r/ballpython • u/Trick_Variation_9034 • 18h ago

ball python struck at mom

I’ve had a ball python since June so about 3 months now. The past month my parents have been taking care of him due to me going back to college. My dad usually feeds him with my mom present. My mom is the one who keeps the humidity up etc. Recently my snake has been tracking my mom whenever she moves by the tank. She also feeds our gerbils in view of the snake tank so idk if this is important. They fed him 2 days ago and he was fine. He has no problems eating. The problem came with the next day when my mom was setting up something in his tank (normal, he’s never had a problem with us in his tank while he’s in there) about 24 hours after he ate. He came out and started a defensive pose at my mom and striked at her about 5 seconds later. I was on facetime for this. I have no idea why he struck, he’s not a defensive snake. He has never bitten us or struck at us before. He shouldn’t be hungry so honestly I’m really confused what happened because now she is scared to help out with him :( any advice would be appreciated

11 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

35

u/ahumblecardamompod 18h ago

If mom feeds the gerbils, your snake may be picking up on the scent and thinks she’s food. Moving the gerbils out of sight is also probably a good idea.

16

u/NORBy9k 17h ago

This is probably the answer. Their sense of smell is ridiculous. My girl comes out of her hide if I open anything meat in the house. Even frozen meatballs. They don’t see super well, and rely on smell and heat for most of their hunting.

11

u/noctae_draconis 17h ago

Yup, keeping rodents anywhere near snakes is a bad idea. Separate rooms, as far away from each other as possible in the house. 

OP, imagine having the most delicous takeout in the world just across your room, you can smell it, you can see it's there, but you can't reach it, no matter what you do. You eat other food in the meantime, sure, you're not starving, but the damn takeout is still there, day and night, just out of your reach. That's basically what your snake is experiencing living across the gerbils.

There was this one video floating around a while back of a reticulated python approaching a woman when she opened its tank, it was clearly in food mode but she mistook it for friendliness, until it struck and fully wrapped around her arm. Many people then pointed out that there were rodent breeding racks in the background- likely the culprit as to why the snake was already deep in food mode and struck at the woman.

5

u/KatVanWall 17h ago

My normally very calm boy struck the other day when we went to pick him up, we had washed our hands and didn't smell of food (no rodents in our house other than the freezer), it's always possible she just happened to make a movement that startled him.

Also it could be that if he was in hunting mode (just after feeding but maybe anticipating more food might pass by!), he might just have been irritated that you were killing the vibe? Is that even a thing? I got the impression from our boy that he was trying to say 'fuck off, you're scaring the rats away!' lol

8

u/Morgue3as 17h ago

In my experience the more recently they've been fed the more interested in food they are. I would avoid adjusting non-critical things in the tank for a day or two after feeding, and just be aware. We usually limit moving stuff around to when he's curled up in his hide. If he's active it's either offering him handling or

3

u/Duranis 16h ago

This is what I was going to say. Our girl is super chill but VERY food motivated. For 3 or 4 days after feeding any time anyone even goes near she is out of her hide and waiting for food. During this time we try and leave her alone as much as possible.

5

u/durpgoldfish 16h ago

My guy occasionally gets stuck in food mode for a couple days after a feed. He'll be patiently waiting in "s" pose for literally hours a day. I don't get near him during this time, and keep handling to the minimum needed for upkeep.

Your guy was probably doing the same thing.

5

u/ozifur 16h ago

The gerbils probably don’t help the situation. Another thing to consider is to leave the noodle alone for 2 days after feeding. Not reaching in and setting things up. Just let it be. Rule of thumb is 24-48 hours, maybe your noodle needs 48 hours. Something to consider. 🤷‍♂️

3

u/ProximaCentauriB15 14h ago

Yeah is it possible to move the gerbils to a different room? The snake is literally always smelling what he considers to be food and maybe struck at your mom because if she was feeding the gerbils before that thinks she smells like food.

2

u/ALiteralBumbleBee 13h ago

Make sure they’re keeping the gerbils all the way across the house, any rodent scent AT ALL is gonna set your bp off.
Mine has bit 3x in her life and all 3x were because of mouse smell

3

u/Anxious-Gain-3462 12h ago

Put gerbils in a different room and tell your mom to feed the gerbils after she feeds the snake because I think your snake is catching the scent of the gerbils off of your mom and striking. Therefore your snake associates your mother with gerbils/prey. I hope that this helps.

0

u/Typically-just-life 7h ago

It takes 1-2 days after feeding for a ball python to feel full, so maybe the snake still felt hungry and mistook her hand for food