Hello all! Some of you may have noticed I have been gone a while... i recently moved out of my moms and got my first own place which I am very excited about. Now my problem

Like 2 weeks ago I got a ball python and he seemed very calm and content not at all aggressive except for right after I feed him when still in like hunting mode. Well last night I was holding him on my shoulder and he just all of a sudden decided he was going to bite into my neck... he didnt strike just very slowly bit into my neck.. i didnt really react at first I just waited a few minutes thinking he would just let go... well he didnt so I tried working his mouth off of my neck and it took a few but I finally got him off of my neck only to have moved him to my index finger. I then waited a moment in hopes he would just let go of my finger and he didnt seem to but I was worried he would try and eat my finger as if it were a meal because he then started to constrict my wrist. When I did work him off he was very aggressive and so I was thinking maybe after that he had gone into hunting mode

He is only like 2 1/2 feet long and I fed him last saturday so it has been a week could this all have been just because he was hungry and my neck smelled like something tastey?

Thanks before hand
Randy

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Randy

I plan to live forever... And so far its working

0.2.0 Ball Python (Jaxxie and Kyree)
1.0.0 Savanah Monitor (Sullivan)

Were you wearing any kind of after shave or cologne? I had a friend who kept retics and she noticed that whenever she used a certain lotion the snakes were more prone to bite her. She stopped using the lotion and rubbed a little lemon juice onto her hands/arms and they didn't bite her anymore. *shrug*

Hello,

I was thinking the same thing as LdyDrgn. Its possible that you did have something on that smelled enticing. Did you handle any other animals throughout the day and possible rubbed your neck transfering some scent?

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Sounds like he was hungry to me. It sounds like a feeding bite as opposed to an aggressive bite. When feeding they tend to hang on and then try to swallow. Attack strikes are usually fast and pull away fast.
Try offering him another food item.

Good luck

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Andrea

No I wasnt wearing anything and I hadnt been around anyother animals but that is what I had assumed it was. Tis ok I am planning on feeding him again today. I was also curious how I should base the size of his food I think he could easily eat a small rat but the previous owner was only feeding him adult mice so that is what I have fed him... it just seems so small for him to me... I read that I should feed him something about 2 1/2 times the size of his head.... the mice are only slightly larger than his head

EDIT: I was thinking they should be fed something as wide as the widest part of their body based on the caresheet here at HC but because of ball pythons being so fat I wasnt sure if that was just some general info that could be used for the majority of snakes or if that was so for the ball python aswell

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Randy

I plan to live forever... And so far its working

0.2.0 Ball Python (Jaxxie and Kyree)
1.0.0 Savanah Monitor (Sullivan)

My little Monty has been on rats for quite a while. I think it's really more meat per gram. Anyway: he's about 2.5-3ft and he's been eating 50-55g rats every 10-14 days. I couldn't believe he could actually swallow something so much bigger than his head but here's a link to my thread with feeding pics.
Monty's feeding pics

Monty has been eating much better since I've moved him to rats.
Good luck!

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Andrea

Hey Randy, welcome back! I wondered where you disappeard to.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Rats are more nutritious than mice. Mice have a higher fat content than rats, do. Rats also have a better calcium to phosphorous ratio. Feed him something as large as girth and as his girth begins to grow so should should his prey items. Our 3.5' male is on medium rats and the 5' male is on large rats if that helps any.

I had considered moving him to rats but the shop I had purchased Ajaxx (the ball python) recommended not going to rats yet and just try 2 mice at a time for a bit longer

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Randy

I plan to live forever... And so far its working

0.2.0 Ball Python (Jaxxie and Kyree)
1.0.0 Savanah Monitor (Sullivan)

If he is ready for a small rat then there is no need to "wait". Some people say that it is best to feed an an adult mouse rather than a rat pup because of the fur and bone development issue...the rat would not have much of either. The only real downside to feeding the young rat as opposed to the adult mouse is that the feces would be a bit runny due to the lack of fur.

You don't ever want to wait too long when it comes to switching a Ball python to rats. They are the type of snake that gets used to what it eats and won't want anything else. You want to get him on rats as soon as possible. Having to feed an adult Ball python multiple mice on feeding night can get to be a real pain....