Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 3 bll pythons will lunge when I open their racks, but my other 2 are fine. I basically disregarded getting bitten. I opened the rack, tried to grab them, she bit, I still picked her up, then she was fine. After holding her 2 minutes, I put her down. And repeated the process. They are just scared. They are not mean like I thought. Hopefully I can get this defensive biting behind us. Thanks

If you feed them they'll be calm!
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http://www.jasballpythons.com./

I do feed them every 4 days, but they are still kinda mean.

What size prey are you feeding and how big are the snakes? It sounds like maybe they need bigger prey.

they are fairly large hatchlings (a few months old) maybe 3 or 4 months old. I feed them either rat fuzzies or large mice. I was thinking about rats, but they may be too small for rats yet. I do not know how much they weigh. Thanks

I don't know how big your rat fuzzies are (not everyone considers the same size rat a fuzzy), but I bet they could eat what I consider a rat pup (around 2 weeks old, with fur but the eyes may not be open). You could also try feeding 2 fuzzies at a time. My first hatchlings were able to eat fuzzies or adult mice at around the third feeding. They're 2 months old now, and the more agressive feeders have almost outgrown the fuzzies. They can eat bigger prey than you might think. It should leave a slight lump once they've eaten.

Hope this helps,
Shelly

I consider rat fuzzies the same as you. eyes closed bt fur present. I also graduated them to adult mice, but the lump in their bellies is not as apparent as I thought.

You could always try getting a rat that's a few days older than what you feed now. I don't know how much of an option you have, though. I raise my own rats, so I can usually find the exact size I want. You can also offer multiples of the same size.

Great to hear someone can just go for it. There are so many post that the posters are too scared of the snake. Keep it up, and they will likely settle down. FYI, I use a snake hook while taking the nippy ones out. Once they are out, I transfer them from the hook to my hand. Then they are fine. Good luck.

dude I totally agree with you. If you are going to be scared of the snake then whats the point of collecting them. They may bite because they are wild animals, they are not dogs or cats. I was about to ive up on one of them but it looks like I am making progress.