Nippy Newcomer

[Partran]

So on Feb 7th I picked up a new hognose male from a local supplier and am concerned because, especially in the last week or week and a half, he's become very bitey when handled.

When I first got him he was heading into shed and wasn't taking food. After about 9 days he took his first pinkie and I have been feeding him every 3-4 days since then. At first he would bluff his frozen/thawed food items but now takes them without incident. However now he's taking to trying to bite me anytime I handle him. It's not a fast strike as if he's biting defensively but a slow attempt to treat me like food.

The first feeding I feel I made an error of handling the feeder with my bare hands, though I fed him with tongs, and may have associated my scent with food to him. All future feedings have been made without touching the mouse directly and feeding via tongs to prevent this.

He had made a couple of lazy attempts prior, but last Thursday he got a very solid bite on me and afterwards my finger had swollen up dramatically for three days. I'm not a breeder and am just hoping to have a pet that can be periodically handled without incident, but am starting to have my concerns about this little fellow.

He doesn't appear stressed, he rarely bluffs/hisses and never when being handled. Yet he keeps trying to bite my hands. I try and limit my handling to about 5 or so minutes one to two times per day until he's better acclimated. I'm concerned because I am attempting to associate handling without feeding but still he keeps attempting to bite me. Is there anyone with any kind of advice as to try and teach him that I am not an acceptable foodstuff?

[Felidae]

Wow.. that's funny! I have the biggest hisser, buffer, attacker, cobralike baby male in the world history, who can act like crazy if you just click up the light in the room. I hold every time the feeders in my bare hands, but he never ever try to eat me when I handled him.
You wash or disinfect your hands before handle the snake?

[bcr229]

Sounds like he's hungry not nippy. I would wear gloves for a while, or apply something like lemon-scent hand sanitizer to my hands before handling him. I've also used a cotton ball soaked with white vinegar to convince my king snakes and boas to let go of me if I get a food-response bite - they really don't like the smell at all.

[Partran]

Wow.. that's funny! I have the biggest hisser, buffer, attacker, cobralike baby male in the world history, who can act like crazy if you just click up the light in the room. I hold every time the feeders in my bare hands, but he never ever try to eat me when I handled him.
You wash or disinfect your hands before handle the snake?

I wash my hands each time before holding him, or any of my snakes, and he's otherwise very relaxed. His cage is on my desk and he'll just stay in a sedate little coil and watch or have just his head poked out of the aspen chips. He only hisses/bluffs rarely and generally I can understand why. The biting is a slow lazy thing that I almost 100% owe to him mistaking my hands for food. Other than gloves and time I'm at a loss for what to do to further acclimate this little guy.

I don't handle prey before him, we don't own any mammal pets. No rodents or anything of the sort. He's fed pinky mice alternating every 3 or 4 days with a hemostat and lately I've taken precautions not to even touch the mouse before feeding in case it transfers my scent onto the feeder.

[Partran]

Sounds like he's hungry not nippy. I would wear gloves for a while, or apply something like lemon-scent hand sanitizer to my hands before handling him. I've also used a cotton ball soaked with white vinegar to convince my king snakes and boas to let go of me if I get a food-response bite - they really don't like the smell at all.

I've prevented him getting an actual hold on me every time but one. That one he got a hold of me and, having experienced python bites before I just let him get it out of his system. Then he got the rear fangs involved and I had to gently chivvy him off with some sterile tongue depressors I keep on hand. My finger became very swollen and sore for a day and then took 2 more to fully get back to normal. So I'm hesitant to let him do that again.

I've got gloves on the way and have picked up a snake hook. As for hungry, he gets fed a pinky mouse on a 3 day/4 day rotating schedule via hemostat.

[Felidae]

Sounds everything okay In this case I don't think he try to eat you cause of the smell and you cannot do much more than what you do already. If you got lucky he'll realize soon that you're not food.

edit*: try to avoid the bites. If he take it really slow,how you sad, you can change his position in your hand without really shocking or scare him.