Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

My python, Angel, is about 2 feet long. I think she's about 1 1/2 to 2 years old. About a month ago I noticed the little rock hideout I had for her was scraping her back (she's getting big) so i got rid of it and put a larger half log in there for her. Now she stays in the middle of the cage under the OTHER half log instead of sleeping under the heat lamp like she used to.

Anyways, I noticed she's been super active lately (roaming the cage at night), two weeks ago when I tried to feed her, she struck at me the second I touched her (how I avoided her bite is beyond me, super human reflexes heh). So, I fed her in her cage, she did the same thing last night when I tried to feed her, so I fed her in her cage again.

Basically, she's really aggressive now I can't even go near her without her striking at me. And today at lunch i walked by the cage and she struck at me AGAIN and hit her head on the glass, I WAS JUST WALKING BY IT!

Does anyone know what the hell is wrong with her? I'm afraid to even open the cage now. Why she is 10x more active than she used to be is really weird, and she never used to be this aggressive either.

I just got home and she just struck at me again when I was looking through the glass at her, somethings got her spooked, can you guys PLEASE help me? I don't now what to do, I'm afraid I might have to put her down if this keeps up

ya know, i have the same problem with mine...but i suggest try using a glove to pick her up...i use one...i put it in on a stick n let mine strike a once at it...sometimes twice...then put the gloves on n pick him up....seems to let him know he's not gonna hurt me...though if he were smart he'd realize my hand wasn't in the glove...lol...that's what some ppl on here told me to try n it works...so it might help you as well...i'm not an expert but it works for me...n mines 3 ft...n about the same age...though he won't eat at all....

Why would you want to put her down for doing something that comes naturally to her????? If you are afraid of her and don't want to keep her you should find someone qualified to adopt her. Putting her down would be very unfair to her. If every snake that was aggressive was put down, there would be a lot less of them. It sounds like she is striking at you out of fear. This is something that she will overcome with consistant gentle handling. I have 5 adult ball pythons and none of them have ever struck at me unless it was a feeding response. How many hide spaces do you have in her enclosure? Is she feeling vulnerable do to her environment? Is she wild caught? Did you get her from a breeder of a pet store? Don't give up on her, but if you decide you cannot hadle her, please adopt her to someone and don't put her down. That would be a very cruel thing to do.

Your right that was a totally stupid thing of me to say I would never put my pet down. I was just frustrated is all, but I love her too much to do that...just wish she'd stop striking at me, it seems we are afraid of eachother lol. She has 2 hide spaces, one I think is too big for her which is why she moved to the other one.

Snakes are not pets. They will never recognize you or love you like a dog or cat. Because your ball python is snapping at you when you walk by is NO REASON to even consider ending it's life. You should be in this for the long haul because you chose to keep a snake, she did not choose to live with you. If you can not handle the idea of being bitten and can not deal with it, please find someone who will. I would bet a forum member would snap up a free ball python, especially if it were to save it from an unfair death.

Snakes usually do not strike to be mean or purposefully agressive. They strike when afraid as a defense tactic and also when going after a food item. First, I'd check your temps and humidity to see if anything is off and could stress it out.

You say it strikes at you when feeding? Well of course-- it smells food and goes for the warm food-smelling thing. It may well be your hand. Use a glove or wash your hands while feeding and/or before attempting to handle her to eliminate any smelss she could percieve as food. When feeding, use tongs to offer the mouse so that your hand is not a target.

Is the snake tank in a busy area of the house? This could be making the snake nervous. If the tank is in a high-traffic area, you might be stressing the snake out. Or if there are rodent cages nearby she may smell food. You want to make ths snake comfortable and also eliminate any food smells around when going in to handle the snake.

If the pythion is just a nippy specimen, regular handling to show it that you are not a threat should fix the problem. Use a snake hook or gloved hand to remove her from the cage. Wear gloves if you like and try to hold it five minutes a day (except after feeding and when it's shedding), and increase the time you hold it as you both become comfortable with each other. Then you'll probably be able to handle her without a glove.

Whatever you do, do not eliminate this ball python! If an agressive animal makes you decide the hobby isn't for you, so be it, but do not punish a creature for doing only what comes natural to it! Snakes will never be pets. They deserve respect and understanding as they are-- wild animals.

I know I would never put her down I was just speaking out of frustration.

WTF man, I don't even think you need to own a snake, if you think that is means for putting down.

I would be willing to bet that you have no temps set right, no heat correct, stress on the snake, and just plain ignorance to back it all up.

If you need to put her down, send her to me and i'll "put her down" in a nice cage with proper humidity, heat and lighting.

Oh yeah, how often do you feed her? I hope you are not one of those "I don't want her to get big people".

>>I just got home and she just struck at me again when I was looking through the glass at her, somethings got her spooked, can you guys PLEASE help me? I don't now what to do, I'm afraid I might have to put her down if this keeps up
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Joel Smith

Joel relax I was just speaking out of frustration I would never put my snake down...and yes, the temperature and humidity is right...I think it's because I took her favorite habitat away (the rock that was scraping her back) and now she's all stressed out...also, since I moved in with some new roommates, one of the conditions is "NEver take her out of her cage", so I rarely do.

Is anyone else messing with her?
U said U have new people in her environment
and The hides are facing the glass (Ours are two, but Smo'ore is not skittish) so s/he sees everything waling by
is she seeing a lot of these big human shaped monsters and cannot tell one from the other
do any of your roomates tap on the glass?
is there a cat or a dog?
Is there loud music that s/he is not used to
Just some thoughts
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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*

I think I figured out the problem, I had her feed box right next to her airholes so she was probably smelling yummy mouse all the time, also, since I fed her in her cage twice, her cage probably reaks of mice since they were running all over everything. I guess what I'll do is try to take her out and put her in a box without getting bitten and then thoroughly clean the cage and wash down everything. Also, sometimes she peeks her head out of the half log and looks upwards, almost like she has a upper respiratory infection but she has her mouth closed, I think she does it because she smells mice and is on the lookout.

Forgot to add, I feed her every wednesday, and I WANT her to get big, infact if Boa's weren't 190 dollars at the pet store I would have gotten one of those instead of a ball ...what kind of gloves should I use to handle her? should I get some of those wire meshed ones?

Here is her cage setup, I'm not sure how to add a picture on this forum but i'll try HTML, if that doesn't work copy/paste the link below.

http://home.earthlink.net/~bdaniels80/angel.jpg

aaaaaaaaaaa

just adding on to his original post. It is easy to let your finger slip to the shift key while typing. Either that or he justed wanted to make the Y capital, but either way I doubt it is a joke....
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Josh
My Email

You never cease to amaze me....

The forums are NOT case sensitive. I can log in as LeOsAnOnYmOuS if I wanted to...

The reason people knew that you (mykee) were being duped is because the other guy had a colon at the end of his name...

For example:

mykee and MYKeE and mYkee, etc... are all the same thing.

But there is a difference between mykee and mykee: and mykee. or between mykee and my kee

.....so the whole caps thing doesn't matter, it was the added colon or period that proved it was a different fella.
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-Ross Payan - www.LeosAnonymous.com

Leos Anonymous

Ball Pythons, Red Striped Leos, W.Hognose and Screaming AFT's

Ross, thanks for pointing taht out, nobody mentioned that that was the case, and in truth, I hadn't even realized that there was a colon at the end. Thanks. mykee

No problem man... glad to clear it up for you, and glad to see that it wasn't really you making all those rediculous posts.
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-Ross Payan - www.LeosAnonymous.com

Leos Anonymous

Ball Pythons, Red Striped Leos, W.Hognose and Screaming AFT's

It is approaching fall and right now most of my BP's are very aggressively eating in preparation for the breeding season. I think your girl is going the same. You said she was cruising a lot...probably looking for food.

I have BP's that are calm and never seem to pay mind to anything and then all of a sudden they just switch on and it's all they can do to get food fast enough. It even happens with some males of mine. I had one that hadn't eaten for 6 months and then one day when I slid open his compartment, his head shot out like a bullet and grabbed the rat right out of my tongues. He stayed this way for about a month then settled back down. He was so fast he nailed me by accident twice and I was prepared for it.

So don't be alarmed. Feed your snake and she will get back to her old self soon.

MJ
Markus Jayne Ball Pythons

Very good feedback thank you. I'll make sure just to feed her normally and just lay off (not handle her or look at her through the glass) for a few months.