My Bp has a serious aggro issues why?

[pavlovk1025]

hahaha could be


seeing how im from north America. the #1 over indulgent obese place on the earth i don't think that's the case

I meant he grew up in the hood man.

[Jah-Riddem]

I meant he grew up in the hood man.

haha we dont really have hoods in victoria bc


im sure the breeder was a jerk to him tho he seems under fed for his age and is always hungry

[Freddiesinmyseat]

my BPs enjoy temps around 80-84, if I were you I'd switch the hide to the cold side as soon as possible or even add a second hide so he has a choice. also, if I were you I wouldn't handle him more than 15 minutes a day, anymore I've heard can stress them out if they're not used to it. you want to get him used to you gradually and over time rather than force your time upon him, you know? also, study up on the substrates and try to make an educated decision on whether or not the coconut fiber is the best decision for that specific snake.

as far as behavior in his enclosure does he hide, bask, or try to escape most of the time? it tells you a lot about a snake and leaving that info out will have everyone's suggestions incomplete at best. for instance, if he's up on a branch basking most of the time then his belly heat isn't high enough (ball pythons aren't tree dwellers and in nature will burrow in rodent holes), if he's trying to escape a lot then he is probably stressed with his living arrangements, if he's hiding most of the day he is probably comfortable seeing as ball pythons are nocturnal and will actually stay in a hide if they have everything they need in or around their hide spot.

I'm no expert on ball pythons or anything but this is all stuff I've learned after reading through a bunch of forums and posts for the last several months. I just picked up an aggressive ball python myself that we're working to calm down. he's a 486g guy, about 2.5 feet. he's had a bad shed, still has large patches stuck on. really cautious around fast movement, head shy like no other and tags if he doesn't like something you do. we just got him tonight but he seems way more calm than he was earlier (housed in a 20h with a larger male) which wasn't due to their fault, but rather the situation and time they had to rescue him and his buddy.

we have him in a 28qt sterilite container on astroturf type carpeting with 1 hide and a water dish. he's been in hiding most of the time he's been there (about 3 hours) and has already shed off a lot of the retained skin due to the humidity kept in the container and the grip of the substrate. we have personally had a great success with the astroturf, no irritation to our ball pythons whatsoever and it actually helped them shed in full pieces (since they need something to rub against when they're ready to shed).

Sorry about the long post, had some drinky tonight lol! but yeah, I now have a camera at my disposable for a few days. I'll take some pics of my set up for our snakes and I'll keep you updated on his behavior if you wish (we just need to give him some time to acclimate before we try to handle him, he's had 2 moves in 2 weeks).

well, good luck and keep us updated on his progress
~Fade

so i have had him about 2-3 months

Temps- "ok-good" - a tich low at times 83-84 cold side 89 in hot side
food- "good" no issues i feed Rats that have been Gased!
Humidity- Good!
Shed- Good! just shed and it was a full shed
BM- poops are normal and frequent
Substrate- coconut fiber
H2O-Good! 6" di dish 2.5" deep
Hides- ok. just got one on the hot side
Handling-ok. i try to hold him everyday but he cowers and hides and after 10 min pops a fuse
Age- aprox 1.5 to 2 years
Temperment-bad! F ing Aggro



now it may have to do with him JUST sheding and being in shed mode over the last week. but i held him 3-4 times everytime he grips onto my wrist Looks Directly at me and strikes a bunch.

lucky i can inticipate his move as i have not been taged "yes" been struck at like 12 to 15 times in the last week

what can i do to make him happy?

[CoolioTiffany]

haha we dont really have hoods in victoria bc


im sure the breeder was a jerk to him tho he seems under fed for his age and is always hungry

If he seems underweight and is always hungry, maybe feeding him larger meals will help. You know, maybe under feeding is also the reason why he strikes at you; he may be not getting enough food. Feed him a mouse/rat about the same size as the middle of his body, but you can power feed and give him two mice/rats so he can gain some weight

[Jah-Riddem]

If he seems underweight and is always hungry, maybe feeding him larger meals will help. You know, maybe under feeding is also the reason why he strikes at you; he may be not getting enough food. Feed him a mouse/rat about the same size as the middle of his body, but you can power feed and give him two mice/rats so he can gain some weight

i have been i give him good size rats and 2 at a time if he will take them ! and i agree i kinda think thats why he is so worked up may take a few month for him to chill

[CoolioTiffany]

i have been i give him good size rats and 2 at a time if he will take them ! and i agree i kinda think thats why he is so worked up may take a few month for him to chill

Ya I think that would totally work. If he gains weight and is well fed, you shouldn't have a problem and a nicely rounded BP in no time I just hope he becomes nicer. Some snakes will takes weeks, or months, or possibly even never to be able to be tamed into becoming holdable. My Cali King hates being handled, and hates people lol.

[Jah-Riddem]

my BPs enjoy temps around 80-84, if I were you I'd switch the hide to the cold side as soon as possible or even add a second hide so he has a choice. also, if I were you I wouldn't handle him more than 15 minutes a day, anymore I've heard can stress them out if they're not used to it. you want to get him used to you gradually and over time rather than force your time upon him, you know? also, study up on the substrates and try to make an educated decision on whether or not the coconut fiber is the best decision for that specific snake.

as far as behavior in his enclosure does he hide, bask, or try to escape most of the time? it tells you a lot about a snake and leaving that info out will have everyone's suggestions incomplete at best. for instance, if he's up on a branch basking most of the time then his belly heat isn't high enough (ball pythons aren't tree dwellers and in nature will burrow in rodent holes), if he's trying to escape a lot then he is probably stressed with his living arrangements, if he's hiding most of the day he is probably comfortable seeing as ball pythons are nocturnal and will actually stay in a hide if they have everything they need in or around their hide spot.

I'm no expert on ball pythons or anything but this is all stuff I've learned after reading through a bunch of forums and posts for the last several months. I just picked up an aggressive ball python myself that we're working to calm down. he's a 486g guy, about 2.5 feet. he's had a bad shed, still has large patches stuck on. really cautious around fast movement, head shy like no other and tags if he doesn't like something you do. we just got him tonight but he seems way more calm than he was earlier (housed in a 20h with a larger male) which wasn't due to their fault, but rather the situation and time they had to rescue him and his buddy.

we have him in a 28qt sterilite container on astroturf type carpeting with 1 hide and a water dish. he's been in hiding most of the time he's been there (about 3 hours) and has already shed off a lot of the retained skin due to the humidity kept in the container and the grip of the substrate. we have personally had a great success with the astroturf, no irritation to our ball pythons whatsoever and it actually helped them shed in full pieces (since they need something to rub against when they're ready to shed).

Sorry about the long post, had some drinky tonight lol! but yeah, I now have a camera at my disposable for a few days. I'll take some pics of my set up for our snakes and I'll keep you updated on his behavior if you wish (we just need to give him some time to acclimate before we try to handle him, he's had 2 moves in 2 weeks).

well, good luck and keep us updated on his progress
~Fade

you think cold side is better for him? because i find he loves to sit on the top of his hide "which is on the heat pad" i also find him lots Stretched out with some on the heat pad and some in his water

i do my best to be patient with him and when he starts to freak out i put him back! he has things to rub on! and i Really like the coconut fiber ! you can get it at Canadian tire cheap cheap and it holds moisture soo soo soo good!

and yes i would love to see your setup

[Jah-Riddem]

Ya I think that would totally work. If he gains weight and is well fed, you shouldn't have a problem and a nicely rounded BP in no time I just hope he becomes nicer. Some snakes will takes weeks, or months, or possibly even never to be able to be tamed into becoming holdable. My Cali King hates being handled, and hates people lol.

he should stop being a punk when he matures a bit ;-)


i think he is growing allready! He seems bigger than when i got him. and as soon as i got him on rats every 3 days he went into shed with in 2 weeks

[Freddiesinmyseat]

you think cold side is better for him? because i find he loves to sit on the top of his hide "which is on the heat pad" i also find him lots Stretched out with some on the heat pad and some in his water

i do my best to be patient with him and when he starts to freak out i put him back! he has things to rub on! and i Really like the coconut fiber ! you can get it at Canadian tire cheap cheap and it holds moisture soo soo soo good!

and yes i would love to see your setup

do you have a digital thermometer with probes or are you using a dial/tape thermometer and humidity gauge? if you're using the latter then those are inaccurate at best. you can actually get a thermo/hygrometer combo for like 12 bucks and if you have a soldering iron (10 bucks) then you can mod it for 3 external probes to the original 1 (2 temp and 1 humidity). it sounds like he's trying to get higher up to the basking lamp so it might be too cold for him. if you're able to take pics of the enclosure at all it would help. having him comfortable in his environment would be, in my opinion, your first step to a better attitude.

time for bed for me lol, I'll get back to you tomorrow after work probably.

[CoolioTiffany]

Wow nice. Doesn't every 3 days seem kind of too much? I can see feeding every 5 days, but 3 seems kinda too much since snakes have slow digestive systems. I feed all of my snakes on a weekly basis (7 days) and I also record how much they ate, the day and date they ate, and what they ate. Always nice to keep a record I also keep track of their length and width (monthly) and when they shed (the day, date, how they shedded like assisted or self shed, and how many pieces they shedded in).