Thank you for the quick replies! I'll definately shorten the handling visits to start and leave him alone for today and tomorrow until he eats tomorrow night. I'll also make sure I moniter his mood this time next week and if he's like this again I'll switch to 5 days feedings. He was the best eater of 7 hatchlings and eats no matter what even in shed.

Quote Originally Posted by frankykeno View Post
If the pattern is that this snake is acting up on certain days, maybe it needs to be upped on it's prey or frequency of feeding (a good digital scale is your best friend on helping you decide about that).
Thanks for the advice! Can you explain how I use a digital scale to determine feeding frequency?

Quote Originally Posted by frankykeno View Post
I would also just say to always remain relaxed even when the snake is not. They may not be able to do higher math or bond with us like our pet dog does but I fully believe they are experts at picking up certain things. One of those things seems to be fear or anxiety in a handler. A relaxed attitude of "oh well you are just being a bit pissy hissy aren't you" really does help. Don't let the snake's attitude change yours, stick with habits and simple routines, these seems to help ball pythons be more easily handled.
I'll definately keep this in mind especially as he grows bigger. We thought he was a funny little tough guy last night so hopefully I'm not giving off bad vibes to him. I'm quite lucky that my sister has had snakes and free roaming iguanas for years so I'm pretty comfortable with reptiles in general and my girls (4 and 9) have no fear at all, but lots of respect. My older daughter got a tail whip last year and that did it for her. They both think that reptiles are common pets and I love it!