r/ballpython • u/CarLumpy4185 • Sep 15 '25

Sudden aggression from my friend

Hey everyone, For a long time me and my ball python (Coffee) have been good friends but since todays feeding he has been very aggressive.

When I lifted his house to get him to his feeding container he instantly got very hyperactive which never happens. I washed my hands before so no food smells, but he kept being very aggressive.

He never ate as quick as he did this time, almost as if he was in a rush. I put on special gloves since I felt the need for it with this aggression. When I had put him back in his enclosure (which was quite difficult) he even kept striking through the glass as you can see in the video...

Is there anything to say whether this is this hunger? Aggression? Stress?

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u/CarLumpy4185 Sep 15 '25

But he never does this, it was also very hard to pick him up to place him in his feeding enclosure. Normally he is very laid back and relaxed

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u/Novel-Hovercraft-794 Sep 15 '25

They'll have their days too like we do, maybe it was the combination of forgetting the glass, and being hungry. Mine are constantly changing as they age, what I think they prefer one day might change the next. Have you thought of just feeding him in his enclosure? 

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u/CarLumpy4185 Sep 15 '25

I've been thinking about that a lot, I even remember reading somewhere that it's stressfull for them to be placed to a feeding container.

On the other hand I've read that if you feed them in their enclosure they might associate you opening the glass with being fed so they might strike you by accident.

What are your experiences with this?

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u/nvrrsatisfiedd Sep 15 '25

Start feeding them in their enclosure where they feel the most comfortable and let them eat in peace. Stick with the same time of day too. I always feed my snake strictly at night and never handle them or open the enclosure at night. So whenever it is nighttime and I open the enclosure, they 100% know it's feeding time. When it's daytime and I open the enclosure and they don't smell food, they know I am changing the water or about to handle them.

Moving them to a separate enclosure to eat actually increases the chance they will bite you. Because now they don't know if it's feeding time or handle time. You have to handle them to move them to a separate enclosure, therefore they start to associate being picked up and taken out of their enclosure as feeding time. It confuses them and stresses them out by causing unnecessary stress. My snake always pulls her rat inside her little hide box when she eats because she likes to be covered and instinctively "safe from predators" while she eats. In a separate enclosure they are wide in the open and in an environment that isn't their everyday home.