A little concerned

[grees4]

Hi everyone, I just recently got a baby ball python, about a month ago. I got her from a breeder in my area, captive bred. I did a LOT of research on them first so I'd be prepared, and I'm very happy with her, but I do have one concern. She is terribly aggressive. She bites, a lot, and lately she has been hissing at me, most of my friends, and well as my boyfriend are scared to get near her because she will snap at them, even though I keep reassuring them she's too small to actually hurt anyone.

I take her out once a day (for the most part) I handle her for just a little bit and then allow her to roam (closely monitored of course) but she's still being so aggressive.

I was hoping you guys knew of some ways to get her comfortable with people a little quicker. I expect that she will get over this, and other than the biting she is perfect, absolutely beautiful and a healthy eater.

[rabernet]

It sounds to me like she may be stressed. And remember, everyone is a predator, and she's throwing you all sorts of signals that she's not comfortable.

Can you tell us a little bit about her enclosure? Like how big is it? How you measure your temps? What are you using for heat? How snug are her hides? Is she in a high traffic area?

[grees4]

Well, she's about 3 months old, so I imagine she is pretty scared. I have her in a 10 gallon tank (I was told anything larger would stress her out for now) I currently got 4 different types of thermometers in there, and one humidity gauge. I've got a under-tank heater underneath the tank but not attached to the tank. She's on aspen bedding, and has 2 medium sized hides, there is about an inch and a half of clearance between her balled up and the entrance to the hide. She's in my bedroom right now so generally she's undisturbed for most of the day.

[Sparky1]

So are your temps in the good range, 90's on the warm side 80's on the cooler?

[grees4]

Ya, I check atleast twice a day and a few hours ago the warm side was at 91, the cool side at 82, and the humidity was at about 60

[Sparky1]

Well i have heard that some snakes are more aggresive than others, does she calm down much once she is out?

[grees4]

Well, she is kind of moody. Sometimes she wont try and bite me at all, but she wont explore so long as I'm holding her either. But if I put her next to me on the bed while I'm studying she will watch me for a while and eventually explore even sometimes climbing over me. And other times she will hiss at me from the start and just stare at me the whole time like she's thinking about attacking me or something.

[Sparky1]

Wow unless she is still feeling stress for some reason i am at a loss, just as a rule mine never stay out more than like 15 to 20 min a day or they get restless, never strike but want to escape. Them exploring as we call it can be a good or a bad thing, some exploring is more like trying to escape than you may be aware of. I dont know if you have tried this yet but try leaving her alone for a solid 7 days. This means no handling no nothing. Start this right after she has eaten since you should not handle then anyways.

After the seven days begin to handle her but limit it to say 5 to 10 min once a day and dont put her down to explore just hold her and let her get comfortable with you and your touch. This is something you should do not your friends or other people since she needs to get comfortable with one person before she is exposed to lots of people. It should not take to long for her to accept you and handling a lil more, you can then begin to extend the amount of time she is handeled, and who is doing it. Just keep an eye on her and if she starts acting real flighty, its a good sign she has had enough for the day, dont push it just let her head back to her home.

Doing this same thing i have calmed down year old female who was a striker, this is also the same thing i practice with all new snakes i get. Just one last note for the first week or two i stay in the same room as the enclosures, that way the smell and the temperature are the same. This is all i have maybe someone else has any ideas?

[grees4]

I did leave her alone when I first got her, but she did have a long car ride home and thats when she first started the biting. I will try leaving her alone for a week again, maybe now that she's more settled into her new home it will go smoother. Thanks for your advice, I'll definetly give it a try, and it does make sense that her "exploring" may really be her escaping, since she really did escape from her enclosure once before. (I learned my lesson to always double check to make sure my boyfriend REALLY locked the lid completely from now on)

Hopefully she relaxes, because right now its not a big deal if she bites at me, but a year from now it will be a much bigger problem.

[Noek]

sounds like shes got a little Burmy in her