Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my BP for almost 3 months now and he's always been super calm. Well, I say "he"...don't really know what it is. Starting about a week ago I went to feed it and it struck the mouse as soon as it got one inch into the screen top. He's always been a great feeder but this was unusual behavior.

He ate his mouse and about 30 minutes later my wife walked by his cage and he struck at the glass. I wrote it off as being hungry so I gave him another mouse.

It obviously wasn't hunger because still no one can even walk by the cage, without him striking at something. The dog, me, my wife, a reflection of us in the glass...it doesn't matter, he's tagging it.

At least I don't think it's hunger...I've had about 50 pairs of all kinds of snakes and never seen one switch demeanors like this to this extreme. Any ideas? He's about 12-13 inches long, but no clue on his exact age.

I'm not really worried about the striking, getting bitten, etc. I've had my share of bites...I'm just worried that there's something wrong with him. Any ideas?

Does it have adequate hides?
It may be stressed, nervous if it can see people walking by. You may want to put the tank in a lower traffic area or switch to a rubbermaid container that's more translucent than transparent like glass. Just few ideas.

He's got nice hides on both ends of the tank. He's been in this tank the whole time...wonder why the stress all of a sudden? No one handles him but me and the only kid in the house is a 9 month old so I know that no one's been teasing him at the glass or anything.

how bigs the mouse?
maybe he needs bigger prey
or more prey items
how often do you feed him??

this sounds very strange to me as well

I've been feeding him adult mice every 7 days...except for last week when he took 2 because I thought he was hungry due to the striking. Like I said, it was an overnight transition from perfectly calm to Cujo.

How often do you handle "cujo?"
Does he settle down once out of the cage or does he continue to strike?

I handled him almost daily up until I fed him those two mice. I wanted to give him about 3 days rest since that was the biggetst meal he's had. Then he was striking so much that I figured I should just let him be for a few days to make sure I didn't stress him out. That brings us to today.

you should probably start feedingin a different container...other then the cage. that could possibly be the problem. is it in an aquarium? if so cover the back and sides with a kinda dark paper. see if that calms it down. if none of that works...maybe its just a phase?

I absolutely agree...

1.) Feed him in a different cage. I am one for believing snakes can achieve pavlovic responses. Don't give him any chance to assossiate his cage with food.

2.) Put on a glove/long sleev T and handle him... he's only 12" so that should be plenty to protect you. When he calms down remove the glove and raise your sleeves and allow him to feel your body warmth. Handle him at least for an hour. Then for a few days afterwards, handle him once in the morning and once in the evening (preferedly during his two active cycles)

3.) Consider putting a blanket or a sheet over his tank for a day or two to remove the stress/striking.

It's my opinion if he strikes at the tank everytime someone or something walks past then he isn't really using his hides, since the purpose of such hides should be to remove the snake from plain view. When you handle your snake next, rearrange his cage. Hopefully he'll explore when he's put back in and adopt a more secure hangout.

--Is it possible he's in his shed cycle? When my snakes eyesight is low, they get 'pissy' and hiss, though I haven't had one strike.

Good luck and keep us posted!
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-Iman

1.1 Balls
0.1 Boa (BCI)
0.0 Experience
100.0 % LOVE

Hope it helps...

def agree on the multiple hide spots. the closest thing i've experienced to this is my friend's boa had the same behavior. he said it would strike at him every time he passed the tank & just like your's it happened overnight & out of the blue. i went & took the snake. it had a hide spot that had alot of holes in it so it was maybe too visable, also i know for a fact it wasn't kept at optimal temperatures & i'm not sure if it even had a proper light cycle. so i think it's stress that's making your lil guy a killer. the boa was broughtto my house i put it in a rack & fed it a rat & has since been absolutely wonderful, though she has a killer feeding response but have never snapped at me. i will start feeding her in a different container to fix this. so keep asking people & switch the tank up , try small tight hide spots, i have had great results with water bowl hide spots as well. i have heard rumor that if they lay in the water dish it's a sign of stress but i have had my balls love it. get a semi clear rubbermaid that will hold the snake & cut a hole a lil wider than his bodyin the lid & fill water like a quarter or so in high related to the snakes height. never more than half the height of the snake when it lays flat on the ground. you dont want your buddy to drown or anything like that. well hope i helped some...good luck

At least 3 months old and only about 12 - 13"? Wow. When I bought my BP he was just under 3 months old, and just under 2 foot long. I wonder if yours is just an unusually slow grower, or if he isn't getting quite enough to eat?

I'm not sure how mine "measures up" to averages, but I've read on here about BP's of similar age being considerably larger than mine, so I figured mine was probably running to the small end of the average range.

Before I got him he had only been fed weaned mice once a month since June or July. I promptly bumped him up to adult mice and started feeding him every 5-7 days. He should start growing by leaps and bounds hopefully.

That would certainly explain it. Depending on how long that went on, he could be a bit "stunted" in his growth. Hopefully, he'll overcome that and do some major "catching up".

I may not be an "expert" by any stretch of the imagination, but having had the presence of mind to read a good book on BP care right away, I knew that young BP's need fed much more often than once a month. Makes me wonder if the breeder of your snake either didn't know any better, or just didn't care.

I don't know if it might be related or not, but some animals will go on a feeding binge before the winter hybernation or "slow down" sets in, in order to lay on some extra fat to carry them through the winter. At his size, and given the sparse feeding he had early in life, his body may be telling him it's time to start laying it on fast, before winter.

I'll have to ask my friend at work about this one tomorrow. He has a degree in biology and a lot of experience raising snakes. If snakes experience such a "pork out" urge as that, he'd likely know.

I didn't get him from a breeder...got him at a pet store. They feed them once a month to keep them small and "cute" so that people will buy them. I don't usually buy my herps from pet stores, but I picked him up because he had an unusual pattern for a "normal" or I wouldn't have gotten him...I hate buying from pet stores. It's crap like what they did to this BP (keeping him small) that makes me sick.

Someone should slap that pet store owner. "Small and cute" may be "nice", but healthy and happy is far more important.

unfortunatly not from they're prospective because when they get big they don't sell as easily. in a major super pet store thats all they care about.

Yes, I'd like to point out too that your snake seems a little small... Mine are 4mnths and at 26" each and they eat one adult mouse every monday.
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-Iman

1.1 Balls
0.1 Boa (BCI)
0.0 Experience
100.0 % LOVE

Hope it helps...

I had this problem and it was very similar. My ball would strike at the glass but when I opened it up to get him out he wouldn't try anything. He would only ball up. Sometimes when snakes are stressed out they will do just that. I would try to offer him new places to hide. I would also make sure that you are having a cooler side of the tank for him. It will soon go away. Just don't be afraid to pick him up. He is young and most likely his bites wont hurt that badly anyways. I would advise not wearing gloves because if they do bite it, it can pull teeth and possibly have mouth injuries to the snake. Which can result in mouthrot if it isn't treated. I hope this helps.

Chris

Thanks to all that replied to my message. I was really afraid there was something wrong with my BP there for a while and he's such a good pet that I was getting pretty worried.

Well, I opened up the cage and took his hide off of him as fast as I could to get him to ball up instead of go on the offensive. Picked him up and held him for a little bit. He was a bit skittish at first but really calmed down after a while. I rearranged his cage and put the tiniest hide on the warm side where he likes to lay.

I don't know how he fits himself in there but he wedges himself in it and has been perfectly content ever since. He's gonna get stuck in there one of these days and look like a snail slithering along with just a head and a nub of a tail out the other side. Hopefully this is all he needed...seems to be working so far. Thanks again!

Though it sounds resolved, another possbility is that he was finally healthy. A lot of reptiles will be very docile until they have the energy they need to react in the way they've always been wanting to.
Good luck,
-Steve