Rough Handling

[steepe99]

I received a new ball python, and she is extremely cage aggressive. I finally now am able to pick her up, but she is still very defensive to were if I scratch my nose she strikes. Is there any way to tame her out of this defensiveness? She is 8 months old, I make slow hand motions and support her whole body. If I want to place my hand near her I have to hold her far away first place my hand there and bring her to it or else she will strike. She gets into a striking position for anything, I'm extremely jealous of how other peoples ball pythons are tamed down to the point where they can touch there heads and everything... Any tips on how to tame her to that point? I'm not scared to get bitten as I already have from her, I just want her super tamed and I was wondering if there were any techniques? She has never curled up in a ball, she just strikes. Any help will be greatly appreciated! I feed her every 5-7 days, give her a day or two to digest, only handle her 2-3 times a week. Also, now she only stays in one hide, before at night she will always come out but now she doesn't she just stays in there, her hot side temperature is around 90-95* and her cold side is around 85* Since she is a BEL I can't tell if she's shedding or not, shes eating fine, and drinking water.

[Flikky]

95 sounds a bit high for a hot side temp. I keep mine at 90.4. All you can really do to calm her down is handle her in short bursts. Give her time and earn her trust. Don't expect her to be puppy dog tame because she might never be. Most ball pythons stay very head shy and some don't lose their attitude. It's just how they are.

[4theSNAKElady]

How long have you had her? If you just keep holding her she will eventually calm down. Its just going to take some time....she seems scared.

Sent from my H866C using Tapatalk 2

[steepe99]

I've had her for about 3 weeks now, I let her get use to her new environment for the first week with no handling at all, I've been handling her for 2 weeks now.

[Raven01]

How long have you had her? If you just keep holding her she will eventually calm down. Its just going to take some time....she seems scared.

Sent from my H866C using Tapatalk 2

What she said X2.
BP bites seem to in my experience fall into only 2 categories.
1. Mistaken feeding response.
2. Fear/Defensive striking.

What you describe certainly sounds like the second one.
I am going to guess that she is a smaller snake atm, these seem to strike more as well although I am unsure if it is due to timidity related to their small size or just a shorter life and therefore less handling to accustom them to handling being a non-threatening act.

How do you have your girls habitat set up?
Husbandry wise and privacy wise. Uncomfortable snakes get cranky, I have a male that hisses and strikes when he is due to poop. Not even kidding about that, atleast I have one that won't likely make a mess on me.

[steepe99]

I have black sheets covering the back and the sides of her cage so she can't get out, I have 4 hides, and a climbing branch as she loves to climb, a water bowl and everything. She has been eating great, and her temps are- Hot side 90-95* and cold side around 85* her humidity is around 50%. Whats the best way to make her un afraid of me then? I don't want to scare the little thing..

[Archimedes]

Time is the only way. Three weeks isn't very long, she'll come around with patience and gentle handling. How's she eating for you?

[steepe99]

She eats great! Already eating rat pups!

[Archimedes]

She eats great! Already eating rat pups!

Definitely a great sign! Keep offering food, and maybe try to get the hotspot down to 92 if you can, but otherwise just keep your patience and it sounds like you'll have a great snake.

[Luciferskeeper]

Take a break from handling, and give her a couple more weeks to settle in and eat a few times.also id bring down both the hot spot and cool side temps a few degrees.