1st time BP owner looking for help

[satomi325]

Hi everyone. I am new to the site and the Herp world. I just became an owner of an 8 year old male BP this past Sunday and find myself with LOTS of questions and, unfortunately, not a lot of resources.

Welcome to your first dose of the reptile world! Congrats on your first ball!
This forum is the best resource you can find on ball pythons!

The PO kept the temp around 70 degrees as she did not have a heat lamp. I have since purchased a lamp, a 50w red bulb as well as a 2nd thermometer for the hot side.

70 degrees is much too cold for a Ball Python. Anything under 75 degrees will have the potential to give your snake a respiratory infection, which can be life threatening and expensive to treat.
They need a temperature gradient of a ~88-91 degree hot spot and a ~80 degree cold side. They also need 50-60% humidity and around 70% during their shed cycle.

I generally get home about 6:00pm and after getting changed from the day and getting dinner ready, I go into my room to check on Finch.

The next night, he was out of his hide so I removed the lid to spend time w him. Every time I plan to handle him, I rub his back (around mid length) so he isn't startled. When it seems like he's ok to be picked up, I always use both hands. I also stay away from his head/neck area as well as his tail; I've heard those are quite sensitive. I would also, ideally, try to handle him about 30 minutes and then return him to his tank. This day was also without incident.

Tuesday night, as usual to try to establish a routine/schedule, I opened the lid to take him out to play . I stroked his back but he responded differently. His muscles seemed twitchy and almost like he was spasming. Ok, maybe I still startled him, so I kept rubbing his back. After a while I tried to pick him up and he hissed at me. I backed off just giving him space and time. Maybe he just wasn't in the mood. So I waited a couple hours and tried again. Same body response followed by another hiss. So I called it a night.

Tuesday was when I bought the lamp and 2nd thermometer. I leave the light off at night and turn it on during the day while I'm at work. Temp on the hot side is around 80 and 70 on the cool. However, it seems like he doesn't like the heat lamp on as each day of using it, it looks like he's staying away from it and lying on the cool side. Maybe because the PO never used one idk.


Wednesday now and I'm thinking maybe he's hungry. PO said he ate 2 adult mice Tuesday the previous week but he should be good for a couple weeks. I decided to stop at the pet store and pick up 2 adult mice to see if he'll eat. Seeing as how this is the first time I'm feeding him and how agitated he was Tuesday, I feed him in the tank. I've read on numerous sites of the suggestions to feed in a different area to avoid potential bites, but did not want to cause him any stress of forcing a handling. He ate the first mouse within seconds. I waited about 5 minutes and fed him the 2nd mouse. Another night goes by.


Today (Thursday) I get home and look in on him. He is coiled up and is very aggressive. He actually struck out at me as I was removing my socks. So now, seeing this behaviour, I reach out to seek help/answers. What am I doing wrong? What am I missing? Please help

Thanks

Ok first thing to clear up, there is no such thing as cage aggression in relation to feeding in the enclosure. Snakes have very precise ways to identify prey and non-prey (humans). They definitely know the difference between the two.
Most people here, including myself, feed their snakes in their own enclosures with no ill effect. It's more stressful to move a snake back and forth after a feeding. If you're too rough in moving the snake from a feeding bin to it's tank, it can result in the snake regurgitating it's meal.

You should leave all newcomer snakes alone for a week to allow them to de-stress and adjust to their new homes. Go ahead and change water or spot clean urates/poop, but don't handle him for a week.

2 mice every couple weeks is way too small for a snake his age. He should be feeding on at least small rats(or the equivalent number of mice) once a week. If he's acting aggressive, he's probably still hungry or stressed out.
Ball pythons do not strike out for no reason. They have two different strikes; feeding and defensive. Stress causes defensive strikes and prey causes feeding. Like I mentioned before, they can distinguish a hand from prey. (Unless your hand smells like food)




Here are a few caresheets and tutorials to look at:

Caresheet -
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

Husbandry -
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Husbandry-FAQs

Setting up a tank - (tips on how to measure temps and keep humidity are very important)
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...p-w-pics-*DUW*

Good luck!