aggresive baby ball

[cinderbird]

do you have something regulating the under tank heater and the lights? a dimmer or thermostat (reptile thermostats, highly recomend over a dimmer, personally).

Where is the probe on the thermometer you're using? How deep is the substrate?

There is no need to move them to a different box to feed, some people do, but with balls it generally seems to cause more feeding problems than it solves. "cage aggression" is a myth.

What size prey are you feeding him? Even hatchlings can take hopper mice, and within a few meals quickly move up to adult mice.

[dietz3d]

i try to get him a big hopper once a week the substate is a bout an inch and a half the probe is about inch off of substate near his hide and that is where the under tank heater is and i just moniter the temps alot but they never seem to get to high yet to turn any thing off

[cinderbird]

i try to get him a big hopper once a week the substate is a bout an inch and a half the probe is about inch off of substate near his hide and that is where the under tank heater is and i just moniter the temps alot but they never seem to get to high yet to turn any thing off

the thermometer probe really should be on the uth itself, or directly on the glass above it. The substrate may really be hotter than you currently think it is, the snake can also move it or pee on it which will cause a lot of flucuations that may cause stress and could certinly cause burns.

I'd try fixing those things, give him a week with no handling and then start handling in slow positive sessions. a bite from a baby bp won't cause you any harm. If its really a problem use some gloves to pick him up. I wouldn't use a towel or anything because their teeth may get caught in the loops and they are very fragile.

[loonunit]

Some of them, that's just what they do at that age. They're not tame right out of the shell, and you need to let them learn that you're (a) harmless and (b) not food.

What are you feeding him? Feed the little guy, and keep feeding him until he's done eating. Handle him every other day, with gloves if you don't like being bitten, and DON'T put him back in his cage when he bites/hisses/strikes. That's just rewarding bad behavior. Let him get the aggression out of his system, and then let him explore you, and maybe your desk or a bookshelf. If you don't mind being bitten--if you can keep from getting angry at him--let him bite your fingers. At that age they're always hungry, and sometimes they honestly don't know the difference between human fingers and mouse noses until they've chomped down a few times. Sometimes it's a few dozen times.

If he does ball up on you, find his tail, hook your little finger 3/4 of the way down, and hold him up from there. They usually unball at that point and start exploring again.

I think environment has been covered, but I do have one question: how much STUFF does he have in his tank? ...do you just have the one hide? Add some cardboard tubes and fake plants. The glass really freaks them out at that age, and the more stuff he has, the happy he'll be.

You can also move the tank to a low-traffic area of the house for a few months. But I'm afraid I'm a big meanie about the striking-when-I-walk-past: I tend to stand there and wiggle my fingers at them, and let them just go silly. After they've banged their noses sufficiently on the glass, they figure out there's a barrier, and they give it up. THIS OPINION IS MY OWN, AND LIKELY NOT THE OPINION OF THE BP.NET FORUMS OVERALL.

[loonunit]

By the way, if he ever gets so stressed that instead of balling, he just sits there shaking his tail like a rattlesnake and striking striking striking like he's having a seizure, then YES, it is DEFINITELY time to put him back. Put him back, put his tank in a back room, and leave him alone for several days.

I've only had one animal do that, and it was right after shipping. But I never want to see it again.

[JESSE]

U could try some leather gloves or just deal with being bit but the more you handle him/her the less likely it will be to strike

[BigBlue56]

You only have 1 hide? Thats a problem as well.

Get another hide. They need 2 (one on hot end and one on the cold end).

Seems to me he is pissy because of the husbandry. Fix that then give him some time alone. Make him comfortable in his new home before he tries to get comfortable with you.

Its a lot for a new pet to take in... Trust needs to time to develop.

[Charlie And Lucy]

You can feed inside the tank, as BP's don't get cage aggression like other snakes might. We were also told to feed outside of the enclosure for that reason, in all reality all it does is stress the snake more. There are a lot of uneducated people out there who don't give the best advice when it comes to the care of a BP. Here tho, you'll not only get awesome advice, but awesome support.

[SERPENT_MASTERS]

when i do feed him i remove him from the tank and feed him in a box many people have told me about this is that an ok practice of feeding them the people said he will learn to associate the box with feeding and not something coming into his tank

I would try using a snake hook and taking him out of tank then try picking him up. if you dont have a hook..... dont laugh...... use a hanger and form it into a hook or place a small towel over his head. dont give up! babies tend to be alittle snappy remember you are 100 times bigger then him so you are consider a threat for "NOW". when was the last time it ate? what is your temps reading? do you have hide spots? if you do get tagged trust me it wont hurt, I am more scared of the strike ( because it's sooooo quick and the snake geting mouth rot due to lossing teeth. keep us posted.

[SERPENT_MASTERS]

the thermometer probe really should be on the uth itself, or directly on the glass above it. The substrate may really be hotter than you currently think it is, the snake can also move it or pee on it which will cause a lot of flucuations that may cause stress and could certinly cause burns.

I'd try fixing those things, give him a week with no handling and then start handling in slow positive sessions. a bite from a baby bp won't cause you any harm. If its really a problem use some gloves to pick him up. I wouldn't use a towel or anything because their teeth may get caught in the loops and they are very fragile.

you are right about the towel. sorry i gave info about placing towel over snake. i forgot a longgggggg time ago i did this and snake teeth was stuck to string of old but clean towel. how could i forget that?