Super mean ball python!

[cchardwick]

OK, so I'm just starting out collecting and breeding snakes and so far I have 14 snakes, six of which are ball pythons. I have one really mean snake, she is a bumble bee ball python (pastel spider, possible het for pied and pos. yellowbelly). I'm hoping she is a pied and am hoping to get some spider pieds / pastel pieds / yellow belly pieds from her. She is not too big, less than a year old, just got her delivered in the mail about a month ago. At the time of delivery I was putting my ARS 7030 rack together and didn't quite have it set up yet, so I put her in a glass aquarium in the kitchen with a small cardboard hide. Not sure if it was that glass aquarium that made her aggressive or if she was before I got her but she is really out of control. When I open up the tub she will follow me around with her head and actually strike at me several times even when I'm standing several feet away! When I present a frozen thawed she strikes it out of aggression. She didn't eat for the first few weeks and finally ate a live mouse. I fed her another one about a week later and she killed it but didn't eat it, so I gave it to another snake (I probably should have left it in there longer in hind sight). I don't mind her being aggressive as a baby but was wondering if she would grow out of it? Have you ever heard of such an aggressive ball python before? Her aggression seems very unusual. I changed her bedding today and moved her to another tub, I presented her with a cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels and she struck it so hard she flipped herself upside down, while she was distracted from the strike I quickly moved her by hand. She sure is a little snapper! She is currently housed in an ARS-7030 on watered down aspen or cypress mulch with a hot spot of 90F.

[Lady mkrj58]

She's a cute little snapper lol

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[dustin860]

I'm sure in time she will grow out of it . Just be patient .. I am currently going through the same thing with a het albino female ...


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[Reinz]

That sweet little thing?

[Caspian]

My super pastel was like that when I first got her. As soon as I got her eating regularly, she mellowed right out - now she won't even ball up for me anymore, just starts exploring immediately.

[AKA Dave]

Try this. http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...P-Handling-101 Other forum members have found it helpful.

Good Luck. I'm sure she'll mellow out just fine.

Dave

[Tigerhawk]

She will grow out of it. Just be patient with her, she's just a scared baby.

[O'Mathghamhna]

She may still be getting used to her environment. She has only been with you a month; she's probably still getting used to being in her new environment and getting disturbed on occasion. Just make sure her husbandry is correct and she should grow out of it.

[maausen]

I've noticed this with some of my snakes as well. Depending on how long ago you received her, she is stressed and defensively striking!