Hi everyone,
I am a snake mom of 5 years and there has been a change that leaves me seeking some guidance. Ruin is my 5yr old ball python whose temperament is very docile and sweet, he is not picky when it comes to food and we haven’t had a problem until now. We live in Florida where it’s cold for a few days like 40-60 and then having it back to 80 within the week. I have him in an enclosure of 40 gallon where the temp is set at 80 for the hot side and 70-75 for the cooler, and humidity is set at 55-60%. But with my last feeding he was really aggressive which is really unlike him, I left him alone for the day thinking he needed some time to digest and the following day he was even more aggressive striking at the glass and heat lamp. Thinking he was still hungry I fed him again. And afterwards I put a cover on the glass so that no movement would irritate. But it’s been 5 days now and it doesn’t seem like he’s calmed down. Can anyone help me, I getting worried that I have done something wrong.
Thank you in advance.
I’ve had a couple just have a tantrum or mood like that. It’s frustrating. Usually it’s a temporary thing. While I’ve seen it a couple times in males it’s usually more common with my females going into breeding season changes. Have you verified that he isn’t maybe a she?
Hopefully he’ll turn around soon. Is he maybe getting close to a shed? That is sometimes a moody time as well.
Otherwise … Has anything changed in the enclosure recently? Even just a different hide or some other types of decor changes? He might be acting out from the stress.
I’d definitely make sure to get this looked at, all of my females usually have more of an attitude when the season starts getting colder and having longer nights- actually as of right now I have 2 that are a bit more fussy than normal, not being bitey or anything but they hiss when I pick them up and don’t tolerate as much handling as they normally would.
But this snake is 5 years old. Wouldn’t it take less time than that for a female BP to start active aggressive?
It really just depends on the female.
My 6 year old gal only started getting really moody and struck at me a couple times this year. Before that the worst she did was give a little huff when I picked her up.
Another girl her age has just always been moody and grumpy.
I had another girl who didn’t ovulate until year 5 because she’s much smaller than average for her size.
As far as males… They’re usually pretty good but I did have a 2 year old go wild on me. Hissing and making threats, bucking …the whole 9 yards for 3 months. Then he was fine, like nothing happened when breeding season was winding down. Never did it again.
All that is quite interesting, the difference in demeanors. I have a sweet 5 year old normal girl that’s as cool as cucumber. She’s even taken a few ft rats lately for me which is curious as she has been a “live” only eater for most of her life. I’m not complaining!
None of my adult boys have ever shown anything close to what you have described either. Kinda crazy! 
Thank you so much for the reply, nothing has changed in the enclosure and he is definitely a he lol I guess he’s just being moody. It just be like that sometimes 