help-spotted getting agressive

[jordan9495]

first of all i think my spotted is to small for its age its 1 1/2 years old and about 70cm
i feed it rats just starting to get hair only 1 and every time i go to him he will come out of his rock looking at us as if we were food but hes eating fine

 

[Gavin]

first of all i think my spotted is to small for its age its 1 1/2 years old and about 70cm
i feed it rats just starting to get hair only 1 and every time i go to him he will come out of his rock looking at us as if we were food but hes eating fine

you feed it rats that are just starting to grow hair? fuzzy? i think u shud up it to the weaner/hoppers. How often do u handle it?

 

[notechistiger]

My spotted, at the size and age (which is fine), was eating weanling rats. Your snake is hungry, feed it more or upgrade its food.

 

[funcouple]

yes i think your spotted is small for its age. i have a 10 month old spotted that i just measured at 68cm. ive feed it a fuzzy rat between 7 and 10 days.m going to try mine on a weaner rat next feed. ive allways up-graded its food as soon as was possible. how long have you been feeding yours fuzzy rats? maybe you have only just started on the fuzzies and yor have been under feeding it.

 

[notechistiger]

funcouple, you have a spotted that isn't even a year old yet, and it's 68cm?

 

[Gavin]

funcouple, you have a spotted that isn't even a year old yet, and it's 68cm?

thts what i thought

 

[funcouple]

yep its 10 months old. maybe closer to 11 months, but not older.

 

[notechistiger]

That sounds overfed to me. Or, at least, it's been fed way more than normal. As I said before, 70cm at a year and a half is fine.

 

[euphorion]

70cm at that age is fine, if you're concerned just offer an extra rat every second feed, if he's happy to take the extra food each and every time then keep up with the extra food. what weight is he? and what weight of food are you feeding each week?

 

[funcouple]

maybe to you it is notechistiger. but like i said i feed between 7 and 10 days. it dosent have a pin head. head to body size is normal. ill continue to feed as i do till i see a problem or someone can show me how im over feeding. anyway this thread was about jordan9495 spotted not mine. i just answered his thread with the growth ive experienced with my spotted. if your really worried about your spotted jordan9495, take it to a reptile vet and have it checked. after all a vet knows more than all of us put together. cheers

 

[notechistiger]

Hang on, I never said I was worried about your spotted. I was pointing out to jordan9495 that your snake, funcouple, is very large for its age and that's due to feeding it more than normal. Also, pinhead syndrome doesn't effect the Antaresia group much at all.

What I was saying was that jordan9495's snake is probably hungry, which is why he would be getting more aggressive. Or at least, it's one reason why.

 

[euphorion]

jordon my oldest maccie is almost 3 years old and only just at the 80cm, he's a little guy thats for sure (not that i'm complaining) so given his size i would say your rate of growth is okay for the moment. Bear in mind that maccies can range from well under to well over a metre and pack on the girth after they obtain most of their length. you get a very good idea of the condition an animal should be from many of the published books that contain images of maccies, ie, backdone should not be showing, ribs are okay but muscle should be firth to the touch and the animal should have plenty of strength in the body. if all of the above are okay then i dont think you have anything to worry about. But as an example, i have a 10month and 11month old maccies that chow down on two fuzzie mice one week, then as many as they want the following week. Some months they have packed on the pounds, other months their weight doesn't change a bit. I am of the opinion that they are quite good at self regulating as long as unlimited food is not offered all the time. (might mention that they haven't taken more than 4 fuzzies and 2 pinks in one sitting) which equated to 35% pre-feed body weight.

i would try offering several food items that take less time to swallow, and see how many he wants to eat. compare that to however many you are giving him and TADAA! Little snakey will tell you if he's hungry

 

[Gavin]

sigh my spotted is also aggressive, he is 10months old,i've only had him for a day or less and put him in a new click clack. He snaps at everythingg(so i decided to call him snappy)..he would raise his head into an aggressive position wen i open the clickclack lid, kinda freaks me out. Maybe i should put him back in his old clickclack which is much more smaller? or should i just let him settle?

 

[Lewy]

Our male spotted was a very angry snake until we started to feed him a little more he is 2 years old and 860mm long (measured today) he now eats 2 rats about 3 weeks old ish don't know what u would call then may be hoppers we breed our own so i just knock them off when it suits

He is now a puppy dog to Handel

So i would say up his food and see what will happen they can easily eat 2 of what ever size is appropriate

Lewy

 

[tattoolizzie]

10 months might be the approx age to up the food for the spotteds by the look of it... mine has been a little cranky for the last week or so, and last night he bit me for the first time ever.

I just offered two fuzzy (mice) when I usually give him one and he wolfed them down.

 

[Gavin]

sigh, i tried approaching my spotted with socks (hoping to make me more confident) before i even touched him he did a fake strike and it scared the ***** OUT OF ME!!!!!!!

 

[tattoolizzie]

sigh, i tried approaching my spotted with socks (hoping to make me more confident) before i even touched him he did a fake strike and it scared the ***** OUT OF ME!!!!!!!

oops, just re- read that you'd only just got yours .... he's probably not settled into the new environment. Try leaving alone to settle in for a while.

Lizzie

 

[notechistiger]

Gavin, did you say you've only had him a day? Leave him alone, you're stressing him. The more you try to touch and handle him, the more he'll resist you. Let him relax for a week or two, then feed him. Leave him alone for another week, where you only handle him for cleaning purposes (use a hook to move him into a pillow case or separate click clack).

Then begin introducing yourself to him. Make sure you don't even peek at him for the week or two before you start feeding, because that'll stress him again.

 

[Gavin]

Gavin, did you say you've only had him a day? Leave him alone, you're stressing him. The more you try to touch and handle him, the more he'll resist you. Let him relax for a week or two, then feed him. Leave him alone for another week, where you only handle him for cleaning purposes (use a hook to move him into a pillow case or separate click clack).

Then begin introducing yourself to him. Make sure you don't even peek at him for the week or two before you start feeding, because that'll stress him again.

okok ill let him settle first hope it works, but i cant stop worrying about him...i take a peek at him every 10mins or so:|

 

[notechistiger]

Well, don't. It's probably making him more afraid. Just remember, you're a huge hot thing that he thinks is going to eat him.