Aggression or Horny??

[jpcrowley80]

So the other day my wife had my 800 gram male spider soaking in the tub. He seemed to be all relaxed until she decided to bring my 600 gram female into the room. All of the sudden he freaked and started thrashing around violently. The female was not in the tub and was probably about 4-5 feet away from him. Has anyone witnessed behavior like this before? Or any idea what may have happened.

Justin

[mechnut450]

wife might of spooked him since they feel with the vibrations as a person walks, then could also picked up the scent and it startle him since hte wate reduced the vibrations felt. it really hard to say precisly .

[mrmertz]

How long until she had him soaking in the tub before she decided to leave the room? Did she put hum in the tub to soak and immediately left the room and came back in later? If so, then my guess would be that he picked up the vibrations and perhaps that spooked him.

If she had placed him in the tub and continued to stay in the room for a length of time while he settled down then left later I would say it's "me so haaaawny" since if he had been settled down in the tub soaking for some time and then she gets up and leaves the room it would have set him off then.

But I'm no snake (depending on who you talk to) so it's all conjecture.

Now, if she had set the snake in the tub to soak, immediately left the room then snuck back in wearing those big, fuzzy, lady slippers with the non-slip soles made in China that look like a cat regurgitated them several times over the years then...okay. I'll admit it. I'm beginning to digress here. Forget you even saw this paragraph.

[jpcrowley80]

Thanks for the replies. He was totally relaxed and settled into the bath before my wife left the room. This is the first time that he has ever freaked out like that. He's not like my other ball pythons, he is very hard to startle. He probably wants to Bow-chica-bow-wow.....lol

[WingedWolfPsion]

Most likely he was startled. I don't think thrashing is part of ball python courtship, they usually approach slowly, lol.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Most likely he was startled. I don't think thrashing is part of ball python courtship, they usually approach slowly, lol.

Not always true.. Some males will claim whatever area they are in and the mere sight of another snake will send them thrashing. My male cinny thrashes and flips around whenever introduced to a female. I have to always put him into the females tub and not the other way around. I would never even attempt to let him get close to another male. He would probably completely flip out.

In the case of the OPs snake there is no way to know what caused it. Im not sure if the snake could even see another snake in her arms if he was down in the tub. They dont have the best long distance eyesight. I guess its possible he saw what appeared to be another snake and thrashed. Just as its possible he was spooked after being left alone for a bit. Males will often fight and thrash with another male. Its more rare but its possible with a female. From that distance could he actually smell or see the snake well enough to know what it was? Who knows.