Help! my usually placid diamond python has become defensive/aggressive

[amy23l]

i have a 3yr old appro 5ft diamond who is usually really placid, never bitten me before, i use to be able to put my hands in his enclosure and pick him up. i use to handle him 1 - 2 times a week until i fell pregnant & then it was only about once a month, i feed him a medium size rat every 2 weeks & he always smashes it.

over the last few months he has stoped letting me handle him, every time i attempt to get him out he coils back like he is going to bite. eventually i used a hook to pick him up but when i went to touch him he flinched, in fact when i touched him with the hook he flinched, once i got him out he was very aggitated & bit me

i have left him in the enclosure since & have noticed he is roaming his tank rubbing his face along the wire mesh sides & pressing himself up against the glass, if i go near the enclosure he assumes a strick possition...

i dont know why his behaviour and temperament has changed... can anyone shed some light on the situation???

 

[ltnclark]

i have left him in the enclosure since & have noticed he is roaming his tank rubbing his face along the wire mesh sides & pressing himself up against the glass, if i go near the enclosure he assumes a strick possition...

Might be going to shed?

 

[amy23l]

Might be going to shed?

He shed about 3 weeks ago & iv never seen him act this way after shedding in the past.

i just tried to open the enclusure to give him a rat but i coudnt get the door open as he started blocking the door way with fast threatening movements

i love him to death but he is starting to make me afraid of him :-(

 

[BIGBANG]

Might be going to shed?

she said it been over the past few months,
i would check that is doesnt have mites, did you check its last shed to make sure it hasnt retained any? esspecially its eye scale

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have you looked in DPS ( diamond python syndrome) as far as i know it effects older snakes tho

 

[amy23l]

no i didnt check, in fact i didnt even know i had to check. he was given to me from a friend who moved over seas about a year ago so i have very little snake experience.

perhaps i should take him to the vet... i just have to somehow get him out of the tank 1st! lol

 

[5potted]

It could be that this is his first year at a "mature" age and the fact the breeding season has just been over the past few months?

 

[Jackrabbit]

Perhaps he senses the new baby and is jealous

 

[cools2036]

Try and hook him out of the enclosure . Feed in a tub if possible. Be Patient and slowly start to use you hands to handle him.
Use the hook daily for a couple weeks. Place Him in the grass and use the hook to guide his head and your hand to hold him by the tail. Watch his behavior and as you start to recognize his behavior get more confident in holding him more with the hands.
Aggression in males can come this time of year, it increases from their reproductive hormones during breeding season.
Though diamonds are usually year round teddybears.
Keep feeds regular and be patient with handling.
Keep us updated

 

[Hyper]

My diamond got snappy a while back and I couldn't figure it out until I realised the thermostat had been bumped up somehow and it was too hot for her. My male has also recently started becoming snappy, and I don't know for sure but am putting it down to that time of year and he is now for the first time in a room with my female. Separate enclosures, but next to each other.

 

[amy23l]

thanks for the advice, i will cetainly take it because i cant risk having him being cranky especially once my daughter starts getting older & i dont want to resort to leaving him in the encloure all the time its not fair to him

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also the tank i was given from my friend is only a small 2ft tank so i am getting him a bigger 4ft tank next week. will this be big enough for him. he is about 5ft now and im guessing he still has a bit of growing to do?

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i dont have a heater on or a thermostat... i have a thermometer which usually reads around 27 deg celc & i have his tank next to a window so he can get natural daylight
is this what i should be doing?

 

[Coppersimon]

He sounds hungry to me. I would try him on a large rat. I would think a 4 foot tank to small. If you going to spend a bit of money on a new enclosure and have a bit of space in the back yard bunnings has a aviary for around $180. Depending on where you live a diamond shouldn't need heat if it is outside.
It's been a strange year for diamonds in my area anyway. I'm sure with a bit more food in his gut he will calm down and if you can give him a bit more room he will be in heaven.

 

[animal805]

^^^+1 I have my Diamond in one of these aviaries and she loves it. These are old pics and interior has been deorated and lined with rock walls etc, but you get the point

 

[cools2036]

Be carefull about leaving his enclosure in direct sunlight. This can cause the greenhouse effect and make it a sweat box. Ambient temps are good enough for diamonds. It's same as where they're from.
I don't even use heat in summer (Sydney) only a 5hr a day basking downlight.
I use a 4ft x 2x 18" tank to house 2 x 4ft diamonds ATM and its plenty for them.

 

[amy23l]

Be carefull about leaving his enclosure in direct sunlight. This can cause the greenhouse effect and make it a sweat box. Ambient temps are good enough for diamonds. It's same as where they're from.
I don't even use heat in summer (Sydney) only a 5hr a day basking downlight.
I use a 4ft x 2x 18" tank to house 2 x 4ft diamonds ATM and its plenty for them.

this is good to know, i am in newcastle so out weather patterns are similar, i will invest in a basking downlight aswel as i only have a ceramic heat lamp which have been using during cooler times

 

[shaunyboy]

thanks for the advice, i will cetainly take it because i cant risk having him being cranky especially once my daughter starts getting older & i dont want to resort to leaving him in the encloure all the time its not fair to him

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also the tank i was given from my friend is only a small 2ft tank so i am getting him a bigger 4ft tank next week. will this be big enough for him. he is about 5ft now and im guessing he still has a bit of growing to do?

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i dont have a heater on or a thermostat... i have a thermometer which usually reads around 27 deg celc & i have his tank next to a window so he can get natural daylight
is this what i should be doing?

your heat source needs a thermostat,so you have control of the temperatues

a 2ft tank with an un stated heat source,will not give much of a temperature gradient,he won't really have much of a cool side

direct sunlight can also cause the temps in a tank to rise fast and high

i would also check for mites

re my Diamonds
i use 2.0 natural sunlight uvb bulbs to heat them

they get a basking spot of 90F,the legnth of time the lights on depends on which season it is

its winter over here right now,so my Diamonds are in their cooling cycle,they currently get a basking spot for 2 to 4 hours per day,then no more heat,ambient day temps of 60F to low 70F,their current night time temps are 50F to 60F

i have found Diamonds like cooler temperatures than the rest of the carpets

i would highly recomend...

Keeping and Breeding Australian Pythons,edited by Mike Swan

it contains all you will ever need regards carpet keeping

cheers shaun

 

[AtomicForby]

Same here, we have a female diamond python 3 years old. We've had her for about 6 months and she has just bitten my daughter. This is why I found this site - to try and get more info.

I just came home from work and checked on her like I always do - she struck at the glass. She shed about 6 weeks ago. She was fed less than 48 hours ago. Her heater is off as we're in Qld and the house is locked up all day.

I don't want to become afraid of her, but it's a bit daunting to stick your hand in when she's giving you a death stare lol.

Help!!

 

[cools2036]

Same here, we have a female diamond python 3 years old. We've had her for about 6 months and she has just bitten my daughter. This is why I found this site - to try and get more info.

I just came home from work and checked on her like I always do - she struck at the glass. She shed about 6 weeks ago. She was fed less than 48 hours ago. Her heater is off as we're in Qld and the house is locked up all day.

I don't want to become afraid of her, but it's a bit daunting to stick your hand in when she's giving you a death stare lol.

Help!!

What size food are you feeding it?
And when or after feeding do you wash your hands?
Or have pets such as cats or rabbits that your daughter or you pat/ play with?

 

[cement]

There is a few reasons that the snake is becoming ''aggressive".
1. Summer heat
2. Summer hunger
3. captive stress.

Its normal for any snake to follow movement outside its enclosure at this time of year. This is their time to feed. They only feed for 4-6mths of the year so in summer when temps are up they make the most of it. A 4.5ft diamond will eat an adult ringtailed possum, digest it in a week and be out looking for food again the next day. All they want at this time of year is food, and the warm temps create the perfect conditions to be mobile at night.
I reckon in your case though, there might be captive stress involved too, due to husbandry issues. The enclosure is way too small, and it doesn't sound like it contains adequate conditions for a diamond python.
Do as much research as possible and be prepared to spend a few hundred bucks and a lot of time getting it sorted. Diamonds can be placid snakes and have a rep as one of the most placid, but they are still snakes and prone to bite at times.

 

[amy23l]

thanks everyone for the advice... i have since got my boy a much much bigger enclosure, fed him a rat twice the size of the ones i was feeding him, put in a thermostate controlled heat source & i have actually ditched the hook & iv successfully been able to get him out of the enclosure with my hands twice now... il just take my time to recondition him so he gets use to being out of the enclosure more regularly