Striking Question...

[adOggy07]

Hey guys,

I picked up my female BP yesterday. My boyfriend Mike was with me and he wanted to hold her. I picked her up and was holding her when Mike walked and stood in front of her so that I could move her to him. But as soon as he walked in front of her, she got very defensive and made her S shape and struck at him. At first I thought, oh, no big deal... she's struck at moving objects in front of her still. But then a few seconds later, she did it again! I figured she was a little freaked out so I put her back in her enclosure and she struck two more times in our direction while in the cage. This I was really surprised by.

One important tidbit you should know that may have affected the situation:
- She had just recently finished a stuck shed and still has one retained eyecap. Could that have contributed to her extremely defensive reaction? Because she couldn't see very well?

Do BP's not like it when humans kind of get in front of their face?

I've only been picking her up maybe once a week because I've had for about a month and a half now and she's about 3 months old.. so I was trying to go slow with her handling... should I handle her more? What can I do to make her feel safer?!

Thanks all!!

Oh, also.. I heard her hiss in her enclosure when I put her back in it as well... =/

[brainman1000]

It's a female. That explains why she is so pissy....

[Shaun J]

Get a pair of gloves, if you are afraid of the bite hurting, and handle her everyday. Let her know you aren't going to eat her and that she is safe. My girl would hiss and all that stuff, but hasn't hissed at me for a week.

[Sputnik]

It is not unusual for bp's to freak out when something suddenly appears in front of it, it's a natural reaction.

Human beings are a big ugly looking predatory animal to a bp....

[adOggy07]

so... it's true that a female BP is a bit more... "defensive" than males? or is that a myth?

[Shaun J]

It was just a joke...

[brainman1000]

It's a female. That explains why she is so pissy....

Just a joke.
Maybe just stressed or not used to being handled yet.

[adOggy07]

okay, sorry BPkid, hard to tell if things are a joke on paper, especially for a person like me who is a first time snake owner! i believe everything you guys tell me. hehe. =)

so.. when I first posted something about handling my snake initially.. people told me to handle her less frequently... I think I said that I was handling her every couple of days, for about 20 minutes. A lot of it was just letting her sit in my hands and not trying to pet her or anything like that. so, it's okay for me to handle her everyday? for shorter amounts of time?

thanks again!!

[Shaun J]

Definately. If your snake is defensive, its actually reccomended!!!

[brainman1000]

BTW, have any pics??