Strikes at EVERYTHING

[texastailfeathers]

I have one BP. I don't know exactly how old he is, but he weighs just over 100g so he's really young.

I constantly hear about picky and non-feeding BP's, but I am having the opposite problem. My little guy strikes at EVERYTHING. What's odd is that the strikes are all feeding response strikes, not defensive or aggressive strikes. He has struck the water pitcher quite a few times, the feeding tongs more times than I can count, and even my finger (ow!). I hate to sound like a total wuss, but I'm becoming afraid of him. Those little needle teeth hurt!

I feed him a large hopper mouse once a week and it leaves him pretty full and lazy for a while, so I seriously doubt he's starving. He strikes and constricts before I can even pull the tongs out of the viv, and he makes short work of any prey item.

Any insight? Advice? Should I switch to same-size rats for more concentrated nutrition in case he truly is just hungry? He will eat a rat if I make him, but he's always preferred mice (and I always happen to have them around).

Should I just be happy he's got such a killer feeding response? I don't want to be nervous around him.

[PythonWallace]

Make sure you're temps are correct. If it's too hot it could make it more aggressive and hungrier than it should be. You can also feed every 5 days and move up a size in prey. And stop being such a wuss. J/K

[texastailfeathers]

Hmm...I don't have my index cards with me, but last time I wrote down temps they were just 2-3 degrees below ideal. I'll check again tonight. I may have bumped the thermostat accidentally.

I'm almost out of hopper mice, so I'll try bumping him up to small adult. When I place my next food order, I'll grab some rats.

I feel kind of bad complaining about a good feeder.

As far as being a wuss...believe me, I'm not proud of the fact that a baby BP makes me nervous.

[broadude]

Nothing to be ashamed of! Do not let them make you think that because you own a BP you must become a brave/foolish human pin cushion.

The snake hook is your friend.

[2Devious]

My Het Albino is much the same way. He was a very picky eater when I first received him and was eager to strike at me. After a few weeks I was starting to get discouraged with him.
He is now eating every time he is offered a meal but is still quite the aggressive little guy. After working with him for awhile I have noticed that he is only aggressive when he is in his tub.
When I need to get him out I just place a towel over him and pick him up. I give him a second to calm down and he is fine to handle after that. The moment he goes back into his tub though...watch out!

[djansen]

When I need to get him out I just place a towel over him and pick him up. I give him a second to calm down and he is fine to handle after that.

this is exactly what i was going to reccomend, try using a paper towel or just grab him really fast with the palm of your hand.

[syearout]

I have a female that is like that as well. When i got her she was very thin and weak. She was at the point that she couldn't squeeze a rat hard enough to shut him up. I don't mean they squealed a couple of seconds, they would literally scream for minutes until she finally got the better of them. She then got sick, and spent some time at a friend of mine's place. He has a pet shop, and is a bp breeder. So she was in his rack in the back room, and had a BUFFET of rats. Any rats that he had that had RI's, or were aggressive in the holding tubs went to her. She has literally put on 400 grams in like 3 or 4 months, and she is ready to eat something every time i open the tub. She will even come out after ME. I just tell her I'm a little big for her to swallow, and us something to push her back in. Silly little girl

[cutler07]

I have one BP. I don't know exactly how old he is, but he weighs just over 100g so he's really young.

I constantly hear about picky and non-feeding BP's, but I am having the opposite problem. My little guy strikes at EVERYTHING. What's odd is that the strikes are all feeding response strikes, not defensive or aggressive strikes. He has struck the water pitcher quite a few times, the feeding tongs more times than I can count, and even my finger (ow!). I hate to sound like a total wuss, but I'm becoming afraid of him. Those little needle teeth hurt!

I feed him a large hopper mouse once a week and it leaves him pretty full and lazy for a while, so I seriously doubt he's starving. He strikes and constricts before I can even pull the tongs out of the viv, and he makes short work of any prey item.

Any insight? Advice? Should I switch to same-size rats for more concentrated nutrition in case he truly is just hungry? He will eat a rat if I make him, but he's always preferred mice (and I always happen to have them around).

Should I just be happy he's got such a killer feeding response? I don't want to be nervous around him.

for my BP my youngest one had the same problem. but i handled him as much as i can.. i took him out with a towel or something so he doesnt strike and then handle him for about 20-45 min.


but i could be wrong. but thats how i got my BP to settle down.

[DrEwTiMe]

You can also feed every 5 days and move up a size in prey. And stop being such a wuss. J/K

Just some personal experience here. My BP is currently on 4 mice every 7-10 days. A while back i decided to try and give him 1-2 larger rats mainly because it was cheaper then buying 4 mice lol. She took out the larger of the 2 rats and was not taking the second one...
Long story short that sprouted into a 1.5 month spread of not wanted anything to do with food.

From that my philosophy is this.. Most will agree that if you find something that works consistently with BP's why risk changing that? After that i went back to the mice and she is once again eating like a champion. So if it aint broke don't' fix it. From the money stand point the couple dollars you would save with the cheaper prey items is not worth you snakes health.

Perhaps rather then changing the prey item, just change the number of them giving at a specific feeding time.