First post, need some advice....

[WJS]

I have a two year old male Jampea Retic(I hate saying dwarf because IMO anything that can get to ten feet is not really a dwarf). I have had him since he was 5 months old and have him hook trained. He knows when the hook comes in it means no food.

Well the other day I was using the hook like I usually do to get him out of his cage and as I was doing that he turned toward me and bit my fingers and coiled around my arm. He showed no defensiveness while I was getting him out before the bite. I gave him a minute to let go before he started chewing on my fingers. So I walked myself with all six and a half foot of snake using my digits as chicken fingers to the bathroom and ran water on his head until he let go. The next day he struck when I opened his cage and was pretty defensive.

Does anyone know why after two years of being very docile he would want to munch down on me? I washed my hands before getting him out and there was no smell of food anywhere. I now have to hook him while wearing long welding gloves to get him out. He's healthy and eats a large rat every ten days(or sooner if he's looking hungry). I am kind of at a loss.

I have six other snakes from a Mexican Black King to a ten foot Burmese. No problems with any of the others.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[deathadder1069]

I have no experience with these but i did have a full grown boa that was always great but i learned that giving it a proper size meal would keep her happy and so i never got struck at. At the same time i had a smaller boa that always struck whenever it was feeding time so maybe raise the size of the meal. Also, try tapping the enclosure before opening it to get her out, as they do sleep and can get startled and attack for that reason. just a thought

[Sam Bearden]

I keep Burms and I have noticed that even some of the calmest Male Burms get a little evil once they hit sexual maturity, Now I know Burm Breeding season is done for me this season, But I am not sure about Retics Breeding season. You did mention a couple things and it all sounded like one of the Burms I have. #1 Male #2 he is two years and then some old, and #3 it came on almost like it was overnight. I have a male that last year went from being just chilled out calm little guy to crazy strike at everything, flop around, crazy nutbar, and he is no where near big enough to nail any of the girls, but he had reached the age that he should be maturing, He was crazy from September till last month and now he is starting to get back to his normal self, and the only thing that changed was that the girls were in season, so I am chaulking it up to that on my end....
Hope someone can help you out that knows tics, but that is an experience I have had with the burms at least.....

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

My male SD retic is pretty much the same way. He's a wild long term captive of over 5 years old but he was never bity. Just very flighty and would musk when I'd take him out. Breeding season came around and all of a sudden he was Satan snapping at me every chance he got. I think it's just a hormone thing.

Since mine is so small at only 5.5 feet, I moved him from his large Boaphile to a 41 qt tub in another room to make dealing with him easier and to get him further away from the female. Now that I don't have to maneuver a long hook into a long and deep enclosure and chase him around to try to get him out, he's become easier to handle again. It was like trying to get a black racer out of a 4x2x18 enclosure. 18 inches is not much room up & down to work with.

When he was wanting to bite I'd have to grasp him behind the head but now I can give him a foot of leeway from his head again. I'm not sure if it was just breeding season hormones or a combination of that and a dislike for the hook. Maybe your snake is a sexually mature and grumpy boy. Maybe he's upset about something with his environment. Give it some time and see what happens.