Overcoming head shyness?

[Aaron]

Is there any good way to overcome head shyness? My lil guy is pretty chill, but he freaks out whenever you make any movements near his head or neck. My friend with an adult BP that is completely not headshy said that you just have to forcibly pet them every day and they will change. Considering that I've gotten some bad info from him before, is this true or will I just stress the snake?

[rding]

i hold sixx close to me, and i rub his head from behind. i didn't go straight at him at first, he didn't like that. i have a friend that has an older one than sixx that he bought at a flea market. he is very head shy. i took him and held him close to my chest and he put his head over my wrist. then, i petted his head from behind. he let me pet him....sixx gets jumpy every once in a while, but for the most part, you can pet his head all day long. i can even rub the top and bottom of his head. i try to hold him often, aside from shedding time and after a feed, i want him to be as friendly as possible for my boys!! good luck.

[Smulkin]

Bene is the exact same way - whereas his female counterpart and clutchmate is just downright outgoing. From behind is indeed the key if you really need to get at his head - just don't freak him out too bad. When 'Suki had her difficult shed with remainders on her head it was good that he eventually let me help rub it off. Definitely do NOT FORCIBLY RUB IT - that will indeed stress him out. Give it plenty of time and a lot more slooooow handling without a lot of movement near the head. Let's face it WE get more out of rubbing their heads than THEY do

[Ginevive]

I would think that forcibly touching the head would make the snake get even more skittish. I think that in handling them, we just have to respect the fact that many BPs are headshy. But imagine being the snake, having a huge heat-emitting object coming right at you. I guess it's like sensory overload to some of them.
When I handle my Bps, I avoid making any motions toward the head. I pick them up from the side they're not facing.

[JLC]

Getting them over their head-shyness will be very helpful whenever things come up like a bad shed, an injury, or illness.

With Caesar, I would get him comfortable in my hands, and then very slowly slide my fingers along his body, toward his head, until I can touch and gently grasp. Not only does this teach him that I won't hurt his head, it also teaches me how to properly handle him, should I ever need to for the reasons mentioned above.

[daftperception]

a good reason to get you snake not so head shy is if they have a little shed left on there head you can get it off or if the eye caps are on this being said i don't go looking to handle near his head i move slowly toward it i can touch it and thats all i need i think head shy can be a good thing i wouldn't want someone touching my head.

[iceman25]

I approach from the back.

[Aaron]

oh man, I forgot about the whole thermal sensing thing, coming from behind sounds like a much better idea. He's also only 7 months old, I'm assuming that they might get less headshy with age... ?

[Wizill]

not so much with age, but with more handeling. some snakes will never be cured of being head-shy. i was lucky with my bps, bubba and peanut will let me pet their head and it's always been that way, but baby is still a bit shy. and my bci freaks out if i go near his head.