I have been struggling with a female Pied for a while now to get her to eat. The only time she was on an eating streak is when I, on a whim, tried keeping her at elevated temperatures. Looking at my records, she only wants to eat when her hot spot beneath her belly it at least 100 degrees and her ambient temps are reaching into mid-90s. I'm afraid that trying to maintain these temps could be dangerous for her, so after she seemed to be established, I lowered the temps again slowly, and the eating stopped.



She is also unusually aggressive for a Ball Python. Even when left in a quiet, dark place with a rodent, she will strike it to death rather than eat it. As in, she will strike (not constrict) the rodent until it dies. She is very aggressive to all people as well. I know these are all signs of stressing her out, so I have played the waiting game with her for months to let her aclimate, but she is starting to lose condition.



I know these guys come in all shapes, sizes, and temperaments. Has anyone encountered this before?
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1985 0.1 from Lincoln, NE

Ball Pythons - 0.1 Silver Bullet, 0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma, 0.1 Yellowbelly, 2.1 Normals

Kingsnakes - 1.0 L. m. thayeri, 0.1 L. m. thayeri X L. alterna, 1.0 L. g. californiae

Other - 0.1 Whitesided P. catenifer sayi, 1.0 H. nascicus, ?.? Chrysemys picta, 1.0 husband, 1.0 Mini-human

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• Some like it HOT? - Bolitochrome, Wed Jun 19 15:03:38 2013