SUPER AGGRESSIVE BP....how do you deal with it?

[rj1204]

Ok, I was not going to post this until my girl settles in and calms down, but I really don't think she will. I have had ball pythons, boas, caimans, monitors, iguanas......you name it. I am very anal and I make sure my temps are good with the right food, humidity, and space for my snakes.

To start, I built a melamine rack (until I can afford a nicer rack...Animal Plastics, Freedom, etc.). I have Sterlite 41q tubs (34" x 18" x 6"). The sides; 34" are melamine so the tub provides plenty of closed space for security for my BP's. I have 3" Flexwatt going across the back, about 8" from the back and the very back is pegboard. I have a Helix regulating the temps and newspaper substrate. My hot side is right around 90-92 and my cool side is 80-81. I have the water bowl in the middle, a little more towards the cool side and humidity is 50-60%.

So, 10 days ago I received 3 normal 900 gram BP females. They were sent USPS overnight and when they arrived, I handled them for about 3 minutes making sure they were ok. I had to put them in glass tanks because my Helix got delayed while in transit to me via UPS. The breeder I bought them from said I should feed them because he had not fed them for 2-3 weeks since he knew he would be shipping them. I opened the tank to move a a hide box over (haven't even defrosted the rats yet) and bam, the largest female struck me. I didn't think anything of it, she had a rough trip being overnighted and was hungry. I fed her an hour later one small, 60g rat. She sat at the tank waiting for me to open it for 2 days straight so I gave her another 60g rat.....ate it no problem.

Two days after I got them, my Helix came in and I established good temps, humidity, etc. The breeder said NONE of his BP's ever struck and that was unlike her. So, I got them in the racks and all seemed fine. I bought 3 female pastels and 1 male bumble bee the next day and they settled in fine......my fiesty normal girl sat at the front of the tub in strike position for those 3 days. Then Tuesday, I fed them. My female normals struck the F/T rat the second I started putting it in the tub. She ate it no problem and sat waiting for more.......so, I gave her another small F/T rat. She ate it and went to the heat for two days, so I thought everything was fine and she was settling in. Well, Thursday morning, she came off the heat and is in strike position again......she's been there for 2 days. When I open the tub, she flys out very aggressively. She is always ready to jump out and is never in a ball. My pastels and bee hang out on the hot and cool side and come to the front every now and again. When I open the tubs, they sit there and watch me......change water or whatever. My normal girl won't even let me open the tub 3 inches before she is 6 inches out looking at me in strike position.

I love that she eats so great and she will be 1500 grams in 2-3 months at this rate. I just hate that she is so hard to check on, change water, change newspaper, etc. Why is she so aggressive? Should I get a hook so I can poke her nose to get her back in the cage when I check on her? I don't care about getting bit, a little blood never hurt anyone, but I would rather not get bit! Any advice? Thanks in advanced for anything you can tell me, this site is great and helping me take care of my BP's better each day.

[Kaorte]

First of all, shipping snakes via USPS is illegal...

It can take quite a while for a new snake to settle in. Up to a month for them to feel confident that you are not trying to harm them and that they are safe in their enclosure.

You can hook train her if you would like but if dealt with correctly, this behavior can be suppressed.

[rj1204]

I am not doubting that it will take her a little while to get acclimated to her new environment at all, but she is not balled up, not in the back away from the opening of the rack, and she is sitting in strike position the whole time. She comes out 2 seconds after I open the rack 3 inches. She does not seem timid, nervous, or agitated at all. It just seems like she is really hungry and aggressive all the time. When I put the digital thermometer on the shelf outside her rack, she moves her head and follows my hand. Last night, I went in the snake room to get my wallet that I left on my desk next to the rack. I used a flashlight so I didn't have to turn the light on and bother them. All of a sudden, I hear a thump and another thump. I flash the light toward her tub and thump, she strikes again. I know the heat/light can cause that, but man, she did it three times in 5 seconds and I was 5 feet away. Again, I know that all snakes settle in differently, but I have never had a snake so aggressive. All 6 of the other BP's show no signs of being anything like her, accept when I feed them (which is good). Do you think her aggressive behavior will go away in a month after she gets acclimated and a full belly of rats consistently? Sorry my posts are so long.

[jxk]

I'm no expert, but I would expect her to chill out as time goes on. What's worked for me before with any aggression is just blowing at the snake which doesn't hurt but causes them to pull back a bit. Though the only aggression I've had experience with was due to hunger.

Have you handled her outside of the tank yet? I would assume not, since she's still new, but if so I'm curious about her temperament.

[Kaorte]

If her previous owner wasn't feeding her enough then she is probably just hungry. Once you get her eating consistently that behavior should stop.

I don't consider these animals "aggressive" at all. They are either very hungry or very scared, but not aggressive.

[rj1204]

I sure hope she does. The previous owner kind of seems shady, now that I have been in contact with him. I will continue to give her plenty of food and the right environment. I think you are right, she seems HUNGRY all the time. She has had 4 small rats over the last 10 days and is still NOT satisfied. Hopefully one medium (100-120 gram) rat will satisfy her every 7 days. I don't think I can get close enough to blow in her face, she would probably get too close to my face....she has NO fear. Thanks for the advice.

[JeffD]

My Albino was very skiddish and struck at EVERYTHING that moved. After 3 bites he started to settle down. Now he's just a little jumpy when I first take him out, then he's fine. I think yours will settle down the same way.

[angllady2]

Sounds to me like she's been seriously underfed for a while.

Ever seen a starving dog? When they are offered food, they'll gorge until they vomit, then gorge again. They simply cannot get used to the fact they don't need to stuff themselves anymore. It can take weeks of consistent feeding and patience to re-train these dogs. I'm wondering if she's not experiencing something similar?


I got myself a big new female last sunday, and while she's not aggressive, you can tell they did not feed her well. She is extremely food oriented, to put it politely. I do believe she'd eat until she burst if I'd let her. She just can't seem to get enough to eat. I'm going to try going bigger with her this coming feeding day, because the smaller rats that work for everyone else she thinks are m&m's or something.

As far as what to do about her lunging at you, if it's necessary to open her tub for maintenance or whatever, have yourself a big old plastic or wooden spoon or spatula, the bigger the better, and have it ready to insert between you and her if she lunges. Even if she hits it, it won't hurt her, and seeing an object like that she doesn't recognize might just convince her to back off a bit.

Gale

[dr del]

Hi,

I agree on the shady.

He shipped USPS and didn't feed for three weeks because "he knew he'd be shipping them"

You have had them only 10 days and have moved them to different tanks already - be happy they are eating.

Use a hook or a water bottle and touch the top of her head gently when you are going in the tank to do anything instead of feeding if she is in strike position. That should make her draw back and snap out of feeding mode hopefully.


dr del

[kellysballs]

I would FEED HER! As much as she will eat once a week and when she is full she will calm down.