re-taming of a ball python

[dirks]

this is gonna be my first post here, so here goes!
i have had my male orange ghost BP for two months now and he has been so much trouble for me!
when he first arrived, he was aggressive out of fear (so i believe) so i left him alone for a while and only handled him after several days to give him time to acclimate to his environment. he seemed fine after this.
then, very suddenly, he got aggressive again! i felt like the timing may have had something to do with me getting my male albino-- maybe he could smell the other snake?
do male BPs become aggressive in the presence of other males? is it possible that the scent of my 4 month albino is making him stressed?

i did attempt to ease back into handling him very slowly-- and never with the scent of the other male on me, and things seemed to be going fine. he was relaxed, exploring, tongue-flicking and rarely did he move into a striking position. everything was going fine until suddenly, as i was handling him, he went for my eyeball! what the heck!

not too sure what to think. I'm not a breeder and i buy my snakes as pets, so you can imagine my disappointment that one of my pets is being so aggressive. i'd like to know why and what i can do to help this aggression/fear, if there is anything that can be done.

i hope i've posted this in the right thread! let me know.

[bcr229]

This sounds like defensive, not aggressive, behavior. I have two adult breeder females like this - you can pick them up, hold them, they will crawl and explore, etc. BUT they also remain very stiff and will strike out with no warning at movement and shadows. Something several feet away and well out of striking range can set them off. They're not lap snakes either - sit down with them and they will immediately take off to hide.

While they've improved with gentle and consistent handling, these two will never be cuddle-pets. I don't let them near my face and I'm very careful with them when I do have them out.

[Rock51]

I have an aggressive male spider ball but he is the opposite. The day I got him he was very friendly, even after a 2hr car ride. When I got home I put him away and left him for a few days and he even feed fine. The day after feeding I wanted to take him out and he would strike at me every time I got my hand close. I have held him a couple of times to try to calm him down and he has never struck while im holding him but he always looks like he is about to. It seems like the longer ive had him his aggression has gotten worse.

Im just going to try to calm him down and hopefully I don't get bit in my face!

[BigJay]

The day after feeding I wanted to take him out and he would strike at me every time I got my hand close. I have held him a couple of times to try to calm him down and he has never struck while im holding him but he always looks like he is about to. It seems like the longer ive had him his aggression has gotten worse.

ya dont mess with your snake within 48 hours of eating unless you want to piss it off?

[Tigerhawk]

He should calm down. Some snakes get nervous when they see eyes. You should never let a snake get that close to your face. Accidents happen, and you could have some very bad damage to your eyes.