Snapping

[sorakitty]

I've been feeding my girl right in her cage for a few months now. And she's never showed anything like agression. I've had friends come over and they'll go right in and pick her up and she's fine.
Well last night she was roaming her tank looking for some food. I had lost power and was worried about her so I went to reach in and pick her up to hold her and keep her warm. Well as I went to go and grab her, she snapped at me. She's never done this before. I always go in to clean her tank out and change her water. This really is the very first time she snapped. It freaked me out a little but the snap didn't even seem to of been opened mouth (at least not that I could see). And it was slow enough that I had plenty of time to pull away.
Could this be a sign of her developing cage agression? Or could it just be possible because she's so hungry she might of mistaken my had as a mouse or rat? (I know that sounds silly).
If anyone has any idea and how to get her out of the cage agression (if it possible is) I would appreciate it.

[sorakitty]

Really? 20 views and no one has anything to say or add onto?
I'm not asking for a lot, just a little bit of other people opinions.

[Wh00h0069]

Really? 20 views and no one has anything to say or add onto?
I'm not asking for a lot, just a little bit of other people opinions.

Tons of people lurk, so that is why you get so many views with no posts. It sounds like she was just hungry. It would be a good idea for you to use something to remove her from her cage from now on, so she can determine when it is feeding time or handling time. I use a snake hook.

[ballpythonluvr]

It definitely sounds like the snake is hungry. They tend to be a little snappy if they are hungry. I think she will be fine once you feed her.

[Skittles1101]

People always say it's not necessary, but for the record I haven't had this problem, and my guys feed in separate tanks....not sure if they are related...just sayin' lol

[sorakitty]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll see how she acts after I feed her, if she is still snappy then I'll get myself a hook for her.
@LGray23: I use to feed her in a separate tank, but I don't have anything. What I use to use she's now out grown, thats why I've turned to feeding her within the tank.

[Raf702]

After having my snake for more than 3 weeks now. I noticed when my BP is hungry his head will peep out of his hide. And seems to happen a day before or the day of feeding. Prior to that he's bundled up hidden inside his hide. You should spend a bit more time observing your BP's behaviors. You'll start to pick up on signs of hunger, afraid, aggressive, etc. As of today I noticed mine was peeping out of his hide, and was smelling the air for food. So I already knew he was hungry. Got him his first large mice today! And he did a great job eating.

Best thing is observe him and his surroundings. And you'll pick up clues on your BP's behavior. Good luck! Keep us posted!

[Powerspythons]

Its either that he was hungry or was stressed cause you lost power..aka..he lost heat, you'd be surprised how quickly temps can drop in a tank without a heat source. I wouldnt look too far into it..sometimes they just try to bite...cage aggression is BS in my opinion..I feed all 15 of my BPs in their tubs and not one is 'cage aggressive', they are however food aggressive..which means, I can stick my hand in their tub right after handling my rodents and wag it around and they wont give it a second look...but as soon as they see the rat in my hand, they go nuts and fly out of the tub at me for it. lol.

[Raf702]

After having my snake for more than 3 weeks now. I noticed when my BP is hungry his head will peep out of his hide. And seems to happen a day before or the day of feeding. Prior to that he's bundled up hidden inside his hide. You should spend a bit more time observing your BP's behaviors. You'll start to pick up on signs of hunger, afraid, aggressive, etc. As of today I noticed mine was peeping out of his hide, and was smelling the air for food. So I already knew he was hungry. Got him his first large mice today! And he did a great job eating.

Best thing is observe him and his surroundings. And you'll pick up clues on your BP's behavior. Good luck! Keep us posted!

[angllady2]

Actually, mistaking your hand for food is NOT a silly idea, and is in fact how at least 80% of ball python bites occur.

If your snake was already roaming about, and knew it was near feeding day, I'd bet money it thought you were dinner. No biggie.


Wait until a 3500 gram female thinks your hand is food, now THAT is a biggie! And in more than one sense of the word.

Gale