Please help: My Spotted Python hates me!

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LittleZith

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Hi my name is Leah

I have had my Spotted Python Zith for about 7 months from hatchling age and we were in love since day one. (Yes I know she can't possibly love me back but she certainly acted like it)
She only ever bit me once and it was my fault and the result of me being unsure of how to handle her in the beginning. We were a great team and she met my friends and was so lovely and gentle with all of them, she was even handled by a 3 year old boy once and I had to be a little stern with him when he decided that he didn't want to give her back.

So after 5 months of being such a lovely little thing, we moved house (which didn't really affect her environment as she was in the same enclosure etc) and I took her with me for a walk around the neighborhood so she could get a smell of the place and she was fine. Then about a week later I took her out with her hook as usual and could feel that something was wrong, she had been eating fine and seemed ok but then she bit me. Not like a little strike but an "I'm going to eat you now" sort of bite. I had to be so careful not to hurt her getting her off my finger and tried to handle her again about a week later after giving her some time and she did it again.
I'm really nervous now and, although she isn't big enough to hurt me, pulling her off me can't be good for her teeth and I don't feel comfortable holding her anymore.

Can anyone explain this change in her attitude toward me and offer me some advice? I miss her so much :cry:

Thanks
 
yeap - she hates you!!! hahaha no...sorry cant help you with that one, but someone told me once that if a snake bits and latches on a dash of wine makes them let go - but please someone verify before you try this ;-) - good luck
 
You take your snake for walks around the neighborhood??

When she bites you, let her let go on her own accord. Try running water over her head that can help.

Has anything changed in the way thats she's fed?
How do you feed her?
How often do you feed her?
What do you feed her?
How big is she?

By the sounds of it, she might be a little hungry.
 
Agreed with S_word. I don't think you are feeding your little one big enough food.

Is she coming into a shed? That can make my youngins pretty grumpy!
 
my female spotted is the most mellow snake i have , she had never tried to bite or strike ... untill 2 weeks ago when my daughter had her and she (the spotted) latched onto her pinky and started to eat her :) i was trying not to laugh at her while removing the snake from her finger , i tried running water but it didnt work so i lightly pushed the top jaw back along her fingernail . I realised after it happend that it was feeding day , so maybe your guy is hungry aswell .

cheers nico
 
i too say not enough food , my first spotted used to do the same . until i figured out that it was hungry .
 
Thanks guys- responses below;

Yes I used to take her with me everywhere- well not to work or anything like that but if i went for a walk she would usually sit in my hair or in my bra (heh) with her head out to sniff around.

I will remember that she will let go on her own for next time (god I hope there isn't a next time) but I guess I panicked as she had never done anything like that before.

I am feeding her fuzzy rats that are about 6.5cm long not including tail. I feed her once a week as instructed by the breeder I bought her from and I use silicone tongs which I have used since day one.

I'd say she is about 45cm long and in about 3.5cm thick in her fattest area... her head is about the same as the end of my index finger.
I know she is very small compared to snakes other people have but she is my first and has grown so much since I got her that I honestly feel scared that she's going to attack me- I'm not worried about striking but trying to swallow me was extremely confronting.

Maybe she's hungry... I wish I could just ask her :) What should I do? Are the rats too small for a snake that size?

Nico- Did you handle her right after she tried to eat your daughter or did you wait? I just picked her up then but kept my jumper over my hands- I am thinking maybe I should feed her tomorrow which is a day early maybe something bigger and then try to handle her properly on friday.

Another thing- It has been a long time since she last shed... she used to shed around once a fortnight/3 weeks max when she was smaller but has only shed once since we moved into our new house and that was the beginning of March. Is that noteworthy?
 
when my 6 foot+ diamond bites i remove her by dunking her and my hand in a bucket of water till she decides to remove herself, generally about 20 secs,..(she seems to be the only one who likes to hang on,...)

i tried teh blowing in her mouth trick but she just sunk her teeth in a little deeper and wrapped another coil over her head,...lol,..shes clever!!

as others have suggested maybe she was preparing to shed, or hungry,...

snakes seem to sense if youre nervous and get edgier, be confident when u pick her up, dont pull back and dont give her a chance to strike when ur getting her out, as u said u know its not gonna hurt.

My 2 yr old bredli test me occasionally, ill open their enclosure and they get into strike possy, if i close it and walk away theyre worse next time, if i ignore their moodiness and give them a pat they give up looking like theyre gonna bite and move away.

good luck with her!!! :p
 
I hate to say this to, but my female spotted is the most laid back snake I own and has never ever tried to bite anyone apart from my dogs nose when he got to close for her liking. I never use hooks except some times for one of my snakes. I would handle her heaps in little sessions each day and if she seems stressed put her back let her calm down and try the next day!

I take my snakes for walks to:)
 
It's so weird- I used to be able to just grab her and felt totally comfortable but this has messed with me big time.

I'm starting to think that there are two issues here- I am suffering from shock and need to get over it + She is probably hungry. Is the answer more rats or bigger ones or more often?
 
Here is a suggestion that may seem a little left field, you say you have moved recently, is there a possibility that you have resident rodents either inside or out ? if she has only just decided that you are edible then maybe there are rodents nearby that she can smell constantly, and has put her on food alert, If you have eliminated the standard things like food size, temps and shedding, it may be worth a thought..
 
Oh ****! I found mouse poo in my room the other day and I have seen 3 or 4 mice running around the house (my family is pretty left possibly to a ridiculous degree so we don't kill mosquitos let alone mice passing through)

Oh man..... I can't believe I didn't think of that (slaps own face)
 
hmm, i kept house mouse in a spare enclosure in my snake room while i nursed it back to health, no one got bitey on me,....guess it is possible tho,...
 
if i hadn't seen a collection of 7 snakes, (5 different breeds) ALL have the hit and wrap mentality, during a mouse plague, it probably wouldnt have been my first thought either, but you now have the fun of deciding on what you would rather put up with........ liberated mice....... or teeth marks ?
 
hmm, i kept house mouse in a spare enclosure in my snake room while i nursed it back to health, no one got bitey on me,....guess it is possible tho,...

a mouse house that you no doubt cleaned on a regular basis, the amount that can hide in your house is horrifying (partner use to work in pest control) so if you have seen 3 - 4 already i'd say that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, ask someone who breeds mice what the life cycle is, how quick one pair can become a couple of hundred......that you never see......
 
Oh screw the mice. This is a member of my family we're talking about.

Thank you so much everyone- I wish I could give our cyber cuddles
 
I've just found this and thought it might enlighten some people

Two mice of opposite sex mate and 20 days later get 10 kids
Within 12 hours after giving birth, the female can get pregnant again.
It is normal for mice to have 5-6 litters a year, but I suppose theoretically up to 17-18 litters can be produced by a supermum.
The pups get fertile after at most 50 days and can then have their own litters.

In less than a single year two mice can become (If no predators eat them)
Day 001, 2
Day 021, 2+10
Day 041, 2+10+10
Day 061, 2+10+10+10
Day 081, 2+10+10+10+10+50
Day 101, 2+10+10+10+10+10+50+50
Day 121, 2+10+10+10+10+10+10+50+50+50
Day 141, 2+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+50+50+50+50+250
Day 161, 2+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+50+50+50+50+50+250+250
Day 181, 2+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+50+50+50+50+50+50+250+250+250
Day 201, 2+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+50+50+50+50+50+50+50+250+250+250+250+1250

2 mice can become a large inbred family of more than 2.000 individuals after 200-210 days.


Now, hands up who is going out to find some rat/mice bait :lol:
 
*Eye twitches*

Jesus christ.
If you combined this with the possibility that I'm not feeding her enough.... ahh Leah, you idiot
 
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