Best times to handle? Tips?

I've had my 7 month old Kingpin for about two and a half weeks now and have handled her about 4-5 times. She's very shy and nervous. Every time I've handled her so far I have picker her up from under her hide and she's been very placid, not really moving around or exploring on my hand/arm. Last night, for the first time, I tried to pick her up when she was active in her enclosure. She instantly hissed at me and got in a striking position. It kind of turned me off and I ended up letting her chill that night. Should I have just picked her up anyways? Is it best to pick them up/handle them when they are less active vs. more active? I know I'm not supposed to be nervous or scared when handling, but I have been (both because I'm nervous of a strike and because I feel like I'm stressing her out) and I'm trying to work on my nervousness because I know it doesn't help the situation at all. Any tips for handling and conditioning a nervous BP?

Ok, your bp is very young and very stressed right now. New enviornment, new smells , new living arrangement. All this equals fear and defensive behavior by the youngster. It's always a good idea to just observe them once they are placed in their new living quarters until they have settled in and taken 3 or 4 meals. Definitely going in and taking them out of their hide is a no no. The hide is where they expect to be safe and untouchable. It may be ok to do that to a established bp but a young bp is very fearful and their only defense is to hiss and make themselves sound and look bigger. And also to snap and bite. So, for now, just go in to change water and spot clean. No more handling at all right now. The little girl needs her privacy and security. Good luck.:salute:and you have handled her way too much at 4 or 5 times.

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Ok, your bp is very young and very stressed right now. New enviornment, new smells , new living arrangement. All this equals fear and defensive behavior by the youngster. It's always a good idea to just observe them once they are placed in their new living quarters until they have settled in and taken 3 or 4 meals. Definitely going in and taking them out of their hide is a no no. The hide is where they expect to be safe and untouchable. It may be ok to do that to a established bp but a young bp is very fearful and their only defense is to hiss and make themselves sound and look bigger. And also to snap and bite. So, for now, just go in to change water and spot clean. No more handling at all right now. The little girl needs her privacy and security. Good luck.:salute:and you have handled her way too much at 4 or 5 times.

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A lot depends on the snake, my baby boy ate the day after i brought him home and has always been an adventurer who (I know this sounds crazy) LIKES to be handled. I know I'm going to get some doubts on the liking to be handled but he does. I got a weird one though, this is good advice for most snakes.


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As Albert said, it's good not to handle until they are eating regularly. Once they're settled in, IMO it's fine to handle daily unless they've just eaten (I handle for short periods of time basically to check the snake over and make sure nothing's wrong; I think extensive handling, like more than 15 minutes or so has the potential to stress them out).

Also, babies are going to be more nervous about handling than adults generally, and will get stressed more quickly and tend to be more nippy. They usually grow out of it though.

I handle mine if he's out exploring the cage after work. He will come out of his hide if he's up for hanging out with me. About every 2 months he goes into a shed. There is no way he will be coming out of his hide at this point. This will last for a week and a half before his eyes go blue and about a week after. He doesn't want to be bothered. What I'm saying is....I can tell when that BP doesn't mind being handled and when he wants to be left alone. You can learn to read them after a while. When he's not in a shed cycle....I pick him up every day for about 15 mins and let him explore.

I've been having a similar issue, but my BP has been with me for 3 months. I handle him about three times a week, for around 30 minutes each time, one of those times is to feed. He eats fine every week and his husbandry is good. But I find that he's still super reclusive and head shy. He'll crawl about on my person, but the second I set him down on the carpet or on the coffee table he just sits there looks tense and weird until I pick him up again. Once I go to put him in his tank, he's all gung ho about it and quickly goes back into his tank. Is this pretty normal?

PS: I don't mean to hijack your post, I just have a similar issue.

Never understood why people would buy a very timid nocturnal snake for a pet! Get a diurnal animal like a dumerils,if you want a pet!;)

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Originally Posted by beeze

I've been having a similar issue, but my BP has been with me for 3 months. I handle him about three times a week, for around 30 minutes each time, one of those times is to feed. He eats fine every week and his husbandry is good. But I find that he's still super reclusive and head shy. He'll crawl about on my person, but the second I set him down on the carpet or on the coffee table he just sits there looks tense and weird until I pick him up again. Once I go to put him in his tank, he's all gung ho about it and quickly goes back into his tank. Is this pretty normal?

PS: I don't mean to hijack your post, I just have a similar issue.

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How old is he? And I would limit holdings to 15 mins and no more for now. Definitely no handling him when he is recently fed or when in the hide. Try not to lift the hide off of him and pick him up. Just wait for him to crawl out on his own. IMO, it's ok to lift the hide up to check on him but I would refrain from picking him up at that time. Just replace the hide. Most snakes don't enjoy being held contrary to belief they tolerate it until they have had enough, thus the tenseness and weird looks. :salute:

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

How old is he? And I would limit holdings to 15 mins and no more for now. Definitely no handling him when he is recently fed or when in the hide. Try not to lift the hide off of him and pick him up. Just wait for him to crawl out on his own. IMO, it's ok to lift the hide up to check on him but I would refrain from picking him up at that time. Just replace the hide. Most snakes don't enjoy being held contrary to belief they tolerate it until they have had enough, thus the tenseness and weird looks. :salute:

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He's about 8 months old. Sometimes when I take him out, he is hiding. Other times its when he's lounging by his pool or climbing around. He doesn't seem to mind when i've got him in my lap, but when I put him on the floor or something is when he gets weird and tense.