Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The last 3 ball pythons I've purchased all arrived aggressive and have yet to settle down. They were all purchased from different breeders and at different ages (1 month, 6 month, 18 month). They are all snappy and do not do well when handled. They don't slither around and explore, they sit in the defensive position ready to strike. All were purchased from reliable breeders and are all captive bred.

Do you think its because of the amount of BP's breeders keep? Most of us keep the BP's in a rack system where the snake cannot see us constantly. With glass aquariums, the snake can constantly see us and get used to our precense. Just a thought.

i will not claim to be an expert at all, but first i would make sure to chek all ur temps, humid, ect... also, from your post, you mentioned them being at breeders in racks where they cannot see human presence., in truth a reclusive ball is generally a happy ball, if your keeping them in tanks where they can in fact see you, as i assume from your post, make sure they have Plenty of spots to hide from view and feel secure, if they are not able to do this they will most likely be stressed and snappy, regardless of, and actually as a product of there contant visual interaction with you.

My temps are good. 80 on the cool side, 90 on the hot side. There are also hides at both ends of the tank. I currently house the balls in glass aquariums (until I get home, my rack arrives today!) Even though they are in a glass aquarium, they are all inside of a cabinet with closed doors.

Its just that the snakes "arrive" aggressive.

hm, well if everything checks out, maybe just stress from shipping? how long have they been in your possession

mabye they arent too acoustomed (sp?) to handling. i wouldnt think that any breeder would spend time to individually handle each snake untill it is a sweet curious little thing.
i wouldnt worry. just hold them every couple of days let them feel secure with you. they will eventually come out of it im sure.
when i got mine the previous owner said that she was mean as a .....well a snake..... and that she always bit. but after spending time with her she is really delightful and curious. she came out of her shell. so i think there is hope for yours too!

I thought this thread was going to be about the fight 'ol RDR was involved in at Daytona, guess not!! ; ( Dang...

That's crazy...wish I new more

Just what I heard over in the kingsnake forum. I wish I knew more as well. Pretty funny!!

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1144828,1145114

Which one?
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

6.34.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi)
0.1.0 Bredls Python (Smurfette)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.1 Lizards of unknown origin

This is strange the only aggressive balls I've seen were imports. My ball pythons see me all the time and the only rhink they've ever bitten at was a dead mouse. Mine are very visible and visitors handle them all the time, no problems. Are you feeding them live? If so this can answer a lot of questions.
Link

One eats live. They other two eat F/T

I recently bought 3 males and 1 tried to bite me once. This is the first one I've had that has tried to. No big deal though, he should calm down.

If you have recently gotten them - they may mellow as they get used to their new home - shipping and change of environment can stress them and cause them to be a bit cranky. Also if you've gotten them from someone that didn't handle them much they can be a little high strung and nippy because they don't get a lot of interaction - all they know is when the drawer is opened it's feeding time. Usually if you give them some time to settle in and then start handling them gradually - they will become less defensive. It takes some longer than others, some just naturally calm with age and some never calm down.

Good luck!
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

6.34.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi)
0.1.0 Bredls Python (Smurfette)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.1 Lizards of unknown origin