hey guys got a ball about a month ago in a 20gal tall noticed a crack in the bottom of the tank so swapped him to a 20gall long. walked by his cage and he was out (never seen that before he usually hides) so i figured i would take the opportunity to take him out for a little one on one time. opened the cage and he took one look at my hand like he was going to strike. so i figured it was time to leave him alone. last night during feeding he took a nip at my right middle finger kinda hurt a bit and more or less scared me. is there something im doing wrong or is this normal behavior for a 6 month old bp?
Hi, Sounds normal to me. You could try using tweezers or feeding forceps, this will avoid bites. Your fingers were probably warmer than the prey, they do go a lot by the heat given off. Bet he will love the 20g long, make sure there is plenty of foliage or cover so he can get from one end to other. At 6 months old they will still be nippy at times. Is the tank open top, in other words do you get into it via top, if so then your hand is seen as a preditor. Try putting hand in at opposite end to him when you want to get him out then approach "low and slow", less likely to spook him. You could also try taking a handkerchief or piece of material, keep it next to your skin for 24 hrs then place in tank near hide, he will then get used to your smell and may be less agressive towards you, doesn't always work but nothing lost in trying. Hope this helps
ok cool i do use tongs when i feed, he got me when i was moving him back from his feeding tub to his tank saturday night. this morning he kinda looked fine but im going to give it till wednesday till i pick him up again to let him get used to his new tank. ill let ya know what happens
took hershey out for a little bit to clean out his tank. he has been in a very long shed (over a week) gave him a bath tried to remove some of his shed but it comes off in pieces and still has some on his belly if this normal or do i need to do more for him in terms of removing the shed? sorry for so many questions i just want to make sure im not doing anything wrong.
hello Draco, I was once like you,if they look wrong you panic, thats when i found this site lol. what I do, is up the humidity in the tank,I keep a bubbler in my babies water, and i have a above the water filter for his pond both move moisture through the tank, also, when they cloake when they get their eye site back,when he is ready to shed it I give him a long bath, make him swim and he usually sheds the next day. my baby is in a 55 gallon, hard to heat and keep moisture hope this helps shy
Bruno and Lil Shy Aries are right; the nip is no problem. Use tongs to give him prey, and before you pick him up, stroke him for a little while so he knows it's not feeding time. A hungry snake can easily mistake a hand for a food item. And as for the shedding, don't panic, just make sure you get it off. It may take a week or so of daily baths to get it all off. Do NOT attempt to remove it yourself, this will do much much more harm than good. Give him a log or a secure, rough item to rub off on. Keep the humidity in the enclosure at 70-80% until he gets it all off. Next time, bump up the humidity before he goes into shed. He will begin to darken pre-shed. A week or so before the actual shed (the time varies with individuals), his eyes will turn blue; from this point, raise the humidity and do not handle him until he sheds. Don't get too freaked out; we were all beginners once. There is a lot to learn. If you have any other questions, ask away!
