is there any way to make my viscous bp chill out??

[aarondain]

i have a 7 yr old ball that loves to strike at me, is there any way to get him to relax at all??

[Smulkin]

How long have you had him?

Please describe your setup, schedule of feeding and any other husbandry details and we mgiht be able to offer some useful advice.

[aarondain]

well, he's about 7 yrs old and i just got him and two other adult male bp's about a month ago. he has passed up two feeding opportunities. the three have lived together for many years as far as i know, but hes also always been overly fiesty. the 6x2x3 tank setup has two hide boxes and peat moss floor. all are 4 ft long. the other two are sweet as could be and eat whatever i put infront of them. is that enough info??

[Smynx]

Are they all three housed in the same enclosure?

[frankykeno]

First and foremost ball pythons are not social creatures they do not enjoy being housed together. Second they get no benfit from being housed together and can only be harmed by it for further details see other posts on keeping more then one ball python in an any one living environment. by seperating your three balls you should see them all begin to show an improvement in temperment and this should calm the aggressive one down as he wont have to fight for the best spot to thermoregulate or have any type of dominance issues that are sure to be going on in that enclosure.you can find ideas on afforable housing alternatives in many of the other topics under husbandry.Over time once they are moved into seperate living environments you should find the all of your snakes to show signs of less stress.


Mike

[aarondain]

yesssss

[Smynx]

Try putting the aggressive one in a smaller enclosure with two hides of his own with a proper heat gradient. Leave him alone for a week or so. Don't try to feed him and don't try to handle him. After a week, try feeding him. If he doesn't eat, wait another week. Keep doing this until he does eat. Don't try to handle him until he has eaten for you. Of course, wait the requisite 24 to 48 hours after his first meal until you try handling him.

[aarondain]

those are some good ideas, thank you. i had never owned a snake and had these three given to me last month; so i'm getting a crash course in pythons. Two other questions, what is cb? and what kind of preperations could my friend and i make to have his female and one of my males mate??

[Smynx]

Please be sure to read our ball python care sheet for proper setup of your enclosures. CB is captive bred. Breeding season runs from late fall to early spring. Adam Wysocki and some of our other breeders can provide you with specific advice, but I would definitely wait until you get your new BPs settled and eating well. I wouldn't try breeding until next season.