Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a ball python that is absolutely nasty. she just hasnt changed since i got her 6 months ago. she has a excellent setup in a animal plastics rack. she has a hide and i really dont handle her much. she is just always ready to strike at me. although when i get her out shes ok. today she killed a rat fuzzy and didnt even eat it. she is 650 grams. i really dont think she will ever change.anyone have a similar snake? thanks.

Yes i have a female that was pretty much the same way. I think it is a woman thing no im kidding ladies. But she was vicious. She was being kept in a 55gallon aquarium and when i say she was nasty she was nasty she used to strike at me when i would walk by her enlosure. She would strike at me when i would go to get her out. But once i had her out she was a angel. She would climb all over me up my arm chill on my shoulders she liked to go into the single pocket of my hoodie too. She has calmed down alot (over the past 3 years). Now i can get her out without much incident but she will still try and suprise me every once in a while. But im too quik for her lol. I actually sold her to a friend and she tagged him less than a week after i helped him get her all set up at his place. I thought it was hillerious because she tried for about 2 years straight to tag me every chance she would get. She also used to kill her prey and not eat it. Instead she would pull it into her hide and cuddle with it lol thats one freaky snake. I just handled her as much as i could (or should i say as much as she would let me). If she went for her hide or resisted by wrapping her tail around somehting i would leave her alone. Hopefully yours calms down some but i would keep an eye on her lol because i swear my female (yup she is mine again) is just waiting till she can grab me. Good luck
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B Sleeper

1.0 Chocolate Lab
0.1 ?? Normal Ball python (yet different)
1.0 04 Het Albino
1.1 06 Het Albino
1.1 06 Het Pied
1.0 06 Pastel
0.? 07 Pos Het Albino (Momma has not laid the eggs yet)

Well, you have given me renewed faith that if I stay at the top of my game I will not get tagged. Thank you.

Im not saying you will never get tagged work with them long enough and you are bound to get bitten sooner or later. I been bit once but it was by a baby snake not a hatchling but not quite a juvie yet either. It really didnt hurt. My friend that got tagged by the big snake said that it didnt hurt as much as he thought it would but the cuts on his arm said otherwise lol. I almost want to get tagged just so i know what im in for when it does happen eventually it will i know that. I also been told that rat bites hurt alot more than ball python bites.
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B Sleeper

1.0 Chocolate Lab
0.1 ?? Normal Ball python (yet different)
1.0 04 Het Albino
1.1 06 Het Albino
1.1 06 Het Pied
1.0 06 Pastel
0.? 07 Pos Het Albino (Momma has not laid the eggs yet)

I agree about the rats! Even the little mice can draw as much blood as a good-sized ball.

I was bitten by my first ball when I was feeding her. I was looking for the other snake that I had set on the floor for a little exercise and out time. Not paying attention and touched her on the side or moved or something. I felt a brush and asked my friend if she had bitten me. He thought so but wasn't sure. It wasn't until the blood drops showed up on my finger that I was sure.

The Red Tail, on the other hand, hit me right across the palm of the hand. Mental note, You are not quicker than the snake. Reflex jerk and I was pulling 3 teeth out of my hand. It was more shock than pain and it bled like crazy.
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That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.

I got bitten by a pet rat once. I was putting a treat (lunchmeat piece of ham) into her cage. She was so excited that she jumped up to grab the meat & bit me by accident. It hurt like holy hell, bloody as can be. I jumped, screamed from shock, & the throbbing pain stopped a couple hours later. Learned a lesson to throw treats in, not place them in.

Then there's always the painful bites from my kids when I was checking their gums during teething.....

Guess maybe a snake bite won't be too bad after all. lol
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*newbie*

"i really dont handle her much"

In order for your animal to know that you are not a threat to her you need to handle her as much as possible. I know it's not fun getting her out of the tub but this is your first priority. You have to handle her as much as possible. Sooner or later she will come around. Also, you have to realize that there are a few ball pythons that will never be your "pet" snake, she might be your best breeder though.

As far as the feeding goes, I wouldn't worry about it too much. At 600+ grams she knows what to do with the prey...she'll eat when she's ready.

Good Luck
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Nick

I agree with Nick. You have to get her out. This does two things. It lets her know you're cool and gives you a chance to get to know her. Feel what gets her tense, what helps her to relax. Had one that never liked having her head touched but letting her crawl through my hands and wrap up on my wrist...she would sit for days. One of the most important things, Always watch the head. That's the end that will get you.
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That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.

I'll chime in and agree with nboles1215 & jdillow:

Your snake is being 'nasty' because she's scared of you. I would also hazard the guess that your snake is scared of a lot of things - like her own prey at times. I've had snakes that actually seem to kill for the love of the chase or something like that, but I suspect that what you are describing is more aggressive and definitely defensive.

As for yourself, if you don't already have a good pair of leather gloves, get one. I personally prefer deer hide gardening gloves, as the leather is thin enough that I can still feel important tactile cues - like how hard I am holding onto the snake - but it is still thick enough I get a more secure feeling. You can of course hurt a snake if you go to grab it with gloves that are too thick, and don't allow you to judge what kind of a grip you have on it, so don't just grab any old pair of leather gloves. Anyhow, the right pair of gloves can be a marvelous confidence booster. I use mine whenever I am handling a new or nervous snake, and when I feed my snakes - just in case they are too excited.

The reason I went into all of that, is that one way or another, you need to handle your snake more often to get it to not be so afraid of you - and this will probably cause it some amount of stress at first, so start small: 5 minutes a day or less, but make it every day*. After a while you can graduate up to longer handling sessions, but you definitely want to keep everything simple and slow enough that you become/stay non-threatening, and hopefully, non-stressful. Once that goes well, you can of course take off your gloves (but those are there for YOU, so take them off when you feel comfortable). You say that she is fine once you actually handle her, but if she acts as defensively as you are describing before you pick her up, more handling will still help.

Also, *after feedings, leave your snake alone to digest! So many people suggest handling snakes after they eat, when all that will do is create the perfect set up for your snake to regurgitate. Leave your snake alone for no less than 2 days after it eats, and don't handle it very much between 2 and 4 days after it eats - I promise that if you haven't smelled snake vomit before, YOU DO NOT WANT TO!

Good luck!

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

well thank you and everyone else that has made suggestions. im not able to handle her everyday in the winter time because where i house my collection is away from my home so every three - four days i go there and take care of what needs to be done. from march - oct im there 6 days a week so i will be able to handle her every few days. my other snakes i handle very seldomly aslo and they are fine. there always one. well i will defently handle her more often starting in march and see what happens. thanks agin for all posts.

First off - Why are you feeding a 650 gram ball fuzzies? That size ball should be eating at least wean or small rats? Try feeding her appropriate sized meals. Try holding her for a few minutes a day - just take her out of her tub and sit still with her in your hand or lap - and be still - then put her back in her nice warm hide and leave her be. If she is really aggressive try doing your handling a couple of days after she has had her feeding. If it helps you can put a towel or t-shirt over her to limit her stress while she is with you. Although there are some that are just "born pissy" most balls will come around with proper husbandry and handling.

Good luck!
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Tosha

sorry but i meant weanlings. but i have to say she is dumb. i hate to feed her the size she should be eating cause she never strikes and gets the rat the first or second time. sometimes its 4-5 times. also she has held down a rat on more than one occasion and let get too soon so i dont want her to get bitten or worse. i will try feeding prekilled in the near future but i can not now. thanks tosha and dont abuse me in the week in review.

that reminds me there was no week in reveiw this week was there?
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B Sleeper

1.0 Chocolate Lab
0.1 ?? Normal Ball python (yet different)
1.0 04 Het Albino
1.1 06 Het Albino
1.1 06 Het Pied
1.0 06 Pastel
0.? 07 Pos Het Albino (Momma has not laid the eggs yet)