Lil meanie

[Kerimac]

Hey guys. I posted a couple weeks ago about my ne BP striking. He does it quite frequently. He finally tagged me tonight. I have him in a 40 gal breeder tank with pothos vines, a climbing tree(which he gets on every night), 2 hides (one is small but he fits nicely) and it's on the warm side... the other is medium and is on the cool side and he has a medium sized water dish in there on the cool side. I have 2 uth, both hooked to thermostats as well as an overhead heat lamp(I use a daylight bulb during the day and a solid ceramic heat bulb with no light at night). I have a digital humidity Guage and a temp gun. His warm side stays between 85-93 and his cool side in the mid 70s. I use reptichip substrate with some new England sphagnum moss inside his hide area. The substrate is about an inch thick on the warm side and a little deeper on the cool side. He's been with me going on 5 weeks. The reptile store where I bought him said he was about 8 or 9 months old when I got him and he was very docile (one of the ones they always got out when people wanted to hold a snake). He's about 18 inches long and I'm not sure about his weight. He was on f/t rat pups and I have been feeding him every 7 days. I just this week switched him to extra small rats bc of his striking out, I thought he just may have still been hungry. So...... I wanted you guys to know everything about him and his habitat to maybe help eliminate some reasons. I feel like his habitat is spot on and I have been keeping up with the humidity every day making sure it's at least at 50%, sometimes a little more. This is the first snake I've ever had and I love him so much but he keeps striking and biting and my 7 year old picked him out and she wants to hold him so bad but she doesn't want to get bitten. I don't think he's about to go into shed. His color is pretty dark, his eyes don't seem hazy and his belly isn't changing colors. As soon as we uncover him, he gets very angry. He ate 3 days ago and we left him alone a whole day longer bc the rat was larger so I wanted to make sure he had plenty of time to digest. Sure enough, when I uncovered him, he struck at me but didn't get me, I moved him around with the hide so I could get him facing the other way and when I picked him up, he struck and tagged me on the hand I wasn't holding him with and immediately tried to tag me again. I put him close to me and cupped my hand over him for him to ball up and get out of the aggressive phase and he never relaxed or tried to explore. He finally took his head out, struck again, again, I put him in a ball. I held him for about 10 minutes and then just put him back and told my little girl he wasn't in the mood today. She is heart broken over and over and I don't know what to do. 😔 Is he still considered a baby and just still scared of everything or did I luck up and get an aggressive BP?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

A 40 gallons tanks is better suited for an adult and I would not consider putting a BP in one before it reaches at least 500 grams.

Your snake's behaviour is it's way to tell you that something is not working out for him.

[Craiga 01453]

I honestly didn't even try reading that. It's all one, long, run-on sentence. It's just really hard to read.
I'm not trying to be the grammar police or anything, I'm honestly hoping to help us help you and your snake.

Space your thoughts out, you'll get a lot more people to read your threads, and in turn, more replies.

[Turningstar]

Your 40 gal could work, possibly, if it is cluttered enough. My juvie bp is in a 40 gal tank and is happy as a clam. He was also defensive when I got him, but I got him set up properly, and now he is a puppy dog.

First, your temps are a bit off. Are you measuring with a "point and shoot" thermometer? Your hot spot should be 88-89, no higher. Is it that temp with an inch of substrate over it? You may need to decrease it at that spot.
Your cool aide should be around 78-80 with and overall ambient of about 80.

I use reptichip with coco coir under it to hold humidity, as I have a plant growing in the tank. I also keep the moss in a humid hide (tupperware container) for him to climb in if he is in shed. No need to spray constantly, and perfect sheds every time.

I would dial those in and give him a week or so, maybe even as long as a few feedings before handling him.

Those are jist things that have worked for me. There are a lot of great people with more experience on this site.

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[Kerimac]

I was trying to fit all the info in.

[Craiga 01453]

I was trying to fit all the info in.

I get that. But you can get all the info in while separating thoughts.

I'd like to help you out, but I can't read the info so can't help.

[Turningstar]

Your post is fine. Dont worry about that.

Just focus on getting your husbandry spot on right now.

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[Bogertophis]

And (besides proper set-up, which can help them feel more secure & calm down faster), snakes are RARELY "mean"...they're AFRAID & in self-defense mode.

Remember that the ONLY thing that picks up a snake in the wild is a predator about to EAT them. We are gigantic & scary, & snakes will usually learn in time IF we are patient that they are safe with us, but they don't go to school to learn things...they are wild animals that rely on the instincts they were born or hatched with. So don't take it personal, just do everything you can to convey to a pet snake that you are not there to hurt them...be patient!

Once a new snake is settled in & eating regularly (preferably at least 3 times before you try to do any handling), remember that the scariest thing for a snake is our approach. So move slow, & if your snake is trying to strike out at you, you can do one of 2 things to pick them up: either use a snake hook to GENTLY lift them mid-body onto your hand, or put a small cloth OVER them (so they aren't seeing your huge scary self!) & gently pick them up (very rare for a snake to bite thru the cloth) & just sit peacefully with them for a while...about 30 minutes if possible, to give them time to relax, learn your scent & touch, & that no harm is coming to them. If they're really afraid, keep the cloth on for subsequent handling sessions until they calm down...then gradually let them peek out.

Keep your hands under them as much as possible, & for the foreseeable future, your face well away. Remember that sudden moves can spook them into a self-defense bite-& until a snake is calm with handling, they should not be in young hands, or in anyone's hands that is so nervous they may drop the snake if they are nipped. Falls can injure or even kill a snake...so do your handling over a soft surface like a bed, & sit down. If you relax, it helps them relax.

Even after your snake starts to be calm when handled, keep in mind that snakes don't "know" that your other hand (for example) is part of the same safe creature that's holding them...they may see the movement of another part of you as another moving predator entirely, & be afraid all over again. Understand that snakes rarely identify us by vision-they see motion & think: predator? food? but never "friend". Once they feel safe with us, they need our touch & our scent to identify & remember us, so use these to communicate who you are.

Snakes are just like us, in that they're afraid of the unknown. A snake in a glass tank or other enclosure cannot smell you or feel your touch...so again, if they
follow your motion as if you're their dinner, or they act afraid & strike out defensively, remember it's because they don't identify you just by vision, & they're not getting the cues they need because they're inside a cage of some type. If you blow air across your hand thru the screen towards your snake, they'll get your scent & you'll see them back away as if to say "oh, oops, not food!".

[Faith.luu]

I have dyslexia, and I read it fine. (Took a few times but it’s fine the way you posted). I think you’re tank might be too big which is stressing your snake out. In some cases bp can feel too exposed when in a large enclosure. I’d say to block off part of the space inside the enclosure to make it smaller or add more clutter.

you also mentioned that you have 2 UTH, and a lamp. Are you using the 2 UTH side by side? Or on opposite sides? If you’re using them side by side just be sure that they aren’t using up more than 1/2 of that floor space/tank area. 1/3 is ideal.

Hatchlings and juveniles are bound to be defensive and eventually grow out of it(in most cases). One method you could try is putting your bp in a dark pillowcase and handle it inside the pillowcase for 20-30 minutes after it relaxes. From time to time stroke/pet your bp and be very gentle to start. As you do more sessions you can increase the time and the amount of petting you do. You’ll find that the more you do it the more calm and relaxed they’ll get when you are holding them, stoking/ petting them inside the pillowcase. My bp(who’s 9 months old) used to tense up when I stroked her the first time I did this method. After the 5th time she would remain relaxed every time I pet her. This method keeps you safe from getting bitten, and keeps your bp more calm, and reduces stress for the both of you. I’d say to really give this method a try. Only start handling outside of the pillowcase when you find that your bp consistently doesn’t tense up or contract their muscles when you pet them, or move around with them.

side note, please be careful and gentle when they are in the pillowcase, you always want to have a positive experience. 😁

also, covering it up is a great way to get it out of its defensive mode. Before, I had to cover mine multiple times before she would be in a flight mode and ball up. After covering your bp up, check where their head and neck is, sometimes they might still remain in an S shape even though their head is underneath their body. You might want to try to rotate him to cover their head up again. And spend about a minute or 2 covering him. You want to reach the point where their neck can’t be in an S shape, and their head is really tucked away, underneath a part of their body because even though they ball up, they are still able to strike at you if they want. This was a little difficult to describe but I hope it helps.

Also, don’t be afraid to use gloves and a hook. It really eases the mind and helps keep you and your bp safe. A bite causes a small wound for you, and can damage your bps health as well. So better safe than sorry.

[Craiga 01453]

Your post is fine. Dont worry about that.

Just focus on getting your husbandry spot on right now.

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More people reading will get more replies. That's all I'm saying.
I know a lot of people just skip over threads like this, so I'm trying to help.

Grammar and punctuation exist for a reason.