Bull snake showing his true colours?? :/

[Ronmayron]

thank you trevo, seems about right haha i will bear that in mind thank you.

thanks jclaiborne i will have to get some, its not that im worried about the pain its just i dont want a snake that will bite as a first time pet.

[jclaiborne]

thank you trevo, seems about right haha i will bear that in mind thank you.

thanks jclaiborne i will have to get some, its not that im worried about the pain its just i dont want a snake that will bite as a first time pet.

Totally understand...I know the first time I was bit the strike scared me more than anything because they are so fast. Besides the gloves if you are still worried wear a long sleeve as well that way you don't have any skin exposed. Once you start to get a little more confident and handle him more hopefully both of you will calm down.

[Raven01]

In most cases it is bluff, even my most laid back bull would do this at first, interestingly enough this is the only species that has not tagged me yet.

Don´t let the hissing and rattling intimidate you if you do you will never be able to handle your bull. And if your snake sense fear you will certainly get tagged as well.

Great advice right there ^. And, in the post prior to it.

The move is likely to stress the snake. A stressed snake is probably going to be less tolerant to handling.

And, if you continually back off from the bluffs, you will teach the snake that aggressive behavior results in being left alone. Ending up with a snake that isn't going to be handled/handle-able.
We get tagged when we are either being dumb(I've been dumb a couple times and my snakes have still not taken it upon themselves to teach me better) or when we mis-read bluffs for actual fear response when they are going to stand their ground.

[eatgoodfood]

his temps and such are good, he doesnt need feeding till thursday . He shed a few weeks ago and has no cloudy eyes. and he has plenty of hiding places.. and it matters because im not ust to a snake not being nasty but that comment seemed like it had a hint of hate in it.(: thank you for the questions though.

No hate just some ideas. Also didnt know that you were new to snakes. Just from your origional post seemed like you were messing with him and his enclosure a lot and that he hadnt had a chance to settle into his new home.

[John1982]

Bull snakes can be a handful when they don't want to be hassled but are 99% bark and largely harmless. When you handle, just pretend your pit is a toothless old grouch; have no fear of repercussions. If and when you eventually get tagged(almost an inevitability when working with snakes), take a moment and access the actual pain - you'll probably laugh out loud. Then again, if you try kissing an angry bull's nose and get tagged on your eyeball you can skip the laughing part. In my experience, it's when they're in a squirmy, I gotta get out of here, mood that they're the hardest to handle. I have little doubt you'll have your boy calm in no time with regular, good handling sessions.

[Ronmayron]

thank you john, i will bear that in mind haha He seemed very slow and calm before anyway haha but the guy who owned him before is coming to help me tomorrow so i can get to know what the snake prefers thanks

[NH93]

I am not an owner of bull snakes, but I had a VERY aggressive corn (which is odd in and of itself) for my first snake. I still have her, and she is still new to me. I can tell you though, I was bit countless times by her - she didn't just bluff when she felt threatened. Mind you, she's not a 6ft "beast" as you say, but she did draw blood. Honestly, I was just offended that she was so upset with me. That was my problem.
Once I got it in my head that "okay, she's going to bite me, just accept it and take her out anyway - only put her back when she's nice" did things work out. We had one really bad day where I did have to put on gloves, and she sat with me for a good 30 minutes until she calmed down. After that, she has only bitten me once (and it wasn't a strike, it was a nip... that I don't even understand because it was like a puppy bite - but that's besides the point).

So it's been months, and she's like a different snake. Once she got relaxed and settled, which took almost 3 weeks, she started getting more confident. It took her 6+ weeks to come out of her hides while I was in the room. Now, she's out every night, she's active, she's polite with company and lets others pet and hold her, etc.

It just takes time. Please do not be discouraged!! Patience is key. Just make sure your bull's vive is all good (of course the more hides the better - and not just those half log hides, but realllllly dark ones, like rock hides and whatnot) and that he/she is eating, and it will happen.

Best of luck!

[Ronmayron]

Thank you i got enough courage and plucked him out quickly, he was hissing alot of the time but was just sitting there so i think hes just a very vocal snake but the guy explained how to get him and that his kids always got him out and that so i got alot of confidence from that. He just explored my bed and went through my top haha but i stroked near his head and on his head and he was great like a totally different snake. I think he is just pretty territorial of his viv, but thats all fine and hes had his first rat here too (boiled). He did eat it on the wood bark flooring but hes always been fed like that so i guess it will be fine he ignored my other pets (even though the dog left quickly haha) thanks everyone x

[MootWorm]

Wait... A boiled rat? Never had a bull, but do you mean thawed? I don't think it's generally recommended to cook snake food.

[Ronmayron]

haha yes sorry my mistake well he gobbled it down quickly and is in his log again