Just got bit

[Jasnik]

Hi,

New to the forum .
We have had our ball python for one week(3/12 feet), which we adopted from a family who owned it for 7 years with no problems. We were told that he had been fed about 10 days prior to bringing him home and has been feeding once a month. We left him the first day to get settled, then thought we would gently begin to introduce ourselves by gently touching him. Then the next day we got him out and after around 20 minutes of exploring quite happily he struck my son on the shoulder. All happened very quickly and left a minor wound. We returned him to his enclosure and left him for a day. A day later we brought him out and offered a bathas he has a little shed still left on his head, seemed happy and returned him around 20 minutes later. For two whole days he slept in the same spot, we increased the temp as it had been getting colder in the house. He became very active in the evening so we got him out and introduced him to a new hide box. He seemed to like it and explored a little. An hour later we tried to put him back in the enclosure for the night when he displayed a striking pose. We backed off and when we tried once more he struck my husband, latched onto the fleshy part of his hand and begun constricting up his arm. struggled to get the blighter off as he was constricting tight and rewrapping himself around his arm. We tried to encourage him to open his mouth by holding behind the jaw with no use and tapping his nose, hoping we can get some advice on what we may have done wrong or what we need to do. How can we check to see if he is injured in anyway? Should we think about feeding him earlier than one month? Also he is now hiding in his enclosure.

Would be grateful to anyone who can help.

Jasnik

[CoolioTiffany]

From reading this, it seems that the snake needs to eat more often rather than being fed only once a month. The ideal feeding schedule for an adult at that age would probably be good on a 10-14 day schedule. Start out with the 14 day schedule, feeding him a small or medium rat (whichever is about the same size as the middle part of his body). If you feel that he still seems hungry and is striking still, try to feed more often, like every 10-12 days.

[Jasnik]

Thanks a lot for the quick response and helpful advice. We wondered if that may be the case. We will get some food and giv it a try. Should we wait a day or two for him to settle down after his experience?

[CoolioTiffany]

Thanks a lot for the quick response and helpful advice. We wondered if that may be the case. We will get some food and giv it a try. Should we wait a day or two for him to settle down after his experience?

Yeah just give him 1-2 days and don't bother him at all (not taking him out, the only reason to bother would be to clean the water dish) and he should be ready to eat once you give him the food.

If you are thawing the rat out, thaw it out in the same room your snake is in close to the tank/tub so your snake is ready to eat when you put the rat in the enclosure. Though, if you are feeding live, keep the rodent by the enclosure in the room for 30-60 minutes. Pre-scenting a room is the best to do so your snake knows it will be eating and is ready right when you put the rodent in the enclosure.

[matt71915]

I would leave him alone for a little while, 4-5 days. You should give a new snake about a week to settle in before handling or feeding.
I'd say a 7 day schedule would be fine, if the snake refuses then move to a 10 day schedule.

[Jasnik]

The people who had him before have a seperate clear plastic box with a lid with air holes. They would place the snake in his box and then drop the live rat into the box and close the lid. They did this to seperate feeding time from handling time. He wasnt taking frozen or prekilled from them. Hopefully we can get him out of the enclosure without getting eaten.

[Jasnik]

Ok thanks Matt. Advice taken on board, I think we will see if and when he comes out of his hide area, as this will probably be agood indication that he is more relaxed. We are learning even if its the hard way.

[hawaiianice99]

dont hold your breath while you wait for it to come out of its hide, they will stay in there for days and most likely only come out in the middle of the night while you sleep and you wont see it come out. Its a ball python, thats what they do.

[Fallout32]

You really should leave them alone for the first week (except for changing water and other cage maintenance). They need the time to adjust. Even right after the first week you should not have them out for too long (15 min max). An hour is wayyy to long after only a few days. After the first week offer it food. The 10-14 day feeding schedule that Tiffany recommended is good. Also there is no need to feed them in a separate enclosure. A lot of newer snake owners think it will lead to cage aggression, but it doesn't.
FYI The best way to get the snake to release if it bites you is to spray it with mouthwash. You don't want to try to pull it off.

Good luck with everything and keep us posted

p.s. Welcome to the site!

[pavlovk1025]

Hmmm...give him a week to settle in youre handling too soon. As for feeding....he's 7 years old, maybe older, one appropriate meal every 10-14 days is more than enough.