I can't feed my BP!

[lunasjy]

I have a Black Pewter who has become slightly aggressive for the last few weeks. The second you open his cage he comes after you. Cleaning his cage has become full of drama. This little guy is just over a year old and when I first got him he was very shy and "talkative" but he never stuck or bit. But now he seems to have found some determination to get me. Two weeks ago the only way I got to feed him was by opening the tub just a smidge to get the snake hook through and push him all the way to the back of the 32q tub and then hold him there. Opening the tub just enough to fit the live mouse through then closing it as quickly as possible. I know it sounds harsh but he needs to eat and I need to do it safely.

Last week I tried to do the same but he kept slithering around the hook and bashing his face against EVERYTHING. I wasn't able to feed him. I tried every couple of days but it was the same story.

Today I tried to ignore his aggression and opened his cage, armed with the snake hook I tried to block his crazed attacks and dropped the mouse in. I tried to close the tub but he was raised and I couldn't close it. I tried pushing him back with the hook which didn't work. He was practically out of the tub at this point. I grabbed a thick roll of paper towel and was able to push him back with that and closed the tub. And hardly a second later I heard that smash of him grabbing the mouse.

This cannot keep happening. It was not like this when I first got him in June last year. And it seems to slowly be getting worse. Luckily he hasn't tagged me yet. It might not sound serious and I know he couldn't do serious damage, but I do not like getting bit and it is hard to enjoy owning a pet that wants to do everything he can to harm you. Anyone have any ideas of what I can do?

[200xth]

Check your environment. Are you sure the temps are correct?

Does he have enough places to hide and feel secure?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

This type of behavior is either related to husbandry, the animal is stressed because your husbandry is not meeting it's needs, or it is feeding related, the animal is not fed enough.

[Crowfingers]

How much does he weigh compared to the mice? If he's a year old and only getting mice, maybe is just overly food motivated? My little guy is about 6 months, 300g and eating 30 gram rat pups, that's about the size of a large mouse. So, if yours is larger, maybe increasing prey size will calm him down in a few weeks.

[lunasjy]

Check your environment. Are you sure the temps are correct?

Does he have enough places to hide and feel secure?

He does have a hide yes. All my racks are run off of a herpstat. All racks hot spots are set to 92F. I couldn't check his hot spot but the one above him is reading 91.1F. Ambient temperatures are 72-78F at night and the during the day it can get to 81F. (my snake room directly faces the sun which heats up the room. My windows in there are huge). This is winter temperatures though. In the summer it gets way hotter. A little cold right but I do not have the luxury of heating the whole room. (Tried that and blew the circuit in the snake rook and kitchen). Humidity is super easy for me. I again cannot get a read of his at the moment but usually it is 60-70%. I don't even have to raise the humidity when they are shedding unless I clean tubs in the middle of it. He is not shedding currently.

[lunasjy]

How much does he weigh compared to the mice? If he's a year old and only getting mice, maybe is just overly food motivated? My little guy is about 6 months, 300g and eating 30 gram rat pups, that's about the size of a large mouse. So, if yours is larger, maybe increasing prey size will calm him down in a few weeks.

I am not sure how much the mice weigh and usually he is fed ASFs but I do not have any big enough for him at the moment... but my snake weighs in at 592g.

[Crowfingers]

Well, hopefully someone has advice that can help. I'm still relativity new to the snake hobby. good luck

[ItsAllNew2Me!]

I am not sure how much the mice weigh and usually he is fed ASFs but I do not have any big enough for him at the moment... but my snake weighs in at 592g.

At 592g he is definitely being underfed unless you are giving him two XL mice. This may be a hunger issue. He should be getting at least 59g prey item. A mouse every two weeks at the size he is, is way too little.

[200xth]

He does have a hide yes. All my racks are run off of a herpstat. All racks hot spots are set to 92F. I couldn't check his hot spot but the one above him is reading 91.1F. Ambient temperatures are 72-78F at night and the during the day it can get to 81F. (my snake room directly faces the sun which heats up the room. My windows in there are huge). This is winter temperatures though. In the summer it gets way hotter. A little cold right but I do not have the luxury of heating the whole room. (Tried that and blew the circuit in the snake rook and kitchen). Humidity is super easy for me. I again cannot get a read of his at the moment but usually it is 60-70%. I don't even have to raise the humidity when they are shedding unless I clean tubs in the middle of it. He is not shedding currently.

Does he use the hide? If he has a hide, but never uses it, something is wrong with the setup and it's not doing him any good.

How are you measuring the temps? Are you sure you are accurately reading the temperature of the environment? I've seen people say their temps are good because they're using a thermometer of some kind but when they finally check the substrate with a laser thermometer they find out the hotspot is way too hot (not saying this is you, just an example).

I wouldn't worry about it being too cold. If it's too cold he generally won't be slithering all the place, smashing his head into things and trying to escape the enclosure as soon as you open it.

What's your feeding schedule / prey size look like? How big are the mice you feed him? Depending on how big your snake is, it's possible you're underfeeding him. Get a weight of the snake, and the food.

For now, I would quit trying to feed him every couple of days. Whatever is wrong with him, you're just adding to his stress by doing that at this point.

It sounds like you have multiple snakes and enclosures. If you really can't find anything wrong with the environment or feeding, switch him with another snake and see what happens. If this snake continues with problems, it's something you're doing with him specifically. If he calms down and the new snake starts having problems, it's a problem with the enclosure.

[bcr229]

Sounds like your guy is hungry, even one jumbo mouse a week isn't really enough. I bet he's striking because he can smell the feeder. I would switch him over to two f/t mice and then a f/t small rat each week - you may have to scent the rat with a mouse for a while to get him to take the rat.

You also need to interact with him on more than just feeding days, or he will associate the tub opening with being fed.