Mildly aggressive BP

[maggieehunt]

I bought my albino ball python on Wednesday from a local breeder. The breeder told me he was 5 months old, 239 grams, fed yesterday (Tuesday) for live small mice, and had not been handled a lot previously. On Thursday I brought him to my local vet for a checkup. He was friendly, social, and in a great mood. The doctor examined him and he was happy and not upset. His checkup went perfectly! I brought him home Thursday and left him alone except for changing his water, until today. I went into his cage, lifted up his rock and picked him up. He sat in my lap for about 5 minutes (curled up in a ball scared) when he uncurled he was in the strike position so I became a little nervous, but kept rubbing his back. He struck at my hand when it was moving, but did not bite me even though I was inches from him. I know he was just warning me, and if he wanted to bite me he would’ve.
When I asked the breeder when he ate last he wasn’t exactly sure when, so I’m thinking my ball python might just be hungry? Should I try to feed him later (I’m going to switch him to frozen/thawed mice)?
Does anyone know anything I can do to make him feel more comfortable when I am holding him? I know I need to be more confident, and make sure he feels secure and not scared.

[kc261]

Sounds more like scared than truly aggressive. He's gone through an awful lot of new stuff in the past week, and he's still just a baby and doesn't know what to make of it.

The general recommendation is to let new BPs have about a week to settle in to their new home. Then attempt to feed them. Then, if they eat, start handling (after time to digest of course).

[Skiploder]

Got him on Wednesday.

Put him in new set up.

Took him to vet.

Held him on lap.

You have left him alone all if two days during the four you've had him.

It's Sunday......review the above timeline and figure out what you are doing that is making him insecure.

[KMG]

Your timeline has me very confused. The way I understood it the snake was fed the day before you picked it up and took it to the vet the day after. Now today it struck at you.

How is it you know when the last feeding was but say the breeder didn't? Usually young snakes are fed every 5 to 7 days.

I highly doubt your ball is striking because its hungry. It is probably out of fear. That will go away as it learns you mean it no harm. Usually a few weeks to a couple months. Another possibility is a up coming shed has it grumpy.

Why go to the vet? Did you see something you thought was wrong?

[alan12013]

Thanks to every one responding. I have a new bp that has a similar issue. He's 4 months old so I'm told and 23 inches long. I just got him into his permanent home tonight. The previous owner gave me a good deal on him because he said that he was "aggressive". He's struck at me from inside the cage but it seems just like warning strikes. I'll wait a week before handling since that seems to be the consensus.

[decensored]

Got him on Wednesday.

Put him in new set up.

Took him to vet.

Held him on lap.

You have left him alone all if two days during the four you've had him.

It's Sunday......review the above timeline and figure out what you are doing that is making him insecure.

This.

[CORBIN911]

Aswell most BP's under 300-400 grams are more "jumpy" and will strike out of fear, vs the older bigger ones who are more calm.

[maggieehunt]

Thank you guys for all responding. I didn't mean to put too many new things on my little guy at once. I can imagine how he feels right now :/

i took him him to the vet because my previous ball python I did not take to the vet and found out he was sick with a bacterial infection from the pet store :/ so, I took my new one immediately. I didn't know it would be so stressful for him and now I feel horrible!

Im going to give him alone time until next Sunday to get used to his surroundings and new tank. On Sunday, I'm going to try to feed him. I was going to feed him live small mice (even though I want to switch him to frozen thawed) because I was thinking too many new things are going to stress him. Right now he has a 40 gal tank. Would y'all recommend feeding him in his home (40 gal) or a 20 gal extra tank I have as a new feeding tank? I've never fed live before so I'm not sure what will be best for him! Thank you all once again!

[bcr229]

Feed him in his home, there's no reason to move a snake for feeding. Also, a 40-gallon tank is huge for a baby BP, so make sure he has lots of hiding places so he feels secure.

How is he set up for heat?

[maggieehunt]

Yeah I knew the 40 was pretty big for him, but the 20 gallon had my sick ball python in it so I wanted to make sure it wasn't infected. He has multiple hides! I have an under the tank heater, a ceramic heater and a red heater at night. He is also by the window, which I live in North Carolina so it's pretty hot during the day! His tank is 90 on the warm side and 80 on his cool side! I will feed him in his cage! Thanks for the help! Do all of his heating sound good?