Nippy aggressive baby ball python

[Akuryai]

Hey guys, recently I bought myself a 100-200 gram ball python from bhb, when she came through my front door she was curled up and a little cold from the ride, I can hold her fine, but she attacks things next to her, inanimate objects too. When I put her in her tank for the first time(10 gal) she doesn't move,she attempts to bite the glass and everything, I really don't wanna raise her to be aggressive, is there anything I need to do to get her docile with me and my house?

[ViperSRT3g]

Ensure your BP has lots of places to hide and feel safe. Also, follow these steps to ensure you don't get nabbed too much:

When Feeding
If I am feeding my snake, I don't touch them prior to warming up the food. Once food is warming up, (I feed F/T) the snake gets no contact unless absolutely necessary. This allows them to concentrate on the food that they can begin to smell pretty quickly. After that I feed with a pair of tongs and dangle it in front of his face so he can strike it.

When Handling
If I want to handle my snake, I tap on the top of his hide a few times to let him know that his hide is about to come off slowly. After lifting the hide off of him slow and steady, I give him a few rubs on his side to let him know it's me and that he's about to be picked up. From there he's all excited and will begin to explore the place. (I need some sort of snake pen for him lol)

These actions (or lack thereof) establishes behavior conditioning, allowing a sort of pre-command to let them know what is happening before any action takes place. This reduces their confusion, and results in a more behaved, and less confused snake. This means there will be far less cage aggression as they will know when it's feeding time and when it's petting time.

[Badgemash]

What Viper said, and also just give it time. The world is a scary place to a little hatchling, but once they realize everything isn't a threat and about to eat them they usually calm down.

[steve_r34]

I just started claiming my last girl down .. she was funny the best one so far ... she let u hold but strike at anything she can ... just give her time since u just got her id leave her in her enclosure until feeding day .. then wait a couple days n take her out hold her for 5 min keep her head tucked the 1st couple of times u hold her then as u hold her m or just let her explore on u ... she will break out of it eventually ... even if she tags u .. u won't feel anything

To make her enclosure more secure for now u can tape some construction paper around 3 sides and every couple of weeks remove a piece ... she came from bhb so she was in a rack and had security .. im sure someone already said this but I didn't read any of the post lol

[Pythonfriend]

there are a bunch of good videos on youtube if you search for it.

there are different strategies, like holding your hand at the right angle so that the BP doesnt manage to tag you but can only head bump, gently putting your hand over the head. also strategies for conditioning and how to make them feel secure while you hold them. some just hold them in a certain way that render attempts to tag unsuccessful and that give them a way to feel secure, some use a gentle method to cause them ball up in their hand when they get nippy, basically forming a small hide with their hands.

there are guys out there that really seem to have figured it out. they only get head bumps because they have the right angles and movements, and then go straight to a conditioning strategy of some sort to teach the BP that there is no threat and that trying to bite is a waste of time and energy.

and in the enclosure, give it hides, and ways to make it feel secure, and give it time.

[Akuryai]

Hey guys me again xD i switched her enclosure from a 10 gal to a shoe box sized box(slightly taller), and put a real nice tidy dark hide for her there. Im just curious, seeing as everytime I see her, shes going in "S" formation at me when she sees me, will leaving her alone for a week or so(and feeding her ofc lol) really ease her up for handling? Besides the hides and techniques for stopping a bite, im looking to help make her docile xD

[satomi325]

I would give her time.
Its not uncommon for babies to be nippy. They are tiny, insecure, and scared of the big world. Most do outgrow it with time.

Just make sure your husbandry is good and she has hides. Add clutter to open spaces if you'd like too.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[Akuryai]

it seems like after putting her in this smaller enclosure she is beginning to calm down some what, still looks kinda tense a bit xD there was a delivery exception with fedex so her ride was extended XD Im just hoping she becomes a docile-by-nature Ball Python(normal) xD

[ViperSRT3g]

See? And the S shape doesn't necessarily mean she's preparing to strike, it can just be her moving her head back to be in a more protected area. Now if her head is raised up a bit and she's "S"ing then you should back off a bit lol.

[Wizard]

I would put that critter in a small, dark and warm enclosure with plenty of places to hide. A 10gal tank is way too big for a cold, frightened newly acquired snake.