Ball python always tries to bite me during feeding time. Help?

[AllieKin]

Hi everyone,

So, today I was bitten by one of my females who has always been confused during feeding time. She thinks I am the food!

It makes sense that she is confused (I am alive after all, and I feed all of my BPs F/T rats) but I was wondering if you guys had any tips to help me out. I always warm the rats up so that they are warm to the touch (and warm all the way through), but this doesn't seem to help her. She still tries to eat me.

She tends to get upset after trying to strike at my hand (even if it is clear that she is hungry and wants to eat) and then she won't eat during that feeding. She is a pretty timid snake.

I use feeding tongs so that my hands are pretty far away from her during feeding time, but this doesn't help.

Any tips would be very greatly appreciated!

Allie

[C2tcardin]

Do you house her in a tub to tank? I have a couple that are such aggressive strikers that I just slide their tubs out an inch or two and dangle the rat in.

[Reinz]

Easy, longer tongs or hemostats.

The ruler in the pic is 9 inches - why, who knows?

[AllieKin]

Awesome!! Thanks so much!

I keep her in a tub, so next time I will try to open it just a tiny bit. If this doesn't work, I'll purchase some really long tongs.

You guys rock!

[bcr229]

You can also run your hands under some really cold water for a while just before feeding so the rat is the hottest thing she sees when you open the tub.

[Monty's_Mom]

Another suggestion is to wear disposable latex or vinyl gloves while you are handling the rat and take them off or put a fresh pair once you are ready to hold the rat with tongs. It can help prevent your hand from smelling like a rat.

[Bloodlines]

How high are your temps? Maybe turn down the hot spot a couple degrees. Sometimes we keep them too hot for comfort & this extra heat increases digestion, thus increasing appetite, & we get a constant feeding response every time we open the tub.


www.snakebloodlines.net

[AllieKin]

Thanks for the helpful tips everyone! It is much appreciated!

My hot spot is set at 84 degrees F. If I set it higher than this my ball pythons all move to the cool side of their tubs, so 84 seemed good to me. Would this temperature speed their digestion?

I am also happy to say that I opened her tub just a tiny bit to feed her with the tongs (then closed it as far as I could after the rat was in so she couldn't stick her head out) and she ate the rat! She still looked like she wanted my hand, but when she realized she could not stick her head out of the tub she settled for the rat.

[JLC]

I've got one big girl that launches herself at whatever comes first into her reach on feeding day. Even using long tongs, it can get the heart racing. I use a snake hook to open the tub, otherwise, no matter how long the tongs are, the hand/arm opening the tub is always close by. So I use the hook to draw the tub open, and like mentioned above, just wide enough to get the nose of the rat into the tub. Once she keys in on the real prey, she's super easy to deal with. Even with the small opening, it's not uncommon for her to launch herself through it and snag the rat right out of the air. But once she's got it, I can open the tub and lift her back in without any trouble.

[EasiGregory]

I don't know if its just me being lucky but all I do is lay the rat on the floor of the tub and my snakes just come to dinner. When I have tried dangling the rat with tongs in the past they don't show any interest. Not sure if you have tried it or not but maybe try just laying the rat inside and leaving it for a bit. Just a suggestion.

Greg