Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 10 month old albino het granite burm whom I have raised since he was a hatchling. He is just over 4 feet long and very healthy. His appetite has gotten greater lately,he is eating 2-3 jumbo rats a week. He has always been very dosile, but all of the sudden he has gotten VERY agressive,he will not even let me pick him up anymore. I thought he was just going through a shed, but he has shed and deficated,yet he is still agressive. Nothing has changed in his cage at all either. Does anyone have any idea what could be going on?

A 4 foot burm should NOT be eating 2-3 jumbo rats a WEEK. If you claim he is healthy now, he wont be for long if he is kept on that feeding schedule.

>>I have a 10 month old albino het granite burm whom I have raised since he was a hatchling. He is just over 4 feet long and very healthy. His appetite has gotten greater lately,he is eating 2-3 jumbo rats a week. He has always been very dosile, but all of the sudden he has gotten VERY agressive,he will not even let me pick him up anymore. I thought he was just going through a shed, but he has shed and deficated,yet he is still agressive. Nothing has changed in his cage at all either. Does anyone have any idea what could be going on?

I agree w/ other response. Unfortunitely there is all sorts of misinformation out there that these animals should be STUFFED all the time. A 4 ' Burm could be fed 1 jumbo rat every 2-3 weeks and I would now make sure his system cleans out. I wouldn't feed for at least 1 month. Watch for defecation/constipation. If you want you could also get a little mineral oil in his next meal. I just hope his insides are ok. When these snakes are overfed it can effect them internally and it doesn't take long.

While I agree with the others that you're over feeding...
the original question was why is your burm becoming agressive all of a sudden?
Define agressive for us.

By agressive I mean when ever I try to touch him or pick him up he strikes at me. sometimes with his mouth open and sometimes with it not. also he now hisses even when you get close to his cage. this is unusual for him. I will take the advise on feeding , I was just going by what some other burm owners had told me.

While it may not be relevant, this attitude may be an indication of pain and your snake could be injured. Other symptoms of pain are lethargy, always hiding, stiffness, and decreased appetite. If you see any of the above then consider pain to be an issue.

A couple things you can do...get some soft leather gloves, and if he's pissy...get a hold of the tail, and work your way up his body till he calms down.
Do you use a snake hook? If not,get one, and begin to condition him to it.
How about husbandry? Lighting, heating, and humidity?
And hides...does he have some total and complete privacy?
Cover his cage from time to time.Shorten your lighting periods.
His aggressiveness may be a response to stress.
And lastly...if you fear your animal too much to handle him properly, it's time to turn him over to someone that can best take care of him. If you fear him, you're not going to be able to properly take care of him
It wont take too long before your 4ft agressive burm becomes your 10ft, dangerously aggresive burm.