BP suddenly aggressive

[Cesarie]

Hi, I got a BP a few months ago and she was extremely well mannered for a baby snake. She never snapped, never minded being held by anyone (aside from my niece)

I recently bought her a new tank and all the amenities for her to live in luxury- ever since then she's been extremely aggressive. I can't approach the tank without her striking at me, let alone try to reach in the cage. Replacing her water is a chore, i have to make sure shes in the opposite hide so i can replace that water bowl.

She has two hides, a cool one and a warm one. a shallow water bowl for humidity, a deeper water bowl for drinking. Multiple decorations. Her temperatures stay in perfect and and the humidity is generally above 60%
I feed her meals every 3-4 days, Adult mice which are recommended for her size. She shows no sign of shedding, either.

I don't know what's up. I love holding her but she's making it impossible. Hell i'm kinda scared to try to get her out and try to feed her which is due in two days. I had to set down the mouse on a paper towel in her cage last time, and i disliked doing that.

What do i do?

[bowman1710]

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

Usually this type of behavior is seen in animal that are stressed (changing to a new enclosure that does not fit the animal's need), over handling etc, and under feeding.

It's up to you to figure out what has triggered this behavior and how to fix it, obviously if it persist you might want to switch the animal back in it's old habitat.

How big is the snake (weight?) and how big is the enclosure? How your hides tight touching all sides of your BP's body? What are your temps? How do you measure them? (where and with what type of thermometer?)

[bowman1710]

Sorry it sent by accident. How old is the snake I don't know if you should give and adult mouse every 3-4 days you normally feed them ever 7-10 days. Unless it's a young one then it tends to about 5 days for smaller mice like pinkies. Besides that, do you feed her inside her vivarium at all? One of my BP's got super aggressive after I kept feeding her in her setup, I bought her a feeding box and fed her in there and she settled down because she didn't associated her vivarium with food and she wasn't as territorial about it, something to try at least just use a lunch box or something depending on the size of the snake.

Also repeating the previous post sometimes if you bump the size up to large with a new setup it can stress the snake out too. Ive known them to get a bit aggressive when close to shedding. You just need to rule out the other things mentioned before as well.

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[Cesarie]

Before she was in a rather small tank, i cant remember the size- but i do remember the person i bought her from told me it would only be good for a little while. and her previous only had a warm hide that was honestly.. WAY too big. You could fit 3 more snakes in there and it still would had room.

This tank is a 30G. Both her hides fit her fine with a bit of growing room allowed. my temperatures are around 84 degrees. I use a digital and analog thermometer. It's been awhile since she's been weighed and i can't get close enough to her to weigh her. She is on the larger side for snakes her age though.


Ive only fed her twice in her cage. Once as her first feeding at my house, and the one a few days ago-- since i couldn't get near her.

[bowman1710]

She might be a bit big because of the 3-4day thing I mentioned and not 7 days. How often are you holding her? Might be over doing it possibly. Have you got a digital or analogue hygrometer? I would personally try the feeding box if you cannot find issue with the others. As previous message you might want to change back, but before doing that maybe put her old hide in the new vivarium so she has something familiar in there.

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[redshepherd]

Sounds like there are potentially more than a few things wrong. The need for a feeding box is a myth...

What is the temperature of the surface of her hot spot?

I think you could post a couple photos of your setup, and you can get better feedback that way.

What is her current weight? Feel free to post a photo of her too. Usually, young ball pythons would eat one good-sized meal every 7 days. Needing to eat an adult mouse every 3 days sounds like prey size may be off.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

30 gallons tanks are for adults not hatchlings or juvies and since I have no idea on the snake weight or age (on the larger size for her age means nothing to me) my guess , the 30 gallons tank does not suit her.

Analog thermometer are junk so you can dith that one, you should be using the digital thermometer you have and take your readings right above the substrate on both ends, ideally you want 76/80 and 86/90 temp gradient.

Your issue is probably husbandry related.

Fix your husbandry, even if that means getting your snake back in it's previous enclosure, this behavior is your snake way to let you know it's not working out.

And if that makes you feel better a bite from your snake will happen sooner or later, they are wild animals and when you own them long enough it is bound to happen and staying away and have your snake sense that is not helping the matter a bit. So do what you have to and remember it feels like a paper cut.