.

[nightrainfalls]

when handling fidgety snakes. I generally try to put the towel on my lap, set the snake on top of the towel, and then fold the towel over the snake. Usually the snake will relax inside the towel. I then pet the snake through the towel and let it get used to my scent. After a while the snake will usually moves it head out. I try not to spook it and let it crawl out. My goal is to get the snake used to crawling through my hands, from one to the other. Once the snake stops biting, l et them crawl all over me, I have found they often seem to either sit in the collar of my shirt, inside the shirt under my armpit or under my ball cap.

David

[Lady mkrj58]

Great post from nighttrsinfalls

Sent from my SGH-T999

[Sauzo]

Well as your sig shows, you own a lot of snakes so probably not needing to say this but you should give the snake about a month to settle in and get going good with feeding, pooping, shedding. Then after that, you can start slowly working with them. Start off by just picking them up in their cage and letting them sit on you hand. How long have you had the snake? You said it ate 2 meals, went into shed and then ate again, so a month? Some snakes are just more high strung than others and will take longer and more work to calm down. If the snake doesn't want to be messed with, my advice is just give it a couple more weeks and just clean the cage, change water and do normal routine and assuming you don't stress the snake out, it will eventually realize you aren't a giant who is going to eat it. Trying to force a snake to "like" you will just stress it out more and can actually do more damage than help.

[artgecko]

Thanks again for the input guys!
nightrainfalls- I will try the towel trick. I was using a towel, but just for it to sit on, I will try putting the towel over her next time and see how things go.

Sauzo- Yes, I've had her about a month. I left her totally alone the first two weeks and after she had eaten for me twice, I tried a couple very short handling sessions. I tried a slightly longer session last week (about 5-6 minutes) which is when she started striking and actually bit me. Yes, I have several snakes, but even with my jaguar carpet who was VERY defensive at first... within about 4-5 sessions he figured things out and now doesn't strike at all. What is weird with this BP, is that she remains "tight" the whole time and typically doesn't try to explore or even crawl away. I had never experienced this with my other two (both from big breeders and no handling prior to me getting them) which is why the behavior surprised me.

Thanks again for your input!

[bcr229]

What is weird with this BP, is that she remains "tight" the whole time and typically doesn't try to explore or even crawl away. I had never experienced this with my other two (both from big breeders and no handling prior to me getting them) which is why the behavior surprised me.

She may never settle, I have two breeder-size females that have been like this since they were babies. They remain tense and even when being held will strike at shadows and quick movements; watch your lighting and make sure you are never backlit when picking yours up, it does seem to help. With patient, short handling sessions they've progressed to the point where tub cleaning is no longer a two-person job (one cleaner one snake holder), but neither will ever be a cuddle snake.