Our new BP (9mths?) seems stressed/frightened - help a newbie out

[cpodraza]

On Saturday we purchased a 7-9 month old male Pastel BP from a reptile expo. At the expo he was very docile, calm and easily handled. When we got him home he was the same. After being his new enclosure he is now fairly aggressive and striking at the glass. The enclosure is covered on 3 sides, he has 2 hides and everything else seems fine with it. I covered the front with a towel so he had complete privacy and left him alone completely. Today I took the towel away and almost immediately he struck again. We have not reached into the cage at all.

I've had some people tell me we should leave him alone and others tell me we should be handling him. I dont want to start out on the wrong foot with this guy. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Inarikins]

I'd guess stressed, but what're your temp and humidity numbers? He should have at least 5-7 days to relax before you even look at them. It's only been three days, let him settle a little longer. Some people don't handle for at least a few feedings, but I would definitely leave him alone for a while longer.

[cpodraza]

The warm side is about 80-85 with a basking temp of 90. The cool side is 75. Humidity has been hovering around 40-50%. I'm hoping to feed him outside of his enclosure because I have kids that will be handling him and dont want accidental strikes associated with food entering the tank. I'll cover the cage back up for a while and check back in about a week.

[Inarikins]

Husbandry's good, looks like. Humidity could be a teeny bit higher. Cage aggression is a myth. Most snakes will stop feeding if they're in a different enclosure to eat. And think of it this way, won't they start to associate you going in there to pick them up with feeding time?

Besides, a bite from a baby BP feels like absolutely nothing and unless you go in there with your hand smelling like prey the likelihood of getting bit is low enough it's laughable. Baby BPs are mostly bluffing when they 'S' up/hiss/strike. Sometimes they'll strike and make contact but never open their mouth to bite.

[Evenstar]

The warm side is about 80-85 with a basking temp of 90. The cool side is 75. Humidity has been hovering around 40-50%. I'm hoping to feed him outside of his enclosure because I have kids that will be handling him and dont want accidental strikes associated with food entering the tank. I'll cover the cage back up for a while and check back in about a week.

Actually, your temps are slightly off. Basking temp of 90 is perfect, but how is that basking spot created? By a light or UTH?? This makes a difference. And how is it controlled? Do you have a thermostat??

Your ambient temps should NEVER be below 76 and even that is really too low. 78-80 is what you want. Ambient = air temp measured on the cool side of the enclosure. Pick up an Accurite indoor/outdoor thermometer from Walmart (about $12) to accurately measure your temps. The little round dials are terribly misleading. And humidity should be about 60-70%. You might need to mist periodically to get that up a bit. But let's deal with the temps first.

Your BP could well be stressing due to the inability to properly thermoregulate. So let's get this fixed and see what happens.

Once you do that, leave him completely alone for at least a week to settle down. Then offer him his first meal. If he eats, wait 48hrs for him to digest, then you can begin handling him gently.

Feeding in his enclosure will NOT make him aggressive or cause him to bite by thinking hands in the enclosure means food. That really is a myth. ALL of my snakes are fed in their enclosures and I can scoop up any one of them anytime without fear of being bitten. They learn when to expect food and when not to. For now at least, feed him in his enclosure until he settles down. If you are still unsure, we can discuss it more later.

Oh! And welcome to the forums!!

[BFE Pets]

On Saturday we purchased a 7-9 month old male Pastel BP from a reptile expo. At the expo he was very docile, calm and easily handled. When we got him home he was the same. After being his new enclosure he is now fairly aggressive and striking at the glass. The enclosure is covered on 3 sides, he has 2 hides and everything else seems fine with it. I covered the front with a towel so he had complete privacy and left him alone completely. Today I took the towel away and almost immediately he struck again. We have not reached into the cage at all.

I've had some people tell me we should leave him alone and others tell me we should be handling him. I dont want to start out on the wrong foot with this guy. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

lol i got a sable on sunday at a expo and shes doing the same thing. i know the husbandry is fine shes in a rack thats been running for months. idk sometimes they just get stressed in a new environment. give it about a week and try again. mine also just shed a couple hours ago so maybe it wants to eat. i'll find out tomorrow

[RestlessRobie]

X2 got our Black Pewter Saturday I know my husbandry is great and he is a little stressed just like yours. Your temps are a little off and humidity could be slightly higher. Check out the Caresheet I would also move him to the quietest spot in the house and leave him alone except for cleaning. I would also keep handeling to the minimum until he has eaten at least twice. Grats on the Picup which Expo were you at

[crossbonecorns]

Having vended at many shows and bought countless snakes from them as well, let me let you in a little show secret, low temps. Reptile shows are kept a comfetable temp for the human guests, not the reptile products. Normal room temp in those places is around 72-76. The snakes are sluggish at these temps. Don't worry, the couple of days that they are kept at these lower temps don't harm the snake over the long term, they just have the ability to temperarily calm all but the most aggressive of beasts. You get the snake home, get its temp up to the point where it gets its metabolism moving again and the snakes true colors may come out. Also hatchling balls are more instinctively more aggressive. Rememver that everything in their natural environment is a threat. Just keep trying with it and they normally calm down over time.

Also, your temps are great. Your snake as a wide range of temps to choose from.

[meowmeowkazoo]

Honestly it doesn't sound like the OP is doing anything that would cause the aggression. Yeah, the temps and humidity are a *tiny* bit off, but not enough to cause issues with the snake regulating its body temperature.

I would chalk it up to stress just from being in a new environment. Even if husbandry remained exactly the same the snake would probably calm down within a week.

I would give him space for a few more days, then try offering a meal.

[cpodraza]

I've upped the humidity (I'm just using a damp towel over the cool side of the enclosure) to 60%. The cooler side of the tank now sits at about 80. On the warm side, I have 2 digital thermometers. One near the top where the bulk of the heat from the light comes from and it reads 95 at the moment. The other one is near the bottom and it is about 85. There is a UTH on the warm side. At night I use a red light to maintain the warmer temps but let them drop slightly. He is kept in my daughters room - its one of the quietest places in the house.

Although he was under a heat light at the expo, I can see how the temperatures would vary and that makes sense about him being sluggish. It was a little chilly Saturday. To answer which expo - it was in St Charles, IL at the Kane County Fairgrounds. I forget the exact name - Midwest Bird/Reptile show or something to that effect.

Thanks for your help! This our first move to BPs after having had corn snakes so I appreciate the input greatly!