BP showed aggression?

[karma279]

I've got an adult male I recently aquired from a friend.
He eats well.... has always tolerated handling by me and my little girl. Just typical ball attitude. The other day I fed him (2 large male mice)
The next day I walked by the cage and heard "bam!"
I turned and he had struck the glass....
I waved my hand around in front of the glass and lightly tapped on it to see if he'd do it again and sure enough.... mouth open and struck the cage. I've never heard of a BP doing anything like this. I called my buddy (they are highly experienced) and he told me to get him out.
I reached in with no problems and the snake seemed fine. Acted like a ball again.
The temps stay decent.... maybe a drop low at times but nothing to worry about. The only change from last handling was that he'd eaten; and I added a small UTH. I got him out to make sure the glass wasnt hot.... all seemed OK?
Anyone have an explanation? I'd hate for him to strike at my kid. She'd freak out!

[blackcrystal22]

I've got an adult male I recently aquired from a friend.
He eats well.... has always tolerated handling by me and my little girl. Just typical ball attitude. The other day I fed him (2 large male mice)
The next day I walked by the cage and heard "bam!"
I turned and he had struck the glass....
I waved my hand around in front of the glass and lightly tapped on it to see if he'd do it again and sure enough.... mouth open and struck the cage. I've never heard of a BP doing anything like this. I called my buddy (they are highly experienced) and he told me to get him out.
I reached in with no problems and the snake seemed fine. Acted like a ball again.
The temps stay decent.... maybe a drop low at times but nothing to worry about. The only change from last handling was that he'd eaten; and I added a small UTH. I got him out to make sure the glass wasnt hot.... all seemed OK?
Anyone have an explanation? I'd hate for him to strike at my kid. She'd freak out!

He's just stressed out in a new environment. It's not a big deal. Seeing something walk by his cage probably took him by surprise and he considered it a threat.
My ball did the same thing when I got him and he hasn't done it since the first week. He's never bitten at ME either except for those kind of occasions.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. :]

[karma279]

I've had him for a couple months though....
I figured it was the suprise. I figured his belly was full and I walked right by the glass from out of the blue. It was still weird to me to see a Ball do this

[sg1trogdor]

my male did it everytime when he was smaller. He did it for about 3 months i believe hes calm and sweet as can be now.

[blackcrystal22]

I've had him for a couple months though....
I figured it was the suprise. I figured his belly was full and I walked right by the glass from out of the blue. It was still weird to me to see a Ball do this

He could just be a bit territorial too. :] That he just ate could have something to do with it too, he was digesting and in a bad mood and you surprised him.

As long as you can handle him without him striking at you I don't think it will pose as anything bad in the future. He may eventually bite you but thats not unusual and usually our own faults.

[Venenito_X_Remedito]

He could have maybe thought more food was on the way
It sounds fine to me, especially because you picked him up and he acted normal again.
He might have just been in a bad mood too, I know one of mine is all the time

[frankykeno]

the next day I walked by the cage and heard "bam!"
I turned and he had struck the glass....
I waved my hand around in front of the glass and lightly tapped on it to see if he'd do it again and sure enough.... mouth open and struck the cage.

You are surprised he'd do it again? The snake just smacked the glass. What possessed you to knowingly want to trigger that behaviour again by irritating the snake with both fast movement and vibrations from your glass tapping?

[/Quote]I've never heard of a BP doing anything like this.[/Quote]

You've never heard of a Ball Python acting like a snake? They may well be a fairly laid back, fairly shy snake but they are a snake with all the instincts, abilities and reactions that every snake possesses.

The temps stay decent.... maybe a drop low at times but nothing to worry about. The only change from last handling was that he'd eaten; and I added a small UTH. I got him out to make sure the glass wasnt hot.... all seemed OK?

What exactly is "decent"? What are your temps both cool and warm side and what are you using to measure those temps with? If your heat source is controlled by a t-stat you shouldn't be getting any low drops to worry about.

I'd hate for him to strike at my kid. She'd freak out!

Children should always be closely monitored when interacting with a snake. They should also be aware that a snake can bite. So can the pet dog. So can the pet cat, the pet bird and heck, the pet turtle.

[karma279]

You are surprised he'd do it again? The snake just smacked the glass. What possessed you to knowingly want to trigger that behaviour again by irritating the snake with both fast movement and vibrations from your glass tapping?

I've never heard of a BP doing anything like this.

You've never heard of a Ball Python acting like a snake? They may well be a fairly laid back, fairly shy snake but they are a snake with all the instincts, abilities and reactions that every snake possesses.



What exactly is "decent"? What are your temps both cool and warm side and what are you using to measure those temps with? If your heat source is controlled by a t-stat you shouldn't be getting any low drops to worry about.



Children should always be closely monitored when interacting with a snake. They should also be aware that a snake can bite. So can the pet dog. So can the pet cat, the pet bird and heck, the pet turtle.

I got cha homey... you're the expert
I wasn't sure if that's what happened when I walked by so I came back to see what was up.
I realize snakes are snakes... just as much as you do. I know that balls are mild tempered.
The temp rarely drops below 75 (night/morn ambient) (if so its 73) and stay in the high 80's during the day when my lamp is on and I keep a UTH going at all times.
I know this.... my kid is never left alone with the snake. She is well aware of the abilities of said creatures. She is alone with my cat sometimes... is that OK????

[karma279]

Guess my post above came off harsh... and originally was meant to be so.
But the post I responded to was a bit abrasive. I assure you I know what I'm doing and if/when I have questions I have 2 experts (actual professional in the field) to call on for help. He has probably forgotten more information then I could collect collaboratively on the net.
I more wanted to know who has seen this type of behavior in Balls and hear stories.
Thanks for all the replies

[dr del]

Hi,

Yes it was harsh considering all anyone is trying to do is help you.

Do you mind if I ask who your proffesionals in the field are?

I ask because your response to the post that irritated you actually shows a couple of possible issues - which was why she asked the questions.

Why are you giving your snake a night time drop? Letting the temps get down to 75 at the cool end might make your snake more succeptible to respiratory infections. There are many ways to keep this species and knowledge is evolving all the time - but the only time most people expose their ball python to 75 degrees is during breeding conditioning and even then they keep a closer eye on it.

Does his cool end hide stay any warmer than the ambients?

What temps does your UTH keep during the whole cycle? Just checking it isn't causing stress by making digestion harder than it has to be. What are the temps in the warm end hide?

And the reason she asked what you are measuring the temps with is a lot of people we see are using those crappy dial type thermometers that can be as much as 20 degrees off.

Also try and remember that tone is very hard to read accurately in a text based environment and misunderstandings are common.


dr del