Help, Advice, Anything

[kira1123]

Ok, I posted this before, but now I'm really starting to worry.

My female bp who I have had for nearly a year has been very different these last couple of months. When I first got her she was the sweetest thing. She never hissed, never attempted to strike at me or my girlfriend, I could take her out without being worried she would strike for no reason. Now, when I take the lid off she follows my hand like she would a mouse and when I touch her she hisses like crazy. There is maybe one day a week I can get her out with no problem, but other then that her attitude is pretty much leave me the hell alone. I don't know what has changed to make her so aggressive, but I can't even get her water out with out her coming at my hands.

I keep her in a 31q tub, her warm side is 90-94F and her cool side is from 75-80 depending on the time of day. She is on a johnson control thermostat, and I use an accurite thermometer to monitor her temps. I use aspen bedding, her humidity is normally around 60% and she weighs approximately 550g. She gets her water bowl cleaned, and rinsed daily if not, every other day. I use repti-safe to neutralize tap water, and I give her about room temperature water. Her tub is cleaned once a month when she decides it is ok to touch her. Her last shed was the 4th of this month, it was shed in one piece and I cleaned her tub that same day.

I did just find out that I had been underfeeding her, but since then I have corrected that and there has been no change in attitude. I did move into my new apartment at the beginning of this month, but she was acting like this before the move. I honestly can't remember changing anything since her attitude change. I just remember one day she was as sweet as could be, then the next day she wanted nothing to do with me.

Tonight I took her water dish out to clean it and she poked her head out, followed my hand like she was going to strike; so I placed the lid back on hoping she would eventually go into one of her hides, but unfortunately she still hasn't. She laid in the spot where her dish was and every time I would open the lid back up, she came at me like she was going to bite. I left her alone again for a bit and before I opened her tub, I sat and looked at her from the outside. She was looking at me resting her head on the aspen (as if she was asleep) while I just stared at her. When I turned to look at my girlfriend she struck the side of the tub where I had been looking at her. I was not being loud or doing anything to disturb her,(to my knowledge) but she struck the side of the tub anyways. I imagine her strike was pretty force-full since the impact made a pretty loud thud. I don't want to give up on her, but I don't know what else to do. It is hard for me to have a pet that I cannot hold, touch, or play with, especially since my male bp is still as sweet as ever.

Any advice would much appreciated.

[RoyalGuardian]

Is aspen like Wood chips? if it is thats a BIG NO NO. I would try news paper. Wood substrate is great for humidity but if your python swallows some you could be in some big trouble. I use the funnies for my Pythons cage. It gives the cage some fun flare! I heard once that someone went to a chinese market and used their paper. How often and how much do you feed her. How big is she and how big is her prey?

[LadyOhh]

Is aspen like Wood chips? if it is thats a BIG NO NO. I would try news paper. Wood substrate is great for humidity but if your python swallows some you could be in some big trouble.

I use Sani-chips all the time with no problems.... They are aspen wood chips.

No NO NO in my book as long as you are a vigilant keeper....



As for the problem, you just need to let her be. It is stress, and the more you change things up, the more stress you are causing the animal.

Give her time.. Let her be for a week, then try and hold her. Hold her even if she trys to bite.

Don't be afraid. "Be the pack leader" Calm, cool, collected.

15 mins at a time, then work your way up...

Patience.

[RoyalGuardian]

i was just sayin that wood chips are bad cause my Best Friend Sarah lost her ball to an infection caused by an aspen chip in his intestines. i just want to save someone else from that experiance.

[butters!]

royal im not trying to start a argument but if a ball python can digest bones,a bit of aspen is harmless.imagine wat they consume in the wild.and btw,you should always supervise the feeding so if you see something like aspen getting consumed you can tend to it.

as for the OP,when did you change its prey size?even though you might have bumped it up,the snake needs to catch up and a few feedings isnt gonna help so quickly.personally when i feed im not satisfied unless i can see and feel a difference in the snake.a slight lump in its belly is good.i know it can be hard to get the perfect prey size but if you cant find somthing big enough try 2 smaller ones.most likely your snake will not show interest in a second if it is full.

as for the hissing,dont let this get to you.if you do the snake wins and will continue with the bad attitude.

good luck!

[RoyalGuardian]

Butters i was just saying what happened

[butters!]

i know wat you were saying.and in no way am i being sarcastic but that musta been one nasty piece of aspen.

[SecurityStacey]

Give her time to settle, but when you do start handlng her again you have to go through with handling her, even if she hisses or strikes.

If everytime she "tracks" you or hisses you back up you are teaching her that she can get you to leave her alone by doing them.

Best of luck.

[kira1123]

She is 550g, about 21/2 ft, and I feed her 2 mice which equal about 55g-60g a week. I watch her when she feeds to make sure she does not eat aspen accidentally, but I haven't ever heard of aspen being bad for snakes. It actually says on the BP caresheet located on these forums that aspen is an ok substrate. After she feeds she has a slight lump in her from the two mice. I was going to switch from live to f/t, but I don't want to change too much.
How painful would her bite be if I just let her bite me?

[ThyTempest]

I have not been bitten yet, my girl is ~900 grams, but I have heard it is pretty much nothing. Give her a couple weeks on an adequate feeding schedule and she may change, I have had my girl for about 4 months now and has put on about 400 grams. I was overfeeding a little at the end, I am cutting back now that I am more comfortable with her weight, she was very underweight before. Your cool side temp is a little low too, keep an eye on that for RI threats, etc. Other than that, persistence I think. My girl does sometimes track my hand or get in strike position, I just sweep my hand around from the back, stroke her side a couple of times, and lift her out. After about 2 minutes on my hands, she calms down and slithers around trying to get someplace warm and dark, usually in my shirt. If you have any other pets, keep them out of the room while you work on her, I know mine is defensive towards our curious dog. Good luck.