Teenage Angst!!

[rubberduck]

Hi,

After a long time spying on your interesting stories here's my case: I got this beautiful 6 m.o leucistic male 6 weeks ago. He spent his first month in a glass tank with my husbandry being on point. He ate every five days, starting off with big f/t rat pups and moving slowly to weaned rats because of his size. I refrained from handling him too much, gave him time to settle and he didn't show any kind of aggression whatsoever. He even ate while shedding (shedding on a white snake is like a surprise when it happens). He was a bit afraid of food but eventually he would strike and constrict for some minutes before enjoying his meal.

Now 2 weeks ago i moved him to bit bigger but shallower plastic cage, cluttered with hides and stuff and after venturing for about a day he settled in one of the warm spot hides. Since that move he denies attacking rats when i'm offering them; he seems afraid ad trying to escape. When i eventually leave then on the substrate and leave the room he eats them quietly and continues his perpetual digesting in his hide.

Ofcourse as long as he eats, i don't care if he attacks or not. My question ist how can i start bonding with him without him being afraid of me, which he apparently is. Is it because of his age? Eventually i would love to handle him sometimes like my other snakes without stressing him and having an impact on his peculiar but steady feeding.

Thank you in advance for your opinions and remarks!!

[Lizardlicks]

Give him a week to settle in to his new enclosure then you can start short handling sessions at any time, as long as he isn't in shed or just eaten. Keep it to about 10 - 15 minutes for the first few times, then slowly work your way up from there. Sounds to me like you just got a shy snake. While bp personalities don't really change much with age, and he'll probably always be a bit nervous, you can accustom him to viewing handling as just a thing that happens rather than a bad thing to be feared.

[Albert Clark]

I agree with Lizardlicks on the note that he needs more time to acclimate to the new environment. Try feeding late at night and with most of the lights off. Remain quiet as you enter the enclosure and offer the rat quietly without disturbing the python. Good luck

[rubberduck]

Thanks for the opinions. I do know how important it is to allow them time to get used to a new environment. Lizardlicks i kinda hope that he will become a bit less shy; i've seen snakes change a bit when they grow older and bigger.

I just never had a snake that was so skittish, and i'm afraid of my handling the snake, messing around in the cage etc could have an impact of the feeding response.

Or I'm just way too worried, and need to relax.

[rubberduck]

Bump with updates on the matter and request for your input guys :/

He seems more and more afraid of me...i was warming up the rats and everyone including him were doing the hungry dance (he was in shed for a week and missed last feeding)...when i opened the enclosure he recoiled and backed away. I tried enticing him but nothing. I have the rat in front of his hide as we speak (it's midnight where i am) and left the room hoping that he will take it.

I have been handling only for a couple of minutes 1 or 2 times a week. It's the only one of my balls that is freaking out and i can't really remember doing something that could have traumatised him. What do you do in situations like these? more handling? less?

I never had other bps like this. I'm not super experienced but i've been keeping snakes for quite a while and know not to panic but its just disappointing because i know the effect stress has on snakes.

I hope he feeds tonight...at least it would be a sign that something's going right.

[M.P.C]

He could very easily be a shy eater, not all snakes enjoy people watching them eat, our king snake will refuse to eat till we leave his view or cover the tank, and its the same thing with my fire male bowser, very skittish and will ignore food till i leave his sight or cover the cage then he eats no problem.... as for him being scared of everything i just chok it up to his personality and just handle him, he balls up real easy but within a minute he comes out and is exploring like normal.... and he remains in his hide all day except for 7 am and 8pm he comes out for like 30 min at those times then back to his hide... then again if my home was a corvette i would always bee in there too

[M.P.C]

As long as he is eating, going to the bathroom and not being defensive toward you i would say its just who he is

[rubberduck]

I just checked on him after 2 hours...the rat ist still lying outside his hide!!

I really feel desperate...i know he's hungry but i don't know what i'm doing wrong

[rubberduck]

So this morning nothing had changed

i could really use some input from those who have been keeping shy, fearful snakes :/

[Sauzo]

It usually takes months before a snake gets "used" to you and some snakes never do. It depends on their personality as each one is different. Also you just gave him a new set up so he needs time to get used to that. Are you sure his temps and everything are good in the new cage? Did you put his old hides and old "toys" in the new cage too so he at least has some recognizable stuff? Also some snakes just don't transition well from cage to cage and the new one might possibly be too big.

As for bonding, I wouldn't even try until you get him eating consistently in his new cage. At the moment it sounds like he is really stressed in the new cage or husbandry is off like temps. That is the most common reason a BP wont eat, especially young ones. Once he is eating good, then you can start to work with him. Take him out for around 5-10 mins every couple days and let him sit on you. Don't move fast or try and go for his head. Just let him "explore" you and learn that you aren't a human Godzilla who is going to eat him. Then you can slowly raise the handling times by 5-10 mins a week. Eventually they will usually relax but like I said, some snakes just never enjoy handling. When I got Vicky, she was tame but shy. After doing what I said, she now loves to sit on me and always holds a finger with her tail and never wants to venture off me. She likes to check stuff out but always holds onto me and returns back to me. Rosey my big BCI is just an explorer who loves to cruise all over and Dottie my BP is just a slug who mostly just enjoys sitting on me or periscoping. Each snake has their own personality and you just got to work with that.

Bottom line is you need to get him to eat consistently first. Once he does that, then start working with him but realize, it is going to be months, not days before he is probably used to you. They aren't like dogs. As for food, don't keep offering him food or that can stress them out too. Try and if he refuses, leave it in there overnight, maybe braining it before you shut the lights off. If he refuses, don't offer again for a week or 2. Then maybe the next time, try a live to see if that entices him.