Ball Python Acting Differently, Not Sure What To Do! 🤯

[mistytheball]

Hi! I'm a new member and I apologize if this post is on the wrong forum, I thought this was the best fitting... anyway,

I got a 3 year old ball python one month ago! Her name is Misty. Everything has been great up until just a couple days ago. I painted my room and because the fumes aren't good for snakes, I made sure to move her and my baby corn snake (in other tank!) into my sisters room just while my room was being painted. I just moved them back into my room, but after the first day- the first day she was fine- she started getting more defensive and because of this I haven't been able to hold her or take her out. Every time I touch her she flinches a little and I don't want to make her more uncomfortable. While she was in the other room, I put my other snakes enclosement (which is still pretty small) over hers because there wasn't a ton of room. Now they aren't right on each other but something I noticed was that Misty started kind of hovering to the top trying to sniff out my smaller snake (Whitey). Now she's over to the side of her tank still trying to sniff her out I believe. What I'm wondering is, what can I do to make her more comfortable? Was it just because of the new environment? And since I painted my room, should I leave her alone so she can get used to whats different or should I try to handle her to let her know I'm not a predator?

Sorry for this long post, I'm just worried and haven't dealt with snakes for too long and I don't know what to do! I'll also include in this post some pics of her I just took incase anyone determines that she doesn't look healthy.

Also she looks healthy still besides the fact she seems really curious about her surroundings and I can't touch her :/

[Bogertophis]

Having your room painted totally changed how it smells to your snakes, & since you only had her for a month prior, I'm sure she wondered "Now where am I?" when
suddenly everything smelled so different. And the other new smell, your corn snake, obviously got her curious too. Her reactions sound perfectly normal to me.
Changes are scary for a snake, so be patient.

Has she fed for you since you've owned her? How many times? It's always better not to handle a new snake until they've fed easily, reliably for you a couple times.
It's more important that they eat...if you make too many demands on them, it can stress them into not feeding, but once they've crossed that hurdle, it should be
fine to get to know her better. What is her history? Was she handled as a pet, or ignored? If she had very little handling prior, that may be why she flinches &
seems defensive, but be patient, it should pass. Most snakes learn that we are safe to be with & calm down with a little handling...but the only way she'll conclude
that is by actually being held by you. So if she's fed a few times, handling her should be fine.

As with all snakes, pay attention to her body language: ball pythons are usually mellow, but the scariest thing is when we first approach them & pick them up. That's
because they don't identify us visually & from their point of view, we might well be a predator. When you remember that they rely on their wild instincts and that the
only thing that normally picks up a snake in the wild IS a predator that's about to eat them, you can see why they're afraid when we approach & pick them up out of
their cage, right? But take your time & she'll learn to trust you.

[redshepherd]

To me, it sounds like her "curiosity" about the new surroundings is just part of displaying stress- ball pythons become more active when stressed and looking for a more ideal place to live/hide, and it often also includes reaching up toward the top of the tank, trying to get out, etc. I don't think the reaching up toward the top is necessarily her trying to sniff your other snake, it's probably just coincidence that your other snake's tank is above her's.

Maybe she was stressed by the two moves, maybe it's something about the fumes. I personally would avoid handling at this time- for ball pythons, it's always better to leave them alone when they're under stress. They're not usually the kind of snake that requires a lot of handling to tame down anyway. If your husbandry is correct and the snake is comfortable, it will be tame.

If it were me, I'd move her tank instead to somewhere darker and with 3 sides of the tank covered, and just leave her alone for a week, and see how she does.
Or if you want to see if it's really the fumes, you can move her back to your sister's room and see if her behavior goes back to normal after a few days.

eta: I just saw you just for her one month ago! That changes some things, there can be many possibilities why she might be stressed. When was the last time she ate? Maybe post a pic of your setup?

[Zincubus]

I've not read all through the thread but sometimes when a snake just turns defensive they are going into shed mode ... also occasionally when a snake is patrolling around relentlessly- apparently trying to escape maybe it's just too warm and it's trying to find a cooler place .

Just a couple of long shots ...


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[mistytheball]

She has eaten once without a problem, I got her from a breeder who said he had just fed her a few days before I got her so I waited ~2weeks to feed. I was planning on feeding her again this weekend, not sure if it'll make her more comfortable or be too soon since she's showing stress... she definitely did let me know when she was hungry by being a lot more active and by trying to get out to hunt for food (what I read), and now that I think about it, that could also be it.
It's good seeing that they just need patience in this kind of situation!

[Bogertophis]

If she's only fed once for you so far, I'd wait until after another feeding before handling her. And as mentioned above, another reason snakes get defensive
is when they're going into a shed cycle...it's always best not to handle them at that time. Pay attention and you'll get better at "reading" your snake's needs.
Glad you joined us here, welcome!