I purchased an about nine month old ball python from a local breeder about six weeks ago. I have since then upgraded his tank from a 10g to a 20g so that there is room for two hides and a water dish.

He was being fed live small rats and I wanted to switch to f/t but after a month of refusal I gave up and went with live. A day or two before I fed him, he tried to strike me while I was holding him. This was about a week after the conclusion of a bad shed. I now have the tank temps and humidity levels monitored and corrected, but they seem to fluctuate still, and am hoping that the next shed goes more smoothly (cold side: 80-83, hot side: 88-93, humidity: 45-55%). I am using a UTH with thermostat and an Acu-rite thermometer with aspen bedding.

The point of this post was to:
  • introduce myself to the community as a middle school science teacher that is a first time snake owner planning to keep him at school (thoughts on classroom with kids daily vs lab with kids weekly?)
  • tell you that my BP's name is Fibonacci (after the mathematician)
  • ask for some pointers on getting past being timid to hold him now that he struck at me a few times