Change in personality for worse

[Tikall]

I have a male and female BP, and they've always been very easy to handle and great feeders. The last couple months though they've been refusing food, and they've been less than enthusiastic about handling. The female puts up with it well enough, but the male has gotten downright mean. I only need to open his tub to get hissed at and he immediately goes to the entrance of his hide into a strike position. He's given me some closed mouth strikes, but no teeth. I offered him food today, and he didn't take it. I even left him alone with it, and he still wouldn't eat so I went to pick it up expecting a hiss or a close mouthed strike if anything. I got a full defensive bite instead which isn't that big of a deal (I was asking for it really), but this same snake wouldn't have been so on edge a couple months ago. Nothing about their enclosures has changed, and I didn't go a long time without handling them either.

Does it have to do with the breeding season? I haven't heard of snakes getting meaner though... I also haven't heard much about females going off feed. If it matters, the female is a bit over 1000g empty and the male is somewhere around 800g empty. They're both mid 08s (June for the male, July for the female) and I've had the male for a year and the female for a bit longer. Any advice is appreciated. If you need more info on the enclosures I'll be happy to give it, but it doesn't seem to be related because they've been in these enclosures for many months, and were previously fine.

[JLC]

It's not uncommon for females to start fasting when they hit around 1000-1200g.....I've heard it referred to as "teenaged angst". It's a phase they go through sometimes. Not all of them, I'm sure...but some do. Mine did. Switching prey-type (from rats to mice for me) sometimes helps, but it may be an off-and-on thing for awhile.

As for the male...I don't know. My best guess would be that he's got his mind on the girl next door and is not happy that he can't have her yet.

[Tikall]

Hehe I was hoping that was the case with the boy, but wasn't sure. With that attitude I'd think he'd scare any ladies off, but maybe they think they can change him !

Is it safe to handle a female that's off feed then? I've been leaving them mostly alone except to clean their enclosures, but I do miss having her out a couple times a week. I have no desire to mess with the boy more than I need to when he's in this sort of mood, though! I'll try offering the girl some of my corn's mice to see if that gets her back in gear.

[Tikall]

Well I went to remove the rat from the male's tub just now (10pm) and it was gone . I cautiously lifted the hides to make sure he didn't just drag it under somewhere to rot, and while I found no rat, I found a tense snake with a nice lump in his belly. Leaving the prey in for several hours has never worked for me in the past, but today it did the trick (I checked in earlier at 6pm and it was still there, so he waited quite a while to eat it). Maybe I'll try the same thing with the female tomorrow.

[derrabe]

I dont see why handling your female would cuase a problem. And yeah I hear you on the leaving a rat alone, it can be tense but I have one snake that like to eat in privacy and he takes his time I check on him every 10-15 minutes and leave an apple slice in his cage to distract the rat. Usually that does the trick but I also have had a snake go off feed for almost 7 months before taking a meal during this breeding season so dont be suprised if she doesnt eat.

[Tikall]

Just thought I should update because mice worked!

Switching to mice for the girl has made a WORLD of difference. She's got her old killer appetite back, and I think she'd eat twice a day if I let her. She weighed in today at 1363g, so she's definitely getting somewhere.

[Danounet]

There is gotta be something about mice...

My 500g 09 Male pastel that used to eat anything went off-feed a while ago. He didnt want to eat rats anymore, and I tried ASFs (I have 1 breeding group) and nothing either. But for some reason he will take a mice occasionaly, I never fed him mice though. Always rats since I got him.