New Volta Girl Help

[Mikeshrews1]

Just received a Volta girl @ 4600 grams. I know she is scared, but she comes across as a real *******. She strikes at everything, very similar to a hatchling. If you are within a foot of her open tub she is gonna try and tag you. I've held her a few times about 15 minutes at a time, and she stays ready to strike the whole time. She's obviously wild caught and all my experience is with captive balls. Can you guys give me some pointers on how to tame her down? Maybe a good handling schedule? Also the last couple times she strikes at me, I have been using something to touch her on the head to get her to ball up, so that she is learning that striking will not chase me away, but I am not sure this is what I should do?

[Bogertophis]

When you say "you just received..." exactly how many days has she been under your care?

New homes (especially after shipping too) are absolutely terrifying & confusing to a snake. For BEST results, do not try to handle at all until after they've taken at least 3 meals without hesitation at normal intervals (unless in shed, then it's normal to skip meals). Eating, for the health of any snake, is "job 1", & handling can delay that greatly. Snakes need a week or two (typically) before they're even willing to eat, & many need much more.

What you're seeing is not necessarily the behavior of a wild caught- all BPs, even those captive bred, are wild animals in the sense that they rely on their instincts to survive. Nothing in their instincts prepares them to be rehomed, much less handled by what to them is a giant predator that's likely about to eat them. Her attitude is quite normal. With patience, most snakes calm down in our presence, but it depends on our level of empathy too, in my experience. Slow down.

[bcr229]

The Intrepid Exotics video series on taming down a Sri Lankan python would be worth watching for techniques on how to tame down a defensive critter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhB0...igiIpX&index=4

[Mikeshrews1]

When you say "you just received..." exactly how many days has she been under your care?

New homes (especially after shipping too) are absolutely terrifying & confusing to a snake. For BEST results, do not try to handle at all until after they've taken at least 3 meals without hesitation at normal intervals (unless in shed, then it's normal to skip meals). Eating, for the health of any snake, is "job 1", & handling can delay that greatly. Snakes need a week or two (typically) before they're even willing to eat, & many need much more.

What you're seeing is not necessarily the behavior of a wild caught- all BPs, even those captive bred, are wild animals in the sense that they rely on their instincts to survive. Nothing in their instincts prepares them to be rehomed, much less handled by what to them is a giant predator that's likely about to eat them. Her attitude is quite normal. With patience, most snakes calm down in our presence, but it depends on our level of empathy too, in my experience. Slow down.

I hear you, but I've got about 10 adults shipped in over the years. Plus more at shows. And my brothers have gotten more than me. And never had such a fearful ball. I've had her for a few weeks, but she hasn't been fed yet. Due to be fed this week

[Armiyana]

Sadly, you're still going to occasionally have a captive bred with this personality. It just happens. So even just her being the one wild caught with this attitude happens. I have a CBB one just like this.

She's better now, not ready to fly out of the tub for you right away.... But still thinks about it and if you give her enough time, she will. Some are just very defensive.

Short and regular handling sessions are definitely a good idea. You can also try sitting somewhere quiet with her wrapped in a pillow case or a sweater so she can get used to your smell and such.
Tap training like you are right now is basically Switching from the active defense to the more passive defense. So that's not a bad thing. It still is something that could be making her nervous though since she is wild caught.

Just don't expect her to become an animal that you can hand off to anyone to handle. She will most likely always be defensive and will only tolerate handling with you because she'll understand that you don't intend to hurt her.
And by not expecting much, if she DOES turn around and become easily handleable, congrats!
Every snake does have their own personality. So if this is her, just keep her healthy and 'happy'. I've learned the limit for my girl. She's one of 2 spicy defensive BPs I have. Then I have a couple of shy ones and then I have 3 super sweet and interactive ones.

[Bogertophis]

I hear you, but I've got about 10 adults shipped in over the years. Plus more at shows. And my brothers have gotten more than me. And never had such a fearful ball. I've had her for a few weeks, but she hasn't been fed yet. Due to be fed this week

I picked up on the fact that this isn't your first rodeo, but there is still some percentage of c/b BPs that have this sort of personality. Same for other kinds of snakes too.

BTW, I've kept hundreds of various kinds of snakes, including about 10 BPs over almost 4 decades. One of the worst (at least at the beginning) was a yearling BCI that changed hands many times in her first terrifying year of life, before she was given to me as pretty much her last chance. Even a snake-keeping vet-tech gave up on her, she was so good at biting. I wasn't looking to have a larger boa & had a house full of snakes already, but I just figured maybe I could calm her down & then later on, rehome her. I'm pretty good at calming snakes down.

She constantly coiled & tried to strike, not bluffing at all, so I put a small towel over her so she was enclosed, & held her calmly on my lap for 30-45 minutes at a time. Most people say to keep handling short, but the most stressful thing is when we first approach & pick up a snake, & the second worst time for them (when they're most likely to bite) is when they're being put back into their homes. So I don't hold with short handling times, but rather slow & relaxed sessions, maybe 2-3 times a week, but not every day.

Snakes very seldom bite thru towels. In this way she learned my scent & touch- while feeling warm & safe, but without actually seeing this "big scary monster" that was holding her. Only after about a month or so of doing that was she calm enough to allow her to peek out. At first she coiled but realizing nothing had changed, she finally figured out that there was no enemy she needed to bite. Within 2 months of taking in this snap-dragon, she was okay to handle without a towel, & in all the years I had her, she never did bite me even once. In fact, she turned into such a big cuddly boa (over 7.5').

Anyway, that's how I'd handle this BP. Most snakes can be calmed down, & it's always worth trying, & trying hard. Put yourself in their scales...& remember that in the wild, according to their instincts, the only thing that picks them up is a predator that's about to eat them. We'd be hysterical too, I guarantee it.

[Bogertophis]

The Intrepid Exotics video series on taming down a Sri Lankan python would be worth watching for techniques on how to tame down a defensive critter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhB0...igiIpX&index=4

@bcr229- Beautiful snakes & a good video (made me laugh..."been there")

To the OP: The video shows that as you handle a frightened snake, you need to "be the ground" while "tiring them out" (stay under them, & don't give them targets, like your hands or face).
But that first snake was really squirrely, because to him, danger was everywhere- including the guy holding him. The advantage of sitting down with a snake wrapped in a towel for a while is that they calm down as they learn your scent & touch- then all they have to accept is our appearance (including size), but it's not as stressful as being out in the open while being held by a stranger- not at all. And you can do that while watching a movie- just don't fall asleep, haha. Take your time with snakes, especially the ones that really need it.

[bcr229]

The towel or pillow technique works well with ball pythons because they do the coil/hide thing as a defense, so they prefer to hide versus run if possible. The defensive abused juvenile burm I got was the same way; she was very grabby and instead of running would prefer to cling to your hand and strike at your face or stitch your arm as a defense. She was never really a runner.

The Sri Lankan python in the video was the opposite; he's a runner. My defensive boas were like this too, and it's harder to deal with that because if you hold onto them too tightly they feel confined by your hands, but you don't want to drop them either. If you notice in the video, the snake is being supported on the back of the hand versus the palm.

[Bogertophis]

The towel or pillow technique works well with ball pythons because they do the coil/hide thing as a defense, so they prefer to hide versus run if possible. The defensive abused juvenile burm I got was the same way; she was very grabby and instead of running would prefer to cling to your hand and strike at your face or stitch your arm as a defense. She was never really a runner.

The Sri Lankan python in the video was the opposite; he's a runner. My defensive boas were like this too, and it's harder to deal with that because if you hold onto them too tightly they feel confined by your hands, but you don't want to drop them either. If you notice in the video, the snake is being supported on the back of the hand versus the palm.

The only "goofy" snake I have currently is my Korean rat snake- he's a "runner" & a thrasher too- he doesn't tolerate any tight holding, but we have an understanding now- a routine for tank cleaning- & I haven't had a nip from him in years. Some rat snakes I've had start off like that, like the Taiwan Beauty rat snakes I had (more like racers) but with patience, they settle down okay- so I hate to generalize- I just try to get inside the head of whatever snake I'm holding, because they all have their own personality & perspective anyway. It helps to know what to expect from a species, but we also have to be ready to adjust our techniques. Go with the flow...when they panic, I let them "climb" thru my hands a while too.

I've never dealt with a Sri Lankan python, so I can't say that a towel method would work or not, but many snakes feel threatened when out in the open, as this one was, so it was hard to know if it was that, or being held by a strange human that was most bothersome. I'd say both. Pretty good juggling act though.

[Homebody]

Would you be so kind as to favor us with pics? You don't see Voltas very often.