Spunky or Cranky?

[mis909]

My 10yr old's courage is running on fumes he has been bitten so many times by his new BP he is beginning to legitimately fear the strike and jerk in false reactions, I monitor all the interactions closely so it's been tough watching his enthusiasm crumble to dust these past few weeks. This snake was the sweetest thing at the pet store: relaxed and curious, not so much when we got him home. I've done a ton of reading and watching vid's in the last month and spent a ridiculous amount for a set up for a baby $30 snake but it's all done proper (and I discovered later he would have been happier in a $5 shoes box, ugh!) and the only problem is this little guy's badass attitude. Chompy doesn't strike at me but he does strike at everything else and when I am handling him (he only lets me handle him quickly for feedings, I use a separate tank since I don't want him eating substrata and I can sterilize it) he strikes at everything that gets near me (I hope he doesn't bite me or my hubby will tie him in a knot! So we gotta get a handle on this aggression quickly!) and he won't let anyone else pick him up without them paying for it in blood, he doesn't mess around. He is so aggressive it's almost goofy considering his size, he roots around in his aspen shavings and when I start talking and opening the lid his little head pokes straight up like a freaking cobras super tense and super watchful I jokingly think of him as a Lesser Dwarf False Rock Python since I read that Rock Pythons have notoriously bad attitudes Chompy must have one somewhere in his family tree. I have no idea why he doesn't bite me, the talking seems ridiculous so maybe it's the perfume tastes bad haha?! He eats like a beast 3 fuzzies a week choking them down sideways if that is how he latched on to it, he started at 2 but I realized within a couple of days of having him home that he was actually emaciated when I accidentally ran across pictures of starving BP's.. seriously there should be more info and pics on what starving and healthy BP's look like! So long story short Chompy eats twice a week 1 Fuzz on Mon and 2 on Wed, let me know if this schedule is bad he seems healthier to me but I am a newbie! I am a helicopter mom so I happiest fussing and worrying and strangely Chompy seems to like me talking to him as I open and maintenance his habitat, he doesn't strike at me and when I am done he quickly slithers around to check out what I've been working on esp fresh water he loves to dunk his head and swim in it! So what the heck? He seems to love his set up but hates being held. I don't know that this info even matter but here is a best guess from someone internet educated about BP's: he(she?) is about 6 to 8 months old and between 15 to 18 inches long, remember how underfed he was and I have no idea for how long that went on but he had a triangle body shape, it's softened a lot but it's still there.

Any ideas for salvaging this friendship my son wants so badly? I've tried a few tips from the YouTube channels like this one because Chompy acts a lot like these little guys (they are almost his size too!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7DQssbM0uk but Chompy made it crystal clear to me he doesn't ball for anyone with our limited snake skills lol! Our policy has always been to leave animals alone if they don't want to interact but even I am having trouble distinguishing whether this is a matter of Chompy learning to trust people or us respectfully leaving him alone because he naturally just freaking hates being handled.

Oh and also I was curious if Chompy would enjoy a tree like set up to exercise/climb around on since he seems to crave heights in his nocturnal ramblings or would this be a dangerous falling risk?

[DennisM]

Are you feeding fuzzy mice? If so, the snake is not eating like a beast, it's being underfed. At this age it should be feeding on large mice or rat pups. Of course, I don't know the snake's size, but fuzzy mice are much too small even for a BP right out of the egg.

[DennisM]

Useful links for newcomers.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Husbandry-FAQs
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

[SmoothScales]

I have got to agree with Dennis, a fuzzy - even 3 a week - while likely better than what a pet store is giving him, is still far to small. Do you have a scale? A general rule of thumb is a prey item that is 10-15% of your snake's body weight. If weighing isn't currently an option that's okay, you can also offer a prey item that is approximately the same circumference as the widest part of the snake. Granted if he is under fed that still leaves you slowly working up to the type of prey he should be on but he'll start beefing up in no time. To give you some idea, if he is 8 months old, I have a 6 month old that is happily - and easily - slurping down weaned rats every 5 days.


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[bcr229]

First, feed in the enclosure. By removing the snake from the enclosure to eat, you are teaching it that handling time = feeding time, which makes it more likely that your snake will bite. If you don't want your snake to ingest substrate then put down a small plastic plate somewhere and put the feeder on that.

Second, your snake is underfed at 3 fuzzies a week. Try offering either one small mouse or a rat pup every five days for a few weeks, then bump to a rat weanling when he hits about 400 grams (you can weigh him on a kitchen scale).

Third, most snakes in tanks will rear back and look at what is approaching them from above, as this is the direction predators (birds) often approach. This is one reason I prefer reptile enclosures with doors on the front - you can bring your hand in from the front, or rub your snake gently with a hook before you put your hand into his home, which isn't as threatening and lets him know he's about to be handled.

Fourth, not every ball python is pet-quality, and by that I mean while most eventually outgrow their nippiness and defensiveness that is normal in a baby, there are some individuals that will never tolerate handling very well without a lot of work.

[Prognathodon]

This is Morimi, my baby BP:



She's eating adult mice (about the same size as Arctic Mouse small frozen mice from pet stores). They're a *smidgen* bigger than I'd like ideally, but the lump they leave is not outrageous, so she gets a couple days longer to digest them, and I expect her to outgrow that quickly.


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[Prognathodon]

PS: as you can hopefully tell by the pictures, she's a little thing, in the 80-gram range.

I wear medium unisex disposable gloves.

(Edit for speeling)


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[mis909]

Sorry Dennis you sound a bit indignant and I don't blame you since apparently I am unintentionally starving the little guy, trust me I will fix that soonest! I just meant that he pounces on his food the second it hits the floor, but you pointing out that he is being underfed the way I am doing it is exactly what I needed to know! Temps and Humidity are all hard facts I can properly adjust even as a newbie but prey size and amounts are harder to grasp so I have to rely on what I am told until I am told differently. Now I am totally not using this as an excuse just an example on how vague all this feels to a newbie - the Husbandry FAQ even here never mentions that Fuzzies are too small even for hatchlings it only says "multiple smaller prey items are acceptable" which is also what many other Care Sheets say about feeding BP's so the whole topic feels pretty darned murky. So try not to get too upset with me all I can do is lay it out the situation as descriptively as possible and hope you guys can spot any problems and correct me!

[mis909]

Done and done! No more feeding box and his food will be getting a major upgrade

Going to get a scale today, although I have little confidence he will hold still on it lol I'll do my best, I thought weight was only tracked for breeding purposes so I was only tracking feedings, my bad! I love hearing that 10 - 15% rule - that takes all the mystery out of it which is a huge weight off my shoulders!

Oh my gosh Morimi is so cute, she looks so sweet and shy which is totally refreshing after all the blood and attitude over here haha!

If Chompy doesn't want to be a pet that is fine, in truth we are halfway prepared to hear it and accept it as a hard fact my son can always find another pet elsewhere and Chompy can retire fully into my care which he really is anyway so no problem.

[ItsAllNew2Me!]

Hi and welcome to the club! I have a girl that does nothing but try and bite me as soon as I open the lid! Shes just a big grump but none of my others seem to be a problem. When i want to move her out of her tub for cleaning i usually just bump her side and she calms down (only a bit though) since she knows its not food. But she is still really defensive. I make it a practice to bump all of my snakes on the side to calm them before picking them up. It seems to kill their feeding response. Also to keep mine on the scale i use a tupperware container and lid . Just put the container and lid on the scale and zero it out. Then put the snake in the container pop on the lid and theres your weight.