Scared/cranky Blood

[AkHerps]

My blood will be a year old in a couple months and I fear I didn't hold him enough in his first year of life to make him tame. I only held him maybe once a week because I wanted him to be comfortable. But unlike my ball, who got more comfortable, the blood seems to have gotten more scared or cranky.

Is it too late to tame him down with regular handeling? I don't want to traumatize him too much. He hisses constantly for about 5 minutes while he is first out. I try to keep him on my lap and let him burrow in a towel or shirt and he calms down. Then he doesn't hiss very much he just moves fast and flails and seems really nervous. He has never struck at me, although at times he rears his head up to look at me while hissing. I just ignore him and grab him, which really gets his hissing going haha.

Is this right or wrong? With time could he get better? He gets fed on sundays, so I was thinking wednesday, thursday, friday, short 10 minute sessions. 5 minutes of hissing, 5 minutes of not hissing

[cecilbturtle]

he can calm down. whats his enclosure like? is it too big? i keep balled up paper all around my bloods enclosures. they seem to feel more secure when they venture out of their hides.

try holding him with a towel covering most of his body. i'd even try keeping him out for longer periods. not much longer but around 10 minutes or so.

[AkHerps]

Well right now he is in a tub that is way too small for him. I'm setting him up in something this week that is probably a little too big for him but I needed to buy a tub he could grow into because the radiant heat panels are too expensive to buy a new one every time he needs an upgrade. The new tub will be 36x16x12.
He is about 45-50 inches long, so I figure he can stay in the big tub for probably another year or so.

It has newspaper everywhere, balled up and scrunched up, and a large water dish. I was thinking of putting some cardboard cereal box hides or something under the newspaper to fill up more space.

My friends think my tubs are so crappy when they see them, but my snakes eat every week and shed like champs, so ugly has no place here!

[cecilbturtle]

can you post pics? how do you have your RHP installed?

[Kara]

With regards to caging, if you can move your snake into a bigger tub than the 36", you may want to consider doing so. Not sure what you have available for totes out in your neck of the woods (I recall you saying it's relatively slim pickins), but keep your eyes out for a bigger enclosure if possible. If you can get your hands on a Christmas tree storage tub, that may ultimately be your best bet, and will give your snake plenty of room so that you're not having to switch enclosures around too often. Ultimately 36" x 16" x 12" is going to be a little snug if your snake is 50", especially when you're working with a RHP to regulate temps.

Bloods & short-tails are all very vocal. They have a large primary lung that is over half their body length, so it is normal to hear a lot of hissy huffing and puffing when you handle them. There's a marked difference between this and an actual PO'd "leave me alone" hiss.

Keep in mind that the more confident and nonchalant you are towards your blood's behavior while handling, the more the snake will calm down with short, frequent handling sessions. Try to always end them on a positive note. These snakes remember negative experiences and also learn pretty quickly that if they throw a fit & you put them away, you'll continue to leave them alone, hence they'll continue to throw fits.

Calm, frequent interaction (just a few minutes a day) is key with these snakes. Develop a routine that allows your snake to anticipate handling on a regular basis, be patient, and you'll see some changes in behavior.

Good luck!

K~

[AkHerps]

So the 36x16x12 is too small? It looks so huge compared to him lol
Christmas tree totes won't be around until december, and to get one shipped here it's going to cost me over $200, which is why I went with the tub I am going to put him in.

But if it's too small I can search around town but I think I found the biggest sterilite tub we have.

I had the RHP running withoutba thermostat to see if it would get the correct temps one the warm and cool side and it got hotter than I wanted so when it's time to put him in it i'll Plug it into his thermostat and will get an 84-80 hot and cool side temps. The RHPs are amazing!

I kind of thought of him like a dog, so I always end on a positove note and only Put him bqck after he has stopped through a temper tantrum haha

[cmz1234]

I agree with Kara, 36x16x12 is too small. If he's already at 50" in just a year just think how much more he'll be growing in the next few years.

I just upgraded my 48 girl to a custom built cage, its a 65x22x20 chest with 2 optional divider's. She has plenty of room to roam around. If you can't find any plastic bins, I would suggest looking into wooden cages.

Yeah my girl hisses at me all the time, but she's never struck at me. She calls down within a few minutes. I agree you should hold for a little bit longer, maybe 10 minutes longer.

[AkHerps]

I'll try to find a bigger tub, but if not I will have to wait for a christmas tote because shipping to Alaska is just too expensive.

I'm sure he will be okay for right now, he never moves, not even at night. He moves his head to get a drink and that's it. I'm an insomniac so I'm up all night laying on the couch and he is a log haha

I'll have to measure him to get an accurate length. He shed last night so I just measured his skin which I stretched out as far as it could and it measured 45 inches.

[Kara]

He shed last night so I just measured his skin which I stretched out as far as it could and it measured 45 inches.

Just a note, shed skin is not a good indicator of actual length. Freshly shed skin is very pliant & elastic, and can be stretched far past the true length of the snake. This especially happens when the skin is still damp (even slightly damp) from shedding.

[AkHerps]

**edit** if you want to see how big he is, find the thread in the blood forum blood picture overload. They were just taken last week before his shed with him next to my iphone.

Yeah I thought I'd mention that because It was fresh and really pliable and I held him last night and he really doesn't look like he's that big haha, which is why I thought this tub would be okay until I can find/order a bigger one. Compared to him the tub looks really big, he will have room to roam around.
Tonight I will stick him in it to get a picture and set him up in it so i'll take some pictures then. Regardless it's a lot more room then he has now!

On a side note, he is coloring up so pretty, with this last shed he lost a lot of his browns and getting orange sides and a little bit of red.