Feeding a defensive ball?

[Penultimate]

I've had my 900 gram enchi lesser pastel girl since the end of March, and wow has this been interesting so far. I'm learning a lot with her, but there's one thing I'm a little stumped on. When it comes to me, she becomes very defensive. I should mention that she has never had any real handling, she's always been raised to be a breeder only, so she's not very used to humans. She pulls her head back and hisses (loudly, like an angry cat) when I pick her up (or sometimes when I just open the tub). I haven't handled her much because it's clear how much I stress her out. When I do take her out, she remains tense for a while and then tries to get away. However, her behavior with handling isn't a problem for me. Feeding, however...

She was eating live with her previous owner. I offered her live, but I think the live rodents scared her more than anything. She hissed at the rodent and partially balled up. The rats got too big so I tried frozen thawed with her tonight. She hissed louder than I've ever heard her before and began striking at the dead rat defensively over and over (I think she bit the tongs several times o.o). What in the world do I do here? My others have refused food before, but not like this. I'm not worried about her missing some meals, but I'd like to at least know where to start with getting her eating.

[BCS]

You may have to stop handling her all together for a while. If you are feeding in a separate enclosure, you may want to keep her in her usual enclosure from now on. If she is in a rack system without hides, add one. When it comes to feeding time, do not remove the hide and offer the prey through the hide entrance. (I do not reccomend you do this with live, you never know if the rat is biting her). Remove the hide if you are feeding live. Hides can do great things in making a snake feel "safe". I offer all my shiest snakes a hide even though they are in a rack system. This usually gets them to eat. try to make sure the prey does not touch her. If she is not used to F/T, do not hover the food over her head. Lay it flat on the floor of the enclosure and lightly tap it against the floor so she can feel the vibration.

[Penultimate]

You may have to stop handling her all together for a while. If you are feeding in a separate enclosure, you may want to keep her in her usual enclosure from now on. If she is in a rack system without hides, add one. When it comes to feeding time, do not remove the hide and offer the prey through the hide entrance. (I do not reccomend you do this with live, you never know if the rat is biting her). Remove the hide if you are feeding live. Hides can do great things in making a snake feel "safe". I offer all my shiest snakes a hide even though they are in a rack system. This usually gets them to eat. try to make sure the prey does not touch her. If she is not used to F/T, do not hover the food over her head. Lay it flat on the floor of the enclosure and lightly tap it against the floor so she can feel the vibration.

I only take her out every few days to check for health concerns and to see if I need to clean out her tub, and never for more than five minutes or so. She is fed in her usual enclosure. She doesn't currently have a hide (rack system), so I'll see what I can do. I am laying it on the floor and moving it around (oh, and I heat it under a lamp before offering), so that shouldn't be the issue.

[Penultimate]

I got her to take a meal! Ok, it was more like a snack. I tried putting in a live crawler rat to see if she'd take something smaller, and she did! Now I'm hoping she'll take the larger food and I can get her eating consistently.

[Marissa@MKmorphs]

Congrats! I would maybe stick with the crawlers for a few meals to make sure she is feeding consistently, and then try going back to bigger prey. I have a lot of luck with my shy/defensive balls eating f/t if i just lay it in the hide with them or on top of them when they are balled up. Sounds silly, but it works!

[Penultimate]

Congrats! I would maybe stick with the crawlers for a few meals to make sure she is feeding consistently, and then try going back to bigger prey. I have a lot of luck with my shy/defensive balls eating f/t if i just lay it in the hide with them or on top of them when they are balled up. Sounds silly, but it works!

Thanks! I can try crawlers for a few weeks if the rat supplier still has them. If not, should I just try smalls? Or fuzzies? The supplier normally has smalls and so do all of the nearby pet stores, but crawlers aren't always available. Putting the food on top of the ball works? Huh. That's a new one. Haven't tried that.