aggerssive 2 yr old ball python

[shay]

so i have a question...had my ball for little over 2 years now he was good for the first bout year and a half. Feed him frozen mice, have a sepret feeding tank and hold him at least once every second day...I had to move a cupple of times and for prob 7 months been working a day and a night job so his feeding and contact time has been messed all up. back down to one job and a bit more time but he's go really aggerssive now cant even open the tank without him strikeing at least once. this has been going on for bout a month. i know its my fault he acting this way but does anyone have any advice they can lend to get him back on track

[infernalis]

http://www.thamfriends.com/mat.jpg

I don't know what to say, our BP is the calmest most docile snake I have ever owned, and sometimes he gets ignored for weeks at a time??

One thing.. rats are better than mice, all the way around.

I feed our BP small rats, he loves them, and they are far more lean with more solid meat than mice have.

[Nafun]

I have four royals (I refuse to say "I have four balls"), and the only thing I can think is that he's being offered prey that's way too small. At two years, he should be on small to medium rats. Unfortunately, at this point, you're going to have a hell of a time switching him, they're imprint feeders.

The striking could be hunger. Get a live mouse, keep it in a cage. Rub dead feeder rats in its soiled bedding before offering them (make sure no bedding remains stuck to its fur).

Beyond that, the only advice I can give is the same that I give to new bp owners.
Make sure he's kept in a dark, quiet room. No tv blaring and flashing, no constant stream of people wandering through, no window with people and animals walking by, etc. Make sure he has a temperature gradient of about 78-85 with hides on either side.

When handling him, wear gloves and long sleeves. He's going to strike at you, and if you flinch, you're reinforcing with him that striking "works". If you wear gloves and long sleeves, it won't hurt, so you won't flinch. Non-social animals tend to separate things into three groups "predator", "prey", and "thing". The goal with taming any typically solitary animal is to get it to stop considering you a "predator". Also, it sounds counter-intuitive, but when you pick him up, approach him from the front so he can see you coming. He may strike, but it will stress him out much less than if he's suddenly picked up by something he didn't see coming.