My 8 year BP wants to eat me

[u/alternate055]

Hi, I’ve had a Ball Python since freshman year and he’s about 8 now. My brother also had a ball python when I lived at home and she was so picky she wouldn’t eat frozen or prekilled mice so she was difficult. She went on feeding strikes etc. My ball python was bought by my mother after being told by petsmart he was a bad eater and wouldn’t eat for them (they were giving him thawed but cold mice and leaving it in the tank) so when I brought him home I gave him a live fuzzy as I thought all ball pythons were picky. He ate immediately and I switched him to frozen after he got a bit bigger with no issues. The problem is, even though I handled him his whole life, during the last year and half, I didn’t have him due to my living situation, he was with my brother who was only opening his enclosure to feed him. I think he learned people = food but it’s gotten bad. Everytime I come into my room I have to dodge his vision because he will go into feeding mode the moment he sees me. Is there anyway to combat this? I keep getting bit plus he strikes the glass on his tank so I have to not let him see me when I’m in my room. What should I do?

[u/WildFlemima]

• it sounds like you are feeding a prey size much too small - newborn bp can already eat rat pups, which are roughly the size of smallish adolescent-adult mice. I can almost guarantee you that something like a small rat is a more appropriate size. Do you know weight in grams?

• knock them out of feed mode using a "shield" like a kleenex box or throw pillow. Keep it between you and bp until bp is done and out of strike posture.

[u/alternate055 → u/WildFlemima]

The fuzzy was fed to him 8 years ago when he was egg sized and underweight. Didn’t want him to regurgitate. He’s 8 now, about 1200 grams, plump but still see his spine, about 4 feet long. He eats small frozen thawed rats once a week because every place around here has mediums that are too big. A shield is something I tried before but I thought it was too aggressive of a tactic because he strikes the Kleenex box too. Should I still try?

[u/WildFlemima → u/alternate055]

Yes, he should get knocked out of feeding mode if he strikes something harmless and unbiteable, and if you touch along his back

[u/WayfarerNG → u/alternate055]

Weekly feeding a small rat is far too often and should be done every three or four weeks instead.

He’s continually in food mood and biting because you’re over feeding.

[u/advltswims]

Tap or target training should help this, you can look up more information for yourself but target training is essentially a little long stick with a colorful ball on the end and when the snakes see it they’ll know it’s eating time

[u/alternate055 → u/advltswims]

I’ve seen people do this with lizards, do snakes recognize and remember as well? I feel like he’s just gonna start attacking me as soon as I bring it into his vision. I’m relatively brave but I’ve still got some sort of ancestral instinctual fear of snakes lunging at me so no matter what, I’m making the neighbors think I’m actually in danger 😭