Amur getting agressive.

I have an older Amur (Siberian/Russian) rat snake. Ive had him for almost a year now. When I first got him he was awesome. Now he is more interested in biting me then he is in feeding. I do feed him in his cage as the previous owner did. He eats FT rats and I used to just toss it in his cage and he would eat it no problems. Now when I go to put the rat in with him he completely ignores it and tries to bite me. This has only been happening the last couple of weeks maybe a month. Any ideas?

Could you possibly up his prey size? Or maybe feed him more often?

I could, But like I said. Hes not even eating it at all. He tries to eat me and even when I leave him be he ignores the food

Maybe you're not heating your rats as much as you used to?

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Originally Posted by Raverthug

I have an older Amur (Siberian/Russian) rat snake. Ive had him for almost a year now. When I first got him he was awesome. Now he is more interested in biting me then he is in feeding. I do feed him in his cage as the previous owner did. He eats FT rats and I used to just toss it in his cage and he would eat it no problems. Now when I go to put the rat in with him he completely ignores it and tries to bite me. This has only been happening the last couple of weeks maybe a month. Any ideas?

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The behavior you describe is not aggression - it is the snake instinctively going after something warm and moving - namely your hand.

When confronted with a choice between a lukewarm, non-moving rodent and your 98.6 degree, animated appendage, your paw is going to seem much more appetizing to a snake.

then why doesnt he take the rat when left alone with it?

I've had this problem when I haven't heated the prey item up enough. Get some tongs, make sure it's nice and hot and do the dance!

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Originally Posted by Raverthug

then why doesnt he take the rat when left alone with it?

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What temps are you keeping him at?

He stays in my bedroom so between upper 70s to lower 80s

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Originally Posted by Raverthug

He stays in my bedroom so between upper 70s to lower 80s

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I'd drop those temps. Schrenckii like the ambient in the mid to low 70s with a cool end down in the low 70s.

This is about the time of year that my schrenckii go off feed and I brumate them. These are animals that brumate for a little less than half the year in the wild. If he's refusing food, don't feed him for a another couple of weeks and then gradually drop the temps. I brumate mine at about 50 degrees for 12 to 16 weeks.

Just out of curiosity what size prey are you feeding him? My largest adults don't get anything as large as a rat...............if you don't want to brumate him, try feeding him several smaller prey items - like small mice - and see if that doesn't pique his interest.