Bull snake showing his true colours?? :/

[Ronmayron]

So i got a bull snake 3 days ago, i held him on 5 different days in the shop and each day he was slow and calm and didnt hiss/strike e.t.c. So i brought this 6 foot 10 inches of a beast home and after a pretty rough journey i got him back safely.He sat in his log without moving the first day.. The next day i got him logs and plants for his new home, He came out straight away tongue flicking and did his snakey stuff (and a stinky poo! which i got rid of straight away) i could place stuff in and he wouldnt bother but rather just sit there dead still.. so i went to hold him the 2nd day. I stroked him and he just sat dead still yet again (everytime i opened the cadge he sat like this) then i went to grab him underneath slowly and he quickly slithered under his log, i moved the log and repeated the same lift but this time he did a loud hiss and turned to face me tensing up pretty bad, i left him.. The next day i tried to stroke him and he hissed this time so i backed off (again he faced me and pulled his part of his body i needed to grab right next to his head) so after a few minutes when he moved again i touched him and he did exactly the same but without hissing.. hes currently exploring his cadge again and is climbing around the glass doors like he wants out.. its bugging me. any help?! i am 5 foot 2 inches and am very put off going near him now. He is about 15 feet away from degus and quails, he was ust to this at the shop. If he doesnt stop this ill have to replace him but he is such a beautiful snake i really dont want too, any advice please?! (first snake) oh and he also had another poo after the 2nd attempt of holding him (last time i tried)

[eatgoodfood]

Heres an idea, leave him alone! Are his temps correct? Ample hiding places? Sounds like youve been messing with him and his cage a lot. Is he maybe going into shed? Have you tried feeding? Why does it matter if hes a bit defensive? Just leave him alone and look at him.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

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.

[Ronmayron]

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.

[Ronmayron]

Thank you deborah,
so it is best just to pick them up and ignore the hissing? at the shop they did pick him up really quickly so i guess he's ust to it.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Thank you deborah,
so it is best just to pick them up and ignore the hissing? at the shop they did pick him up really quickly so i guess he's ust to it.

I never let the intimidation scare me off, of course use caution but usually once handled they will settle. They just like to huff and puff which can be very intimidating for people who do not know.

[MootWorm]

I would let him settle in a bit ( maybe until after his feeding),and then start your handling sessions. Get yourself a thin pair of gloves, it will do wonders for your confidence. Once you're comfortable reaching in and picking him up, you can start to wean yourself off the gloves Good luck!

[Ronmayron]

i will bear that in mind but for now ill leave him about a week. thank you.

- - - Updated - - -

i did try handle him with gloves but it didnt feel like it was gonna help because he just stares dead still not moving and it makes me feel like he is going to strike. Thank you.

[trevo]

If I may say so, it just sounds to me like you are really excited and I think that's your issue. It's not a bad thing by any means, its just not conducive to owning a snake. When I got my first snake I would go look at him and open the cage and play around and ad things a lot and forget that even though I was getting extreme joy from that, the snake wasn't. All of a sudden he was snippy, and he wouldn't eat. It took almost 2 weeks of leaving him alone (Just water changes) for him to chill out and eat and be friendly again.

Just try to keep in mind, your snake will live for a long time, with the right care, so you will have a lot of time to enjoy him and there is no need to rush now.

I hope it all works out for you!

Cheers.

[jclaiborne]

X2 for the gloves...they will help with your confidence. Even if he does tag you at some point you will realize that it isn't that bad. My wife was terrifed of being tagged, last week she was holding an adult Rosy Boa and it latched and wrapped her it took us about 15 minutes to get it off and when it was all said and done her only response was "thats it".