I'm back... with a problem:/

[NatalieFaye1031]

So i came here back in april/mayish to get some info about owning ball pythons. I have two now and they've been just great.... until....

recently the big one (maubi) has been acting weird... when i was feeding him... he struck at me instead of the mouse in his cage... i wrote that off as a mistake and didn't worry about it. Although i was more cautious when feeding. Then last night i woke up to find him out of his cage (he's done this before when i forgot to put a book on top of his cage) but instead of just trying to get away when i went to put him back in, he actually struck at me! i flipped out... i didnt want to get bit or anything :/ it could have been a number of things. One: i was wearing a big glove out of nervousness, i didnt want him to strike my bare hand.... but ive worn it before and had no problem. maybe the glove freaked him out?? Two: ive heard of snakes snapping when they were still hungry... but i had just fed him... like a few hours before. did i not feed him enough maybe? when i finally got him back in he patrolled the cage for hours... so that is my number one guess why he's been acting wierd..

Let me go ahead and ask, when i bought him from the owner, she said she fed him once every two weeks.. is that right? or is that not enough?

does anyone have any other reasons hes been snapping? Up until these last couple weeks he was SOO tame... like crazy tame. its wierd.

Thanks

[mommanessy247]

could the snake be going into shed? my little girl gets REAL pissy when she's in shed, as i've recently found out, lol. that and she's got alot of attitude to begin with so...

[Adam Chandler]

Might not be enough for him to eat. Try offering another, if he is still hungry he will eat, if not he won't. I offer mine food every week.

About the striking at you, most BP's will ball up when scared, if they feel they can't(like if they are gripping something) protect themselves by balling they will bite, some BPs are more willing to bite then others. Make sure when you are going to pick him up that no part of your body is anywhere near the front of his face.
What I do if I have a aggressive BP (one in a strike "S" posture) is I will take one hand and move it about 4-5 feet in front of where he is facing, not close enough to make him strike but to get his attention, a distractor, then with my other hand reach around the back of the BP and pick it up, always keeping their face out and away from you.

If he is roaming his habitat and not hungry it may be a husbandry issue like temperature or security(hides).

[Alexandra V]

Once every two weeks is not really enough. I'm with you on the guess that he's acting hungry, especially if you've seen him patrolling around in his cage recently. Also, double check all your temperatures just to be sure, and make sure that he's not going into shed, because I know a number of snakes that get very snappy when they're going into shed.

[wolfy-hound]

It's hard to say without knowing what his cage is like.

I can say that a sizable ball python needs more than a mouse every two weeks. With him out, he was probably nervous and freaking out because he didn't know if a big old predetor was going to find him and eat him. Then you showed up and grabbed at him(from his point of view) and he probably just got scared.

Check his tempurtures and make sure he has plenty of hideboxes. Feed him a bit more, and you'll probably see him relax more.

[Vypyrz]

If he is still roaming after feeding, I'm guessing he's still hungry. How big is the snake and what size mice are you feeding?

[NatalieFaye1031]

Thanks everyone for the advice!

okay heres the deal - my humidity is at about 55
My temp varies from about 85-90 at hottest
He has his hide box and a water bowl and thats all
Paper towel substrate in a plastic storage box.

he's been in it since ive got him and been perfectly happy until now. I Still think it may have to do with food. his eating has been off since he shed

which is why i dont think its a shedding problem, because he just shed like 2 weeks ago.

He's about 4 1/2 feet long, I feed him a small rat.

Im thinking about offering him another meal and see what he does. He's been super active too the last couple hours. He keeps sticking his head out when i walk in the room. If i do offer him more.. what should i give him?

[Black_Shark]

Feeding every 2 weeks is an acceptable schedule. I feed all my adults every 2 weeks and they are all growing, happy and not aggressive. It may just be that he feels threatened in some way.

[Pip]

Any chance you still had scent of the rat on your hands?

My boy Hagi struck me once because I forgot to wash my hands after handling his meal. Doesn't hurt too bad, but obviously preferable to avoid it.

[dr del]

Hi,

Snake V's prey sizes are tricky as not all shops catergorise them the same way.

I prefer to use the 10-15% of the snakes weight once per week rule with a cut off of what I call 1 small rat of approx 80-120g.


dr del