I purchased a 4 month old ball about a month and a half ago. On the ride home, Andromeda (Andi for short) was very inquisitive. She sat on top of her hide with her head up, looking around, watching me, etc. Seemed friendly enough. I got her home, where I had set up a larger terrarium and gently transferred her into it with a snake hook.

I let her settle about a week, and went to feed her thawed pre-killed mice, which she rejected. After a few days of attempting pre-killed, I went and bought live feeder mice. She went after it right away, and has been eating an adult mouse once a week.

The past 2 weeks I've been trying to get her used to handling but she likes to snap at me. She has yet to bite, but she open-mouth lunged at my hand and face several times. She will rarely come out of her hide when I'm in the room. I tried to hold her yesterday, and it went okay but when I went to return her to her terrarium she pulled back into a striking position and didn't want to go back in. I sat her inside anyways and she got in a striking position again and stared me down. I can't figure out why she's aggressive, or what to do to tame her. I've held her a few minutes a day the past 2 weeks and I don't seem to be making progress.

I'm worried she may have been mistreated by her previous owner. The "transaction" was very quick...the girl took the money, handed me the terrarium, and got back in her car and left. Didn't want to talk, ask questions, make sure I knew how to take care of her, nothing. She stopped returning my texts as well, when I went to ask what size mice she had been eating and when the last time she ate was.

Here's her terrarium:


75 watt moonglow heat lamp, large heating pad under the hot side of enclosure. The mountain rock is odd shaped and there's space behind it which has turned out to be her favorite hide (where she was when the pic was taken) and then there's the half-log hide she uses sometimes, which has a small heatpad underneath. Have 3 thermometers, one on each end and one in the middle to keep up with temps.

Basking Side: Low 90s
Middle: Low 80s
Cool Side: Mid - Low 70s
Humidity: Don't have anything to measure, but I mist the faux-foliage every few days and her large water bowl helps with humidity as well I'm assuming. She went through a successful shed over night and it was a clean one-piece shed, so.

Anywho, anyone else have any experience dealing with aggressive BPs? I really don't want to get bit lol.