I work at a pet store, because I love animals. All animals. Except insects. Snakes are by far my favorite.

A guy came in a while back with a large homemade cage with table legs, that looked rather nice, with a heat pad, large water dish, and ball python in it. He said he wanted to get rid of all of it as soon as possible. He only wanted 100$ for it all. I got the snake checked out, he was healthy, and I decided I was going to get him. I fell in love with the snake. He's incredibly friendly and used to being handled, the guy adored him. His wife didn't.

I named the snake Puppy. Why? No idea. Probably for the same reason my boyfriend named our kitten Roadkill. Anyways, point is, he's super friendly. He was underweight, so I've been feeding him a lot. I've never met a snake as laid back as him. If a snake can be termed a cuddler, he's one.

Well, a few days ago, a guy came up to me at school and told me he was trying to get rid of his redtail. I think they're gorgeous snakes, and I told him I would try and find a home for it through my store. Then he went on to tell me he was trying to sell the snake and all for 60$. So I said screw finding someone else, I'd take it. He told me she was really tame, liked to be held, etc. I was looking forward to it. My boyfriend is in love with Puppy too, but wants a snake of his own, so I decided I'd surprise him with the redtail for Christmas. All the people I know with redtails say they're really passive and sweet.

I went to pick the snake up from the guys house, and the poor girl is 4 feet long and has been living in a 20 gallon tank! She hadn't been fed for weeks, and she had no water. It was no wonder the guy wanted to get rid of her, he had no clue how to take care of her!

I brought her home, got her some water and tried to figure out what to do about the cage situation. I can't put my ball in the 20 gallon because he's even bigger than her. And I don't have the money right now to go get a big cage, nor to build one. But she really needed out of the small one because she acts the exact opposite of how the guy said.

She's very aggressive towards people. You can't even open the lid of her tank without her lunging at you. I managed to get her out of the tank and into a large plastic box to feed her, the same way I do with my ball. She ate the two rats I gave her in no time. I waited a bit and put her back in her tank. She lunged at me again. I was like eep.

I left her alone for a few days, and then tried to get her out. No luck. She lunged again, but got me this time. Not bad, it was through a long sleeve shirt, but enough to bleed.

I've been trying to work with her the past few days and nothing has helped, she stays the same. I think the cage is a big issue for her.

She's been checked out too, and found healthy, and so I decided to try, just for now, to put her in the same large cage at Puppy. It's right next to my computer and I've been sitting here watching them for awhile.

Puppy, being the cuddler that he is, has tried to cuddle with her a few times but she's stayed stiff or moved away. She's currently hiding in the box that's in there, and he's curled up in his water bowl.

I was wondering if this is ok, for now, until I can get a bigger cage for her. I was also wondering if anyone had any tips or anything on how to calm her down, or any reasons for why she's being as aggressive as she is.