Hi from Pine Rivers QLD.

[PappaSmurf]

Hi, my wife & I are pretty new to snakes although i have been a long time admirer.
We got a 1yr old Stimsons Python a few weeks ago who took a real shine to her. He will craul from her to me but pretty quickly chucks a u-turn & heads straight back to the missus. She thinks it's great.
Last weekend after finding a great deal I bought a 4 year old female Bredli (with enclosure) that reportedly handled well & actually seemed ok when i handled her the 1st time before purchase. When we got her home she seemed ok taking her out of the sack but bit me when i was trying to put her in the enclosure. Nothing bad just a very slow & reasonably soft bite on the finger & she let go pretty quick.
We gave her a feed soon after, a medium rat that she took with NO hesitation & I left her alone until today when i went to get her out.
WOW, a totally different snake. She has been possessed, she hit me in the hand with a full on strike & wrap & i had to get the missus to help to uncoil her from my arm & then the snake had another crack at me as i was getting my hand out, had to hold her off with the hook.

Ever since then for the last few hours she has just been stalking the door & looks like she's ready to strike at anything that moves. She was even headbutting the glass door as if to say "come on i'll have ya" & still hasn't really settled down.

Any one that could shed some light on a reason for this or maybe have a solution would be a great help.

Thanks

Rick & MIchelle

 

[ReptiBeck]

You guys are literally 30min from me..! I have some experience with a hatchling snappy-as bredli but thats all in the way of aggressive, so i cant help
But anyway, welcome!

Becky

 

[Wild~Touch]

This is what I would do...Put a towel over the door so that she can't see out and leave her in peace for at least one week.

bredli are fiery readheads and particularly food orientated, she is probably still hungry and in feed mode...at 4 yrs.old she would prob.take an adult rat.

Solution: Never put your hand in a bredli enclosure.....

 

[DarwinBrianT]

Hi Rick, I'd say from your post it was last feed a week ago. I'd say it want's more food and will be a lot better to handle after it gets more food.

Cheers Brian

 

[PappaSmurf]

This is what I would do...Put a towel over the door so that she can't see out and leave her in peace for at least one week.

bredli are fiery readheads and particularly food orientated, she is probably still hungry and in feed mode...at 4 yrs.old she would prob.take an adult rat.

Solution: Never put your hand in a bredli enclosure.....

Fiery redhead eh? Maybe that's what the attraction was. The missus is a redhead as well.

- - - Updated - - -

Hey Brian, I fed her on Sunday so it's only a couple of days ago.
She may be due to shed though, would that make her particularly cranky?

 

[DarwinBrianT]

Yeah it could be if she is about to shed but I doubt it ( taking into account I don't know anything about this snake )
I'm no expert but I would up the size of the rat and feed it again.

 

[marcus0002]

I have two bredli of a similar age to yours and they were very snappy, still have the odd go at me. I feed them a 3 week old quail every 3-4 days.

 

[The_Geeza]

I have two bredli of a similar age to yours and they were very snappy, still have the odd go at me. I feed them a 3 week old quail every 3-4 days.

Y would u be feeding 4 yr old snakes every 4/5 days?

 

[marcus0002]

The previous owner had only fed them once every three months and they are half the size they should be. I will slow down the feed rate when they are at the size they should be.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[PappaSmurf]

OK, I took your advice Wild~Touch & put her in solitary. The only problem is her enclosure is right next to the computer desk & every now & then i can actually here her right in the corner closest to me tapping on the glass. It's a bit freaky cos i don't know whether she is trying to be friendly or or wanting to have another crack at me.
Anyway, had to go in there this morning to fill her water & when i removed the cover she was sitting up in S shape facing the door looking like she wanted to take on the world. I opened the door & just gently moved her head in the other direction with the hook while i filled her bowl & then got my hand the hell out of there. She did NOT strike or seem overly stressed but i will leave her like this, just doing her water etc; for at least another week.

The previous owner was feeding her a medium rat every 2 weeks & some have suggested this may not be enough. As he supplied a heap of them on purchase i am hesitant to buy more of them so should i just feed her these but once a week?

The more help & advice i get on this the better as i really do like her & would love to get her to like me as well.

 

[marcus0002]

Yea give them a medium rat every 5-7 days. You should see a decent bulge in them once they have eaten. If not you need to give them more. When the bulge has gone down and they have taken a dump they are ready to be fed again.

You should notice that they will calm down after they have eaten. When they get snappy again it means they are hungry.

 

[andynic07]

It really depends on the size of the snake but I would be more inclined to feed it two rats at each feeding rather than feeding every 5-7 days. I feed all of my snakes that are over two years old once a month without any problems. Not saying that you will experience problems feeding every 5-7 days but my opinion is that a snakes digestive system isn't designed to be on the go all of the time like that.

 

[Wild~Touch]

Hi Rick & Michelle
The bredli cannot settle completely while there's movement near her cage.....can you move her cage to a quiet place or move the computer ?
IMO...she is being constantly on guard and waiting for your blood
Snakes feel the vibration of movement even if they cannot see out.

I have an old mumma bredli that became evil with age and bashed the glass at every movement past her cage....
Solution....I covered the glass and did not disturb her for a long time.....
She does not do the glass thing now but still I would not give her a chance to grab me I wait till she's in her hide box and block the entrance to do maintenance....LOL
She WAS the most placid big python I had...always the one to get out and show people

 

[PappaSmurf]

OK so this is her. Roughly 1.7m long & no idea of weight. Too busy concentrating on where her head was to be thinking about how heavy she is.
Having said that she does seem to be in reasonably good condition.
After reading what has been posted by Wild~Touch & also andynic07 I am moving the computer, well it's a laptop so i can take it anywhere & next feed will try her on 2 of the medium rats. I also may have to look at a new hide box if she doesn't come good as the log thing that she has doesn't lend itself to being blocked off to afford me any kind of protection.
I'm going to be really really disappointed if she doesn't come good as she really did seem ok the 1st time I saw her & I did handle her on that occasion.

 

[andynic07]

Looking at the picture mate I would think that she would easily take two medium rats. On a side note my spotted python was very bitey (defensive) from when I got her until about 3 years old and is now a very nice snake to handle. With my woma if it is within a week of feeding or he smells dog or rat you have to keep an eye on him whilst holding, he will start nudging against your hand or finger and then slowly open his mouth and try to start eating me including wrapping. My black headed's are a little like this but not as bad. My coastal and diamond pythons does not ever look like biting and my GTP is placid as anything during the day but will try to eat all that moves at night.

 

[PappaSmurf]

Thanks andynic07, the nudging thing was what she did the1st time. Then the full on attack the second time.
What is the deal with feeding 2 rats? Offer one & then the other after she's swallowed the 1st? Like i said, i'm pretty new to this. It's a bit more complicated than building motorbikes LOL.

This pic was taken about half an hour ago after we moved the computer desk away from her i took the cover off to check her water. Is this attack mode or what. She has settled down a bit now but i'm still putting the cover back on for a while.

 

[marcus0002]

Yea mate, wait for her to swallow one, then let her sniff around for a couple of minutes then offer the next

 

[baker]

Best piece of advice I can give you to help calm the snake down is to give it more hides and cover inside of the enclosure. From what I can see from your pictures there isn't much cover at ground level which could be making the snake feel exposed and vulnerable in its new surroundings causing the defensive behavior. I would put in some fake vine and that just laying on the ground with a box or two it can use as a hide. By having more cover it should hopefully help it feel more secure and help it become calmer.
Cheers Cameron

 

[jabba_da_hut]

I agree with baker. It sounds to me like you have a snake that is feeling vulnerable. I would put in two or three hides that the snake can fit all the way into but is a snug fit so she feels secure. Also some snakes get cage defensive and will try to tag anything that enters their territory. Nice bredli btw, congrats.

 

[PappaSmurf]

Thanks guys, have already planned a trip to bunnings in the morning for material for a hide box. I'll probably only get one in there due to space restriction but hopefully that'll be enough. We also have some fake vine left over from the wife's Stimmy enclosure so will throw that in too. Can't wait for the sausage sizzle, yummo.