my snake keeps hissing... it scares me

[crystal]

my 6ft argentine boa keeps hissing at me whenever i go to touch him in or take him out of his cage. we acquired him about 2 weeks ago we gave him a week to get comfy in his new house (and he shed fairly cleanly) then we fed him yesterday. its strange because he doesnt strike, he just pulls his head back a little cracks a smile (ok its not really a smile) and lets out this deep gutteral hiss like he wants to kill me and then if i stop touching him he stops or if i get brave enough to pick his head up and go from there.
why does he do this?
also do you think that handling him as often as possible will make him more comfortable or make him more angry?

i realize i cant snuggle him but i would like to hold him and let him get more comfortable around me and my boyfriend. and get us not as scared of him.

thank you

[darkangel]

You're picking him up by the HEAD? Mmm that might be a little dangerous Does he get less agitated once he's out of the enclosure? If so you could try covering his head with a towel or a shirt to pick him up so he's not seeing a big scary figure coming at him in his home.

[BMorrison]

I've had some snakes in the past that due that. With Furio I rub his sides for a little bit probably about 30 seconds to let him know I'm there. Then he knows I'm going to pick him up. He's not a fan of me just reaching my hand in there and snatching him up out of his 24/7 sleep cycle. I have no idea if that would work with your snake but it's worth a shot. Amy also gave you some good advice there.

[Jakob]

yeah, what darkangel said...is he cool once you get him out and in your hands?

i had a rat snake that would go crazy hissing and striking even. i would get him out of the cage with work gloves, and then, slip off one glove at a time. once he was in my hands he was ok and wouldnt give me any problems. that snake hated me.

once you get your snake out and he/she can smell you and get used to you, i would think it would calm down after a couple of weeks of that exposure.

and, this might be completely wrong, but i would think the more you approach the snake and it gets you to leave him alone by hissing and he gets his way...he might just continue doing that every time he sees you. he sees you as a threat and he hisses. you leave him alone...and he thinks, "thank God, that big sucker left me alone..." when all that needed to happen is for him to understand that you present no harm.

when i was in the jungle in costa rica, pavones and had just caught my boa...he was pissed. he was in a small cardboard box and was actively angry. the kid from the jungle heard i had a boa and wanted to see it. he opened the box and put the back of his fingers next to (on) the boas body and left it there for a good 30 seconds just like V1L3 DiaL3cT said. the snake got calm and allowed the kid to pick it up slowly.

if you think you are going to get struck at and or bit, put on some work gloves and a long sleeve shirt. get the snake out of the cage and when he is calm (which will happen immediately), take one glove off. let him smell your wrist. then slip off the other glove and he will appreciate the warmth of your hands. he wont appreciate your hands trembling with fear!!! haha. then sit down for a while and you will watch him smell around you and explore.

good luck...(that hissing is scary stuff)

[Jenn]

Good advice. You have to be smarter than the snake. Don't let him know that every time he hisses you go away. That means he wins. Also try throwing one of your dirty shirts in his enclosure for a while so he gets use to your scent.

[xdeus]

why does he do this?

Snakes hiss because they want to be left alone, it doesn't necessarily mean they're aggressive. My 7' BCI will often hiss if I try to pick him up when he's in a comfortable spot, but he has never attempted to strike and I feel comfortable letting my kids handle him (supervised). Just stroke his back a little and gently pick him up. He should stop hissing when he is out of his enclosure and realizes that you're not a threat.

[frankykeno]

If you are nervous then by all means put on some protective gloves. It's better that you and the snake get into a calm and regular handling routine where you aren't afraid if he does try to tag you then avoiding the situational all together and allowing the snake to sense your fear.

Snakes hiss, that's part of being a snake and one of the only ways they have to communicate. To not expect them to hiss is pretty much like being surprised your dog barked. As you care for this snake though you will learn his hisses by reading his body posture, the sound of the hiss, his alertness, etc.

To give you some examples....

We have two snakes here, both adult ball pythons, that hiss every single time you open their enclosures...every time...without fail. Neither has ever bitten. Both are fine once they are out of their enclosures for handling. Now it may be an overdeveloped sense of defending their space or simply that they like to complain a bit...who knows.

We have another adult BP here that never hisses, very nice tempered snake all in all. One day I'm in there simply changing out her water and I hear this big, low hiss. I froze, glanced at her and saw her in a very tense position, staring at me intently and starting another big hiss. I can tell you I backed out of the tub carefully. A couple of hours later I changed her water, she didn't even give me a glance and all was well. At that moment in time, that particular snake did not want me there and I respected it. I wasn't doing anything earth shattering, I knew I could deal with her water later so why trigger a bite from a snake obviously intent on giving one.

The point of this is every hiss isn't the same and you'll learn which to be more alert to given time and experience.

Also do remember that 2 weeks in any snake's life is like a second in ours. Really they do move at a pace slower than ours, they adjust to things slower than we do. I've had snakes here that took months to fully settle in to the routine in our collection, so really a couple of weeks isn't anytime at all to a snake.

[crystal]

ok so when i get him out, i touch his back and stroke him gently he begins to hiss. then we (my boyfriend and i cause hes a bit cumbersome) take him out by lifting his neck/throat area and supporting his whole body between the two of us. once hes out hes fine but that first couple minutes is a scary. so basically just keep handling him and dont be scared and both me and my snake will be happy?

thanks

[Mike Schultz]

Sounds about right.

"HISSSSSS! Don't bother me, I'm comfortable here."

Then once you get him out...

"Ok, ok, whatever, i'll deal with it...."

[ncbloods]

ok so when i get him out, i touch his back and stroke him gently he begins to hiss. then we (my boyfriend and i cause hes a bit cumbersome) take him out by lifting his neck/throat area and supporting his whole body between the two of us. once hes out hes fine but that first couple minutes is a scary. so basically just keep handling him and dont be scared and both me and my snake will be happy?

thanks

It's going to be better for you and the snake to start with the tail, and support from that end. Some snakes are cage protective and hiss/strike inside their enclosures but are fine once their out. Not really a big deal, just be careful taking them out.

About the hissing, there are really just two points I'd like to make. First is to keep handling him. If the snake learns that you'll put it back when it hisses/strikes it will keep doing so when it doesn't want to be bothered. That makes it harder if you actually need to remove him from the enclosure for poo cleanings or anything else. The other is that snakes, like most other animals, can tell if you are afraid. If you need to put on gloves and arm protection to make you feel comfortable then do it. You don't want the snake to react to you because you are scared.