Almost every ball python will grow out of nippy baby behavior. Your girl sounds exactly like how my Minnie acted, and now she lets first time snake holders handle her without even a hiss. Some desensitize to the threat of human contact more quickly than others. While she's still showing a lot of fear/aggression, don't bring her close to your face. They may not be very bright but they seem to know what might happen when they're brought too close to a mouth.Originally Posted by mattchibi
Recently picked up a lesser hatchling, I thought she would calm down after a week or two but she's still really grumpy and bitey. She's been fed a few times already. She had a really bad stuck shed for the first two weeks but I managed to get almost all of it off, except for a tiny bit under her chin. Everytime I walk by she is following me around her tub and she instantly "S"'s up as soon as I open her tub. She throws defensive strikes all the time when I have her tub open.. Im starting to think she doesnt like me
Husbandry is: 79-81 on cool side, 89-92 on hot side. Its been between 60-70% humidity since shes been here. She has one hide on the hot side and a small water bowl on the cool side.
During one of her soaks, I heard a little whistling sound. Just the other day when I was attempting to handle her briefly, I heard a hissing noise that sounded almost like a whistle, but Ive been trying to monitor her a few times a day to see if I can hear any whistling but I can never hear anything. Her nostrils are clear, but I havent gotten around to opening her mouth because shes so angry. It may be possible that she's grumpy because she's sick with an RI? I don't know if its possible because I got her from a good breeder.
So my question is: What can I do to "tame" her down a bit? Should I start handling daily for 5 minutes or so (minus feeding & digesting days)? And is it adviseable to always bring new pickups to the vet? I am getting two more ball pythons pretty soon, and I have no idea what to do about QT.
With quarrantine, do the best that you can. Best would be different rooms on different levels of your house. Best that you can might be keeping their cages on opposites of the room with their own husbandry equipment and washing up good and changing clothes between handling. With me what worked out easiest was to do the established snakes when I first got up and the "cootie cage" later in the day.
Opinion varies as to how long you need to quarrantine. Read up on it and use your judgement.
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