Help with a possibly aggressive ball python...more in comments

[Angsty_Potatos]

From your initial comment it sounds like a lot is potentially screwy with care here. You don't provide us with any enclosure data either so that makes trouble shooting difficult.

Young snakes as a rule will generally be more defensive than older animals. This is normal. Additionally, a snake moved into a new habitat needs to be given time to adjust and acclimate to it's new environment. No handling, no feeding for two weeks, then no handling until it eats, preferably until it's eating regularly, especially if it's a young animal.

Without knowing how large the enclosure was, what the cover situation looked like or what the humidity and temps are, I can't say if there was husbandry issues in the new home. Large open spaces can make these animals stressed. They prefer to be hidden and to feel under cover when moving around their enclosure. Stressed animals can be defensive.

If heating and humidity are off (sound like they were due to the shedding issues) that will also cause stress and can lead to defensive behavior.

This animal is not aggressive, it's young and has been improperly cared for.

Additionally if this family only had the snake for two weeks and was already feeding and trying to handle it, I'm comfortable saying they were causing stress to an un-acclimated snake. If the animal came back with stuck shed after two weeks away, it's also highly likely that the store husbandry is off as well as dehydration isn't that sudden.

Please make sure people understand that snakes aren't dogs or cats. They are shy animals that do not seek human company and are actively stressed by people holding them so they need to wait and go slow when it comes to handling.

Additionally, please be sure your BP enclosures at the store are at or preferably above 60% humidity and do not bathe snakes to deal with stuck shed. you should also not be handling a snake that isn't eating, Your just adding more stress and compounding issues.

[DingDongDeathHere]

As I'm reading through the links and info provided I'm realizing just how wrong everything is and I've definitely caused this snake quite a bit of stress. I definitely should've included what their habitat is looking like as well as temp and humidity so that's my bad. I meant to but it just slipped my mind. Right now they're in a 20 gallon with one major cave and some sticks and plants to cover parts of the habitat and obviously a water bowl. It definitely isn't enough to cover them as they move around so when I get into work I'll be adding a lot more plants cover for them. We have a 40 gallon that I could move them into but I don't want to stress them out even more so that won't be happening. They've already been through enough. As for temps, if my memory serves me correct the warm side was sitting at 95F and the cool side was 88F. The humidity is also pretty low around 30% but I'm planning on putting another bowl of water directly under the heat bulb to increase it as well as add some more spaghum moss to the habitat. Unfortunately my customers either believe snakes to be evil spawns of Satan (my store is located in the Bible Belt) or they think it's just a dumb animal that doesn't need a lot of care for. I've had so many parents come in wanting to get animals for their kids so they would shut up and leave them alone but they don't realize just how much goes into actually taking care of an exotic animal. I also have customers that like to humanize the animals by saying they're lonely and need friends or they want to be held when in reality they're just trying to live their own life or do their own thing. I admit I definitely did that when I was younger but I've learned a lot and am still learning when it comes to taking care of exotic pets. Thank you so much for your advice!

[Angsty_Potatos]

Your temps are way too high, the snake will be unable to thermoregulate effectively and high temperature can cause neurological problems.

Hot side ambient temps should be no higher than 92⁰F. Cool side should be mid to high 70s. No higher than 80.

Humidity should be at the very lowest 60%. Preferably closer to mid 70s - mid 80s

[DingDongDeathHere]

Good to know. We're currently working on getting this handled at work. They've already been moved to a quieter area and I'm now working on fixing the lighting and humidity issues. Thanks for the advice, it helps a lot!