Suddenly nervous BP?

[Smoked Oyster]

So I've had my 6yo female pastel for about 2 months now. She was totally docile and calm with daily handling. 2 weeks ago today, she bit me hard during her feeding due to stupid human error on my part.

Within a few days after the bite, she went blue, so I left her alone until she finished shedding, which was over this past weekend. Well, now when I open her cage, she recoils like I've never seen. When I put my hand on her tail to pick her up, she recoiled hard and hissed at me. I tried a couple of times over the weekend with the same results... very atypical from how she was before the bite/shed. Has anyone else seen similar behavior, and if so, how long did it take for the python to settle down again?

Ever since the bite, I personally feel more nervous around her. I definitely want to handle her like before, but when she recoils hard like that, my new instinct is to pull my hand back just as fast in anticipation of a strike. I wonder if she knows that I am more wary of her bites now, and can sense it, and is responding to that? Sorta like a vicious circle? I don't know, pretty strange and I hope both of us can get back on better terms with each other!

[jtomb1510]

Has she been eating more aggressively lately?

[Smoked Oyster]

Has she been eating more aggressively lately?

Her last feed was when she bit me, and yes, even aside from the bite, she lunged harder at the F/T rat than usual. She had been shedding, so no feed since then, but I plan to tonight or tomorrow depending on how thawed the rat is when I get home. I'll see how aggressive she is at this feeding.

Why do you ask?

[Smoked Oyster]

She ate a 250g rat tonight. Mild at first, but then we used the blowdryer trick and she pounced! Hopefully her mood will improve.

[Emily Hubbard]

I don't blame you for being nervous now, it's really only natural. Since you just fed her, I would maybe give her a day longer than you usually wait to handle after feeding and try it with gloves. There is no shame in gloves if you are wary of a bite. I handled my hatching with gloves the first week, though she never bit. Just having that barrier between the snake and your hands mentally erases your nerves.

Alternatively, have you checked her eye caps? I could be something as simple as her last shed didn't get the eye caps off, so she can't see you and is freaked out. Maybe, maybe not.

Either way, the glove trick is fantastic for breaking the nerves. There is no reason to be bit by your snake unnecessarily, nothing macho about it. If you have any worries the snake is in a nippy phase, get gloves! Handling your snake should be fun, not raise your blood pressure. I'm sure your girl will calm down with a little gentle handling. (Oh, and as far as type of glove, don't use knit gloves of any kind. Should they bite them, their teeth will get stuck in them and you will be trying to extract a glove from your snake's mouth. So not cool for either of you. Rubbery or leathery garden gloves work great if you want to go economical, no need for fancy, expensive reptile gloves unless you feel the need to antagonize a large monitor lizard.)

[KingPythons]

Bigger prey items slow them down or can calm or make them more protective. I would say to not fear your animal and to stick to the rule of keeping you hand away from her face or hand from smelling like food. You must know how to read your ball python

When she does this it's cause she thinks I have food for her. And she will bite me! So I trick her with one hand and with the other I pick her up, then she goes in to crawl mode and not into defense or Im gonna bite you mode.