aggressiveness

[Nsmith]

My normal Bp is just under two feet and I feed her every Thursday a little mouse from pet co. I have had for about a month now and she has never given me any problems. Up until I was gone for a weekend and I didn't handle her. I normally handle her for about 5 minutes a day. She's never been aggressive until Monday the following weekend after I got back where she struck at me and grazed my finger just a little bit. And like I said I feed her Thursday's so i don't think she's hungry but then again I'm a newbie and am open to any information. So any incite is appreciated.

[Gerardo]

How did you approach the snake? Maybe she was sleeping and tou startled her. How old is she?

[Nsmith]

Well I was handling her about ten minutes prior to the strike but I lifted the hid and let her adjust them just simply picked her up like always. She's about a year and a half.

[Gerardo]

I pick up my ball pythons from behind to avoid any potential bites. I've been bit before when I have reached for them straight on. Also I don't mean to sound like a broken record but is your husbandry all good? Snakes can get stressed if temps/humidity aren't correct.

[Yodawagon]

A year and a half old female should not be fed a little mouse. She's probably starving.

[Gerardo]

Yea I missed that part about her eating mice. She really should be on rats even as a hatchling. Do you know how much she weighs? Length is not that important.

[Nsmith]

What do you suggest?

[Slim]

How much does she weigh?

[Gerardo]

I suggest switching her to rats. Do you have a picture of her and her set up? Did people at the petstore tell you to feed mice? I don't want it to seem like people are ganging up on you. It's just we see simple husbandry issues all the time and sometimes it's the case of misinformation.

[Nsmith]

Her hot side is at 89 with at uth and ceramic heat lamp both are connected to a zilla temperature controller and the cool side sits around 79 and humidity is frequently between 55-60 and she's in a 20 gallon