Bi-Polar snakes

[Laa Laa]

So, we bought 2 blonde spotted pythons hatchies off 2 different breeders at the end of january.

Female was a bit skitz at first but calmed down quite quickly. Aggresive for her first shed. Fine since then.
Male was the most laid back snake youcould think off. Never tried to strike at anything apart from his food , even then, he was never overly aggressive.

But something has changed over the past while.

Female has started "sniffing" our hands and then slowly opens her mouth to bite. Not a strike, almost as if it is an after thought. She has biten my partner once, attacked our duvet, and biten myself (I was biten last night - my first one! very exciting) after the "sniffing" process over the past few weeks. Usually we would just put her back when she started sniffing. I let her do it last night, and she slowly coiled up around my fingers to constrict them and sat there biting me for a minute or 2 before we made her stop.

Male has started to take this tedndency up too. He struck out at my partner and has been become very active. He also tried to eat the side of his container when it came to dinner time last week. He hasn't been as bad as the female, but it is very out of character for him.

They have also both become obsessed with trying to get out of their containers (they are right next to each other) They spend ALL day trying to push their noses through the air holes, or even where there isn't a hole. They only do this on the corner/side that they are next to the other. They have been putting so much effort into trying to get out, that they completely move their water bowls/hides and paper towels around.

Neither of them are due for a shed, and they can't be hungry as they have been acting like this before/after the feed.

Any thoughts on what has started this personality change in them? Surely, at 6 months, they wouldn't be affected by "breeding season"

Any suggestions will be welcomed as i want my old babies back! I miss them.

 

[Hoppa1874]

so nothing else has changed lately. like u didnt move them into bigger enclosures or anything.. or to a higher traffic area in ur house???

 

[Laa Laa]

Nope, they have been in the same containers since March. Sitting in the same position on a desk, where we have kept them from the beginning. No extra items have been put in their containers. We have a hide, water bowl and some fake leaves. It is a spare room where no one needs to go, unless it is to see the snakes.

 

[Hoppa1874]

seems very strange then.. and u havent got mouse or rat smell on u at all when u handle them.. it is a good practise to get into the habit of always washing ur hands b4 u handle ur snakes

 

[Laa Laa]

We don't touch the mice at any point,tongs are always used. And we use F10 everytime we go to pick them up.

I have racked my brain and read lots of threads, but i can't find anything on behaviour like this.

 

[dragon_tail]

maybe they want to eat eachother, and smell eachother on you? just a random guess really, ive never experienced this.

 

[Laa Laa]

I hope they don't want to eat each other!

I love them both equally, but if one ate the other, i might have to have a stern talking to with the remaining one

 

[Pythons_Reptiles]

Hi
do you touch there food with bare hands before you feed them.
Sounds like your hands smell like food.
Or maybe they just need a bit more food.
Hope this helps

 

[Laa Laa]

As i said before, the mice are never touched at any stage with our hands (i am too grossed out to do that ) and they will do it no matter what different things we wash our hands with, or if we get straight out of the shower.

And we have just recently uped their food so i hope they don't want to go up a size again!

 

[Pythons_Reptiles]

How often do you feed them and roughly what size?

 

[Hoppa1874]

well laa laa.. im at a witts end.. cant think of any more suggestions for u.. sorry i cant help more

 

[Laa Laa]

1x pinky mouse & 1x fuzzy mouse every 7 days

And they have been acting like this even 2 days after feeding, so unless they have worms, they shouldn't be hungry.

sidenote - Can snakes get worms?

Thanks Hoppa

 

[mrsshep77]

1x pinky mouse & 1x fuzzy mouse every 7 days

And they have been acting like this even 2 days after feeding, so unless they have worms, they shouldn't be hungry.

sidenote - Can snakes get worms?

Thanks Hoppa

Yes snakes can get worms! Next time they poo check it for eggs or if it's a bad infestation there'll actually be worms!
I've got the parasites book at home otherwise I'd post a pic of what they should like and how to treat it! We thought that when Chokko our 6mth old hatchy did the same thing, but after checking his poo's we figured it wasn't that! Some people say that it's a good idea to worm your snakes every 12 months just as a precautionary, but I'm not too sure on that! How does everyone else feel about that or are there people that do it?
Good Luck

 

[sxc_celly]

Yes any reptile can get worms, you can get special reptile worming formula from your local pet store. I worm my snakes every 3-6mths. It controls worms like Roundworms, Hookworms, Pinworms, Lungworms, Tapeworms, and Flukes. It can be put directly onto the food either live, thawed or processed. Check their dropping and look for any little eggs or even little worms, they might actually have worms.

Sounds like your feeding them well too! Maybe try every 5 days instead and try getting ahold of rat pups to the same size your feeding them now with mice. It could be a factor but I'd be worming and ehcking droppings too. I had 2 hatchling spotted aswell over a year ago (now sold). They were housed together though. 1 male 1 female both hatchys. One day the female sniffed then bit my boyfriend 3 times in a row while constricting my hand and he'd put repti wash on his hands and washed his hands with soap before that, it was a mystery to us. I didnt worm my snakes back then though.

Ive never been bitten by a snake so far, and I'm going to keep it that way as long as i can, though it's bound ot happen one day. I dont touch the food either, i use tongs for the whole process and still use reptihand wash before i feed/handle them.

Im very intrigued to see the outcome of your thread!

 

[Pythons_Reptiles]

I would reccomend feeding young snakes a little more often, every 4-5 days . try to feed them enough so a small lump is visible in there stomach.
If you can get rat pups they are a better food source.
Yes they can get worms, you can purchase reptile wormer from most pet stores, not really reccomended on young snakes though

 

[Laa Laa]

Yer, it just seems very curious, because it is not like she is being aggresive as such. just kinda like she is curious as to whether she can eat my hand! And she literally does it EVERY time we have her out.

 

[Tatelina]

I know hardly anything.. but logic tells me to increase their food and cage space.

 

[dragon_tail]

i would try larger prey items, maybe they just want to stretch their mouths more? maybe a fuzzy rat?

 

[Laa Laa]

Well their cage is around 30 x 20 x 10

and they are only 40cmish long, I was on the understanding this would be suitable for up to 12 mnths? Am i wrong in thinking that?

 

[sxc_celly]

Enclosure should be something along the lines of:

Length and Width, equivilant to half the snakes length minimum (Eg. snake is 40cm long, so enclosure needs to be at least 20cm long and wide).

Height: If terrestrial (ground dwelling) halve it again, but if its a climbing species id say the same height as width and length (in our eg. 10cm if ground dwelling, and 20cm if tree dwelling). As yearlings+ the bigger you can make it the better i think, but as hatchys, only the minimal space is required. Hoep this helps!