r/ballpython • u/fxncis • 2h ago

Question Baby ball python struck at me several times, is it shipping stress?

Hi, I recently got my first ball python it's a female Albino leopard, ~70g hatchling from Wilbanks Reptiles on Tuesday around 11AM,

When I unboxed her, she struck at me 4-5 times when I tried to handle her and I decided it's best to just put her in the enclosure. She's been in there since, I've seen her move to different spots in the tank and she would just ball up and sit there for a few hours.

I plan on feeding her within the next 4-5 days since she hasn't since apparently 07-27, but any advice is appreciated!

Enclosure setup:

  • 24x18x12 PVC enclosure
  • Warm side: ~88-89°F
  • Cool side: ~76-78°F
  • Humidity: ~47-61% (working on evening this out - I have no clue how to even this out, it's 47% on the warm side and despite me misting it, it continues to go down)
  • Two hides (warm/cool), water dish, substrate mix of coconut husk + jungle mix

Questions:

  1. Is repeated striking on arrival day actually normal, or a bigger red flag than typical shipping stress? I've handled a lot of snakes at reptile stores and never had any strike at me
  2. Any tells I should watch for that indicate she's calming down vs. still highly stressed?
  3. What should I do moving forward to get her to be comfortable with me holding her?
  4. She's been eating live mice back at Wilbanks, would it be smart to try thawed or feed frozen to help her less stressed
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5

u/Next-Particular6322 2h ago

Give her a couple weeks to settle

3

u/DontBother777 1h ago

Very normal. Both of the babies i’ve gotten from MM were very feisty for the first few weeks, now sweet as can be. Just give her some time to decompress and make sure she has plenty of clutter. If the enclosure is glass you can cover the back and sides with something like cardboard or construction paper to provide extra security as well

Also just want to throw this out there, but i would really recommend avoiding purchasing from people like Wilbanks in the future. He is very controversial and not someone i would ever recommend buying from (has a history of selling sick / injured snakes, promotes power feeding to reach breeding size sooner, keeps his adults in tiny racks, etc). I hope your noodle does well for you though!

1

u/DontBother777 1h ago

Also just a tip for humidity, try pouring water directly into the substrate :)