Trying to clean enclosure!

[Miranda324]

I have a problem... I've had this ball python for a few months now, and I switched him to frozen/thawed a large (or maybe medium large)rat every two weeks... He was getting tiny live mice before I got him. I'm trying to clean his enclosure right now. I'll be honest that it's a little overdue to be cleaned because of stuff that's been going on, and it got put off a few days... But he is acting aggressive like he is hungry and comes after me while I'm trying to clean the enclosure. I originally got him for my 11 year old daughter... And I didn't think that I would be afraid to handle him because I was told he wasn't aggressive as long as he was fed, by the previous owner... But we haven't handled him too much out of fear because of this behavior... and I'm just sitting here not knowing what to do with only half of the paper towels removed on one side of the enclosure, and his hide removed while he looks at me like I'm a snack! I just fed him last week and have had him on a biweekly feeding schedule which he had to get used to, after eating live mice weekly. We have handled him before. He is not always like this... But when he is I'm afraid to even clean his enclosure out, but I've never been stuck with having it half done and then not knowing what to do now because I'm afraid to open the door to the enclosure to finish it!! His water bowl really needs clean and everything since he got feces in it. He is in a big commercial enclosure made of PVC by the way(with 2 long front doors made of plexiglass), not an aquarium/terrarium type enclosure. I feel stuck right now! I seriously need advice! My cats like to mess with him too but I have to get a utility shelf and make room in another room to move him to before I can solve that problem... I don't know if he is more defensive because of them? Just please help. I don't know what the exact problem is!

[Kerimac]

Put a washcloth over him and pick him up. Finish cleaning with one hand if you have to then put him back in. Depending on his age/size, he probably needs to eat once a week but this behavior is defensive, not aggressive. They(most of them) do not like things moving around in front of them in their "space". It scares them. They naturally think everything is going to be a predator. I would hold him a little more often as well and make sure all Temps and humidity are spot on. I'm going to go ahead and post this to you bc I know you are in a situation but I'd like to share how I got my guy out of this same behavior. Feel free to message me after you get finished. Good luck mama!

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[Bogertophis]

The proximity of your cats is probably a BIG part of what's making him so defensive. That's not fair either, you need to stop giving them access to him if you expect him
to thrive.

But whether he's afraid-defensive or thinks you're dinner, you just need to tell him he's mistaken.

One easy & HARMLESS way to make a snake back off (& say "I'm NOT yo dinner!") is to give him a spray/mist of clean cold water in the face. That should subdue him
enough that you can put a towel over him & then pick him up and out of the enclosure while you clean. Obviously you don't have a snake hook, or you'd be using it...

And btw, snakes feel most vulnerable & are MOST likely to bite defensively when we approach them...so if you're going to keep a snake, you MUST learn
how to communicate with them. Remember this: they do not see well & do NOT identify you by vision. That's why many snakes may act this way until you
pick them up...then they remember they know you by scent & touch (their best senses to identify things) & most calm down.

[dakski]

I remove all my snakes when cleaning. This way, I don't either a) get mistaken for food or b) scare them and get them defensive.

AND KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THE CATS or KEEP THE CATS AWAY FROM HIM!

I had a BP who got defensive because I had a dog marking the base of his tank stand. Took me forever to figure out what was going on, but once I did, he was a different BP. I cannot imagine what actually have the cats near him would do to him. He's thinking PREDATOR!!!!!!!

[wnateg]

Unless it's a spot clean, I take my snakes out and put them in a tub.

[Miranda324]

I know I need to move him to a room that is more isolated... But my apartment is tiny and I have been doing a lot of decluttering around the house and still don't have another place to put him just yet and haven't had the extra money to get a shelf for him yet as me and my fiance keep have had a few financial set backs recently that were unexpected. Info really care and feel bad for him, even to the point that I have considered rehoming him because it's been a lot on my plate! We are currently not even using our dining room table because that's where he has been since we've got him. He is really big actually. 4 feet long, and pretty thick at his girth (but doesn't look overweight) Definitely full grown. If he were to start freaking out by me handling him with a towel over his head, I would be so nervous! I'm trying so hard to get over my fear. I used to want to be a zoologist and handled lots of animals, even reptiles, but have never owned a snake until now, and I was actually excited about getting him when we did and had every intention on handling him a lot more, I since i know ball pythons are typically docile. I just did not expect this. I have had problems with his cool side of the enclosure, because the stupid heat pad they gave me isn't the right kind for the enclosure. I got it on a thermostat after I got him because I discovered it was getting too hot. I don't have air conditioner right now so the cool side of the enclosure is a perfect 80* right now, but I would rather get a heat panel because when it would be cooler in here, that side would not go above 75*. I'm still trying to figure out humidity. Right now it is 71%. He has a large water bowl in there, and I was told that was good enough for humidity, but I can spray it in there if I need to. Just trying to get it clean right now... Ugh!

[Faith.luu]

If you are only spot cleaning, then you don’t need to remove your bp. One method you could do is cover their head gently with your hand, coming from the back side. You should find that your snake will ball up. I would do this and place them either back under their hide, or keep your hand over top until they relax.

If you are deep cleaning, or moving the enclosure then I would recommend using a snake hook if its too scary to move your snake with your hands. If the paper towel method works then that’s great, otherwise a snake hook works fantastic. You could also place them in a pillowcase to keep them calm.

No need to bump up the humidity higher. Ideally it should be about 60-65%. I would recommend a low wattage heat bulb to keep your cool side temps up. If it’s 80 normally, and dips to 71 at night then I wouldn’t actually worry. Some variance like this is not a big deal since, naturally, temperatures and humidity will dip during the night(personal preference). But if it is periodical for say a day or two then I’d definitely invest in a heat bulb.

[Kerimac]

I used to be super scared of handling my bp when I first got her, once she hears the tub lid open up she automatically gets defensive. I honestly wore winter gloves, and used a hook to move her. She was my first snake and I was very scared(even though I knew her bite wouldn’t hurt). I would highly recommend a snake hook. And then you can place your bp in a pillowcase. This will protect and calm both of you. You can definitely try covering her with a paper towel. I personally was still scared to try this technique, with gloves, so I ended up using a snake hook.

I’ve even spent handling sessions with her in the pillowcase so that she could get used to the feeling. After a while I ditched the pillowcase, and gloves. Handled her with my bare hands and used a snake hook to move her. As my confidence grew I ditched the snake hook too. Now I just carry her and move her when I need to, and when I open the door to her enclosure she stays totally calm. I think I’ve finally built up my trust and confidence with her, so handling is not an issue anymore.

And to get a ball python out of a defensive mode, you can use your hands and gently cover the head, coming from behind. Your bp should instantly ball up under your hand. Remain still for a few minutes and slowly remove your hand. You’ll find them balled up. And eventually they will relax and become curious. Overtime they won’t require this anymore as they slowly learn to trust. I did this technique with my bp. She used to take 15 minutes to finally un ball and relax. Then she took only a minute or two. I’ve now reached a point where she doesn’t even ball up. She will freeze, but then she relaxes and becomes curious.

Great post here. There are also a number of videos on YouTube about defensive ball pythons and gaining confidence in yours and it gaining confidence in you. PredatorBP did a really good one on this, as did Chris Hardwick. Go take a watch!

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[Bogertophis]

You really should have started with a smaller snake... BTW, I wouldn't trust the aim of a nervous person (you) with a 'small' towel to put over his head either, so if you try that, use a towel that's big enough to contain him, to pick him up. A lot of snakes are really bluffing when they come after you like this, & if you put your hand in a box you could probably approach him with it & I bet he'll back up, not to mention that a box (like a cereal box) would have utterly nothing to interest him for grabbing or eating. And if you're only spot cleaning, most snakes back up & stay in their hide if you block their view with a piece of corrugated cardboard, used like a shield.

This reminds me of when I was a teen, we had a very wild parakeet (he'd been loose outside for a while & neighbors caught it & gave it to us for a pet). Anyway, whenever we'd reach in his cage (to change food & water, for example) he'd come after us & try to bite. He was pretty successful too. But I discovered that when I put my hand right up to his face, he did absolutely nothing, so I learned to call his bluff & after a while we got along fine.

When you DO get around to handling this snake, keep your hands quiet & underneath him. As the saying goes, snakes don't bite the ground they crawl on. And when they're nervous they may misunderstand your "other hand" as being a separate threat, not part of the warm friendly soul that's holding them, so just keep that in mind...vision can confuse them. They learn our touch & scent...you could even put a worn old shirt in with him so he gets to learn your scent isn't a threat...it couldn't hurt. (unless it's your best shirt & he dumps on it, lol, that's why I said "old")

[Miranda324]

Well I've been traumatized since he lunged at me once, mouth open, when he was hungry soon after we first got him. I almost got his head stuck in the enclosure door trying to close it shut when he did that. I had a rat ready to put in there, and I didn't even get in in there yet to feed him when he did that. His prey item was too small the feeding before that, so that's why he was so hungry that time... But I learned, and started feeding him rats, so he never did it again. I'm not spot cleaning. He peed all over the place in there and there blood from his last rat he ate. I use paper towels instead of a different substrate. He has scars on his head from where a past owner fed him a love rat and was injured(so he does not like his head touched I've found from the times we have safely handled him), but the last owner got him from a rescue so he had that before they even got him. The daughter of the woman who sold him to us, turned 18 and moved out and didn't want him anymore, and she said they handled him frequently and that he would be safe for us to handle. I still gotta get a snake hook I guess. I'm just having to ask my fiance for money for everything right now. I just recently quit my job and we are due to have a baby in the next few weeks(maybe less!). My daughter wanted a snake and someone I knew, knew someone wanting to re-home him at the time, so I jumped on it to be honest! I didn't realize the reality of how big he was either until she brought him over, but I didn't know everything would become so nerve wracking, and stressful with him. I did research stuff about his care and everything before we got him, but didn't realize I would still be in this boat after getting him. I'm not going to lie... I'm exhausted and just left that side of the enclosure bare that I didn't finish (for now), until tomorrow so I can maybe go back at it more prepared and less stressed out, because I just got so tired and upset about it. He will be ok for a night with it like that. It needs more than a spot clean though, so that's my point is there is pee and poop all over. I'm also looking into utility shelves so I can get him away from view of my cats and vice -versa, but they are too expensive right now until we get caught up on some other things financially... I just feel like a failure with this snake!😭😭😭