I feel bad...

[Ginevive]

My friend just got her first ball python, (an unsexed captive-hatched '03) in her store (though he is not for sale yet.) He is much smaller than my '03, perhaps about two-thirds her size. She had him roughly ten days and offered him a mouse yesterday. he just keeps striking in a defensive manner at anything, even people walking by his cage. He struck in the same manner at the mouse (it was whacked but still twitching) and definately seemed more scared than hungry.
He is not underweight at all. She got him from reptile addicts, and they said he had been feeding on live mice. I tried a live mouse also, under strict supervision, and the snake merely struck a few times defensively and then balled up in fear.
My friend is really pretty disappointed in ball pythons, and I feel bad because they can be such great snakes. She just happened to get a "dud" who is pretty nasty, in her opinion. He has a good cage and hidespots, etc. Oddly, though the temps are all good, he prefers to sit on top of his hot-hide (a little cave thing) and wait for people to walk by so he can strike at them. He could hide but for some reason chooses not to.

I really really hope he starts eating. I know he is pretty stressed now being in a new home, but he had a week or more to adjust.
If all else fails I will try convincing her to let me take him home and work with him (or not work, since I would basically put him in a less populated room.) It is really impossible to isolate him in the store (you know how pet stores are) and he is already in the "deadest" area of the store as it is.
Any advice would be great. We left a f/t mouse in his cage overnight last night, and he did not eat it.

[Ginevive]

Tank specs: ten gallon with secure lid. UTH with rheostat set to 90 degrees under hot hide. Rest of the cage heated with a CHE to above 70. Substrate is cypress. Water bowl big enough to soak if he wanted to, and 2 cave hides, and a branch for climbing.

[lucky8926]

It might just take him a little bit more time to adjust. I have read where it takes 2-3 weeks or longer for them to get adjusted. I would also raise the temp from 70 to around 80-83. They seem to eat better with higher temps.

[DrEwTiMe]

Ya he just sounds really scared to me, if he chooses to not hide and just strike at people walking by it sounds like he is really scared and uneasy about whree he is. Perhaps try covering the cage so that he feels more secure.

[Adam_Wysocki]

It is really impossible to isolate him in the store (you know how pet stores are) and he is already in the "deadest" area of the store as it is.

This sentence struck me as odd. Doesn't the store have a quarantine area? I know that it many states it's required by law for pet stores.

I have a couple of thoughts.

1. Put the animal in a cage in an isolated area. Closet, bathroom, etc. The foot traffic around the cage is doing more harm than good.

2. Bump the temps, 95 on the hot side, 84 on the cool. Perfect ball python weather!

3. Make sure the animal is free of external parasites. Mites and ticks can be very stressful.

4. Fill the enclosure with crumpled up newspaper. This will give him a nice secure feeling so that he can start exploring his new environment.

5. 1 week is definitely not enough time for this guy to settle in. Give him time, he'll get there.

6. Try flower pot bottoms for hides. The low height helps him to feel more secure.

Hope this helps.

-adam

[chong_python]

Ginevive,

How well do you know your friend.? Sounds to me like he is extremiily scared.
what he needs is a quiet place so he can simer.

how bout suggesting to your frrend that you could take him home for a week and keep him in a quiet place until he clams down a bit. I would say give it a week or so and he will be a bit calmer, he may always be a bit more skittish than most bp's as every snake as you know is different
Wouldnt you wanna bite some 1 if they wre knocking on your door all day??

just a suggestion

Chris

[Ginevive]

I am thinking of trading her some fish (overstocked goldfish tank, sigh...) for him. I only hesitate because I am paranoid about bringing outside disease into my snake population at home. Maybe I will just wait a few weeks and "quarantine" him at her place.
But it's a weird situation, because there's really no back rooms that the snake could be put in over there; the only closed-off room is really, really cold and not ideal for a snake to be in.
This is a pretty tough situation to be in. On one hand I just want to tell her that the snake would be better off secluded somewhere, like at home, rather than in a pretty busy pet store where of course, every customer wants to look in and see the snake. On the other hand, it is her snake, and I already have my hands full at home caring for my animals, and another snake, especially a potentially parasite-ridden, "wild card" snake.
Short-term, I guess all I can do is bump his temperatures up a little and add some sort of barricade on the outside of the cage to give him a bit more privacy.
Hmm... WWYD (what would you do?)

[chong_python]

I would do exactily that

bump up the tempratures and cover 3 of the 4 glass walls leaving one open. And in the store turn the tank around so its facing something other than the costumers. He should eventually feel a bit more secure.

also make sure he has at least two hides