First of all, thank you. Thank you to everyone who takes time to contribute to this site! As a new Snake Momma, I find myself stressing over every little thing Buttercup does (or doesn't do). I immediately rush to ball-pythons.net (sometimes in the middle of the night) like a new mom reading Babywise! Please bear with me as I give you every detail (in true New Mom fashion), and let me know what you think.

SHORT VERSION:

Jan 12: Couldn't get F/T small mouse in her mouth
Jan 13: Ate 1 F/T fuzzy
Jan 18: Ate 2 F/T fuzzies (snappiness started on this day)
Jan 20: Ate 1 F/T fuzzy
Jan 22: Ate 1 F/T fuzzy, rejected 2nd F/T fuzzy


LONG VERSION:

Buttercup is about 3 months old. Prior to bringing her home, we read all the books and the blogs and spent about a week getting her nursery, er, HOME set up and her temperatures/humidity stable. We brought her home on January 11th--YAY! The first week, we were able to handle her for short periods of time without any issue. This second week, she has become very snappy. I can't figure out if she is still hungry after eating, if she is scared, or if this is just a normal part of being a young BP.

Here is her (somewhat convoluted) feeding history: Buttercup's breeder was feeding her live mice, but frozen are more readily available in our area. So on January 12th, we offered her a F/T small mouse and were very excited when she struck/coiled with no problem. She tried for a long time to get the thing in her mouth, though, to no avail. The next morning, the F/T mouse was still just lying there in the substrate.. We weren't sure if it was too big, or if she was just confused because of new food in a new surrounding. The next day, January 13th, we offered her a F/T fuzzy, which she ate with no problem. We let her digest for a full 48 hours before trying to handle her again. When we did handle her, we had no problem, she was as sweet as can be.

Five days after that first fuzzy, on January 18th, I found her poking her head around the top of the enclosure in the middle of the day. I thought, "That fuzzy wasn't big enough, she's probably still hungry;" so I offered her another F/T fuzzy, which she took gladly. Later that evening, I offered her another fuzzy and she took that one, too. We marked our calendar and planned to leave her be for another 48 hours after her 2-fuzzy meal.

Wednesday, January 20th, was when the snappiness/aggression started. It had been 48 hours since her last meal, and we were looking forward to having a short visit with her. When we took her out, she started snapping at the air in everyone's direction. I'm thinking, "these little fuzzies just aren't big enough to keep her full, she must STILL be hungry," but I'm also worrying about overfeeding her at this point. I can't bear to think she might be starving, so I put her back in her home and offer her another fuzzy, which she takes.

Friday, January 22nd, same thing! Snappy McSnapperson! She eats another fuzzy. I offer her a second, but she doesn't take it. We might have heated it too long (we heated it by submerging the little bag in a cup of hot water continuously running from the tap) because its gut had kind of "popped." I'm not sure if she rejected it because she wasn't hungry or because it was kind nasty.

We contacted the breeder about her snappy behavior and he asked if she looked like she was going into a shed. I don't see any haziness so I don't think so. He also said she should be able to eat a small mouse and that the fuzzies are going to be too small (I suspected as much at this point). He also suggested gently "dominating" her by cupping both hand over her to kind of let her know who was boss. I feel mean using that word, as we really are VERY gentle with her... but it seemed to kind of work when we took her out today. I say "kind of" because, while we are able to handle her, she isn't slithering around happily our hands like she was in week 1. She just balls up when we have a hand cupped over her, and she struck at us a few times when we held her in an open hand. In a word, she's still pissed.

Today she has been very active in her enclosure, which is a departure from her previous daytime routine, which was spent mostly in her hides. She is poking her head around the top again. I'm going to offer her a small mouse again and hope for the best.

SO...here are my QUESTIONS:
Why do you think she is acting snappy? Is it hunger, fear, or normal behavior for a young BP?
What do you think it means when she is poking her head around the top of the enclosure?
Is it possible to overfeed a BP, or will she only eat if she's hungry?

If you read this far, reward yourself with a cookie. You're awesome. Thanks in advance for your advice.