HELP! Very angry girl

[Sphynx]

Hi All! I am new to RTB and I'm a new snake owner. I have a 5 month old wild caught Ball Python. I have only had her a couple weeks and am very unexperienced. She was fine for a week, seemed happy and would allow me to hold her, but Monday, when I came home from work and went to check her, she bit me! It didn't hurt, just scared me pretty bad I thought she may be hungry, so I went and got 2 mice, killed them and tried to feed one to her but she acted like she was afraid of it and went to the other side of the tank....and ever since then, she has been striking at the glass anytime I walk by....any ideas on why she is being so nasty? ANY info will be helpful, I am very new to snakes....
Thanks!
Sphynx

[toker]

Welcome to the site!!

How about a little information you your setup?

Size of setup?
Temps?
Humidity?

Has this critter ever ate for you?

[xxxjustinxxx]

i have seen wild caught bp's to be mean, but if she was fine the first week then i see no reason for her to just turn into the devil in such a short period. i would give her a cuple days, dont touch her just let her do her snake thing(you know sleep and lay their), i would buy 2 fuzzies and prekill one, if she still refuses the dead one, put a live one in their, (sometimes the live prey jumps starts their feeding response) when i had a wild caught this worked for me and i know its not good, but i would say just give it a shot, if she still refuses, leave the dead one in their over nite and cover her cage up so you cant see in and she cant see out. (they are known to be nocturnal feeders) if you still need more help or any question just post.

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

[toker]

Though I agree with most of what Justin said, only having the critter two weeks there really is no reason to think about live yet.

Trust me I am soo not wanting to turn this into a live/FT debate. There are many options to explore before going extream.

[toker]

I just want to clarify a few points as to why I said the above.

Balls are crazy snakes, they can get into a habbit that is very hard to break. Only having this critter two weeks, WC or not, really isnt enough time to get a feel for the critter. If at all possible you want to get the ball into a habbit right off if possible that is a good one instead of trying to back peddle down the road.

	Wild caught wild caught

[brownsfan222]

maybe the snake was stressed for the first week and once it got settled in it started being mean, or the cage temps changed quickly im no expert though

[wreckwriter]

Toker is right, balls are known to be "funny". Give the snake some time (2 or 3 days) to settle down before you try to feed again. When you do try, use appropriately sized prey and do kill it first. If no go, first thing to try is a mouse that is not completely white (assuming the refused prey was. If not, try a white one).

[Sphynx]

Thanks , guys I will try your suggestions! I need all the help I can get as I am still a bit afraid of her

[Sphynx]

Thanks again

[jonjpl]

I think Toker is right give her a couple of days to settle.