My diamond python is suddenly aggressive.. Also his tail won't shed properly. Help!

[alipsticklullaby]

Hi everyone!

So our gorgeous little diamond python's name is Monty. He's about 6 months old and we got him in April. He's always been the perfect little guy, curling up & falling asleep on us & is great to handle.

He was being fed weekly when we got him, but we didn't want him to grow too fast so we dropped it back to a week and a half, with the eventual goal of feeding him fortnightly.


We had no issues at all feeding him every week and a half, and we did that for a couple of months then decided we'd try fortnightly feeding. In hindsight, we probably moved him to fortnightly a little soon, as the poor bugger was obviously hungry. We didn't want to starve him so we went back to a week and a half, as he was starting to get a bit snappy.


We've been back at a week and a half for a couple of weeks now, but he's being very possessive of his food. We usually just dangle the food over his head so he strikes for it, but he has been tasting the food with his tongue and realising what it is, then striking at us instead of the mouse. Last time, I was a little nervous feeding him so I just dropped it near him and watched. He went over to it and actually turned back to strike at me.. I put the lid back on the tub and left him to it.


He's never been aggressive before so we're wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to fix this behaviour? He's our first snake and we're a bit unsure. We still handle him all the time and he's fine, it's just when food comes into the equation.




Secondly, he's always had a bit of trouble shedding down the base of his tail. It got very stiff and hard as the layers of shed built up, so we soaked his tail in water and that helped get it off. The very base of his tail is dead now though, so we were just wondering if it will drop off in it's own time? Or is it a bit more serious than that?

Thanks in advance for any help people might be able to give us!

 

[LB_Reptiles]

With his tail. Soak him in some nice warm water. Not too hot obviously and un peel it for him, and your snake being aggresive is probably a result of it being sick or having something wrong with it. Maybe you should take it to the vets?

 

[Cold-B-Hearts]

first thing needed to clear up is weather you have your heat source connected to a thermostat.

 

[Cold-B-Hearts]

If he handles fine besides feeding time you don't have much of a problem. Snakes have a great sense of smell and know when food is coming also if you feed in a tub, the tub will smells like all of the previous rats and can make your snake go mental and strike at anything. Also you hand/body sends of a bigger heat signal then the rat which could be confusing him, id grab a pair on tongs if i where you so you can hold the rat in front of his face so he knows what he is ripping into could even slightly touch him on the neck with the rat which can sometimes cause a response bite. Also if you holding you snake often it shouldn't matter how much you feed it, weekly-10 days is fine he will slowly grow and before you know it your holding a big snake and it wont bother you.
hope i could help abit
Cheers Liam

 

[harlemrain]

Also when you see retained shed on his tail remove it straight away as it will cut off circulation, if his tail looks dead watch out for infection

 

[Ramy]

It's not unusual for a snake to strike at anything when it gets into it's feeding response; the mouse, you, other animals in the same enclosure... If he's used to your routine now, then he realises even before the mouse arrives that it's time to eat. Further more, snakes are greedy tykes and since they recognise you're the source of food they sometimes watch you to see if more is coming. My Diamond used to do that, he'd grab the rat off me, strangle it, then drop it and stare at me to see if more was coming. It got to the point he wouldn't eat with me in the room. Basically my point is that if he's only agro while you're feeding him, you're doing fine. If you're not feeding him with tongs/forceps/large tweezers then do that, cause it'll keep you confident and make him less confused. My pythons all eat large rats now, so it's an old pair of kitchen tongs for everything. For smaller stuff, you can pick up something smaller. Also, make sure that the feeds you're giving him are leaving a visible bulge in his body. It doesn't have to stick out like a snake swallowing an elephant in the cartoons, but you want to be able to see where the feed is sitting after you've fed him or it isn't big enough.

Also, regarding that tail, I would find a vet. If there's any infection, you want to get on top of it. You want one that's good at reptiles. If you need advice, plenty people on the forums here will recommend someone they go to. And know for next time that you never want to leave shed skin on the tail, get the snake damp and remove it gently. Also, keep an eye on the skins, and make sure the eye scales have come off. Those are your 2 areas that are most likely to cause complications.

 

[Norm]

If the tip of the tail has gone stiff I'd say its too late, needs the tip snipped off by a vet

 

[alipsticklullaby]

His tail is definitely dead at the end. If I could get a picture of it, I would.. I might have to take him to the vets to get it sorted if I can find one with reptile experience in my town! It's not infected which is good, just about an inch of dead tail at the tip.

 

[Renenet]

If the tip of the tail is dead, I'd second the suggestion to take your snake to the vet. It needs to be removed in case it causes an infection.

 

[alipsticklullaby]

Thanks heaps for your reply! It was only when the feeding times started getting spaced further apart that he suddenly became aggressive. One feed he was fine, the next he went straight for us instead of the pinky. He was always a fantastic feeder before that, struck straight at the pinky and would eat it immediately. He's getting another feed on Wednesday so will see how that goes.. I might buy a special pair of tongs to use especially for his feeding, thanks We've always just dangled the pinky near him with our hands. I think it's time for him to move up to fuzzies, because he is growing and the bulge isn't as obvious as it used to be. We're just finishing off the packet of pinkies we have now and we'll move him up.

The tail is definitely dead, but there's no infection as far as we can tell. There aren't many around my town but I'll call a reptile expert to see if he can recommend a good local vet. For the past few sheds, we've soaked the tail in a cup of water just warm to the touch and it's come right off.. There was just a lot of build up from past sheds that hadn't come off properly so we're monitoring it every shed now so it doesn't happen again.

Thanks so much for your advice, it's very much appreciated!

 

[Pitttownboy]

Can u get a picture of your python as its tail sounds nasty, also an aggressive diamond is uncommon as they are normally pussy cats, at six months mine are getting fed every four days so up his food poor bugger is hungry

 

[Pitttownboy]

Pinky mouse or pinky rats have u been feeding. All Morelia should be on pinky rats straight outta the egg pinky mice are way to small if not pinky rats the fuzzy mice at the very least and at six months my diamonds are on fuzzy rats 12 days old or young mice 6 weeks old

 

[ubermensch]

alipsticklullaby, my Diamond is normally a puppy dog but she realised about 6 months back that *I* move and the rat does not - therefore I am more fun to try and eat. Don't worry too much, if that's the only time he's aggressive then you have nothing to worry about.

 

[Chris1]

Hes probably striking in your direction because the smell put him in feeding mode but he can sense your heat.

definately feed more often, 4-5 days between meals at that age is fine.

 

[Lawra]

I might buy a special pair of tongs to use especially for his feeding, thanks We've always just dangled the pinky near him with our hands

You're game! Lol. Tongs are a great idea