not touch/play with my bp for almost 2 months
i'm often outstation and now i'm finally get to stay with my bp. but after left them for almost two months, seems like they became aggresive and i'm to scare to play or touch them. what should i do? already fed them but still too sacred to touch them.
Re: not touch/play with my bp for almost 2 months
I agree with M.P.C. Face your fears and just swoop him up. It's a BP so it's not going to seriously injure you. Their bark is much worse than their bite. Put on a glove or use a hook if the animal is super defensive. They usually calm down after a minute or two once their outside of their enclosure. Many animals can also sense fear and will use that to keep you at bay. I would never keep an animal that I'm afraid of.
Re: not touch/play with my bp for almost 2 months
Leather glove and get back into handling more. Put the glove on your less dominant hand and pick up the BP. The bite does not hurt but it is definitely a mind thing and your first reaction (unless you trained yourself) is to step back or release the animal. The leather glove is more for you mental stability. Keep the other hand glove free. When you attempt to pick them up let them strike the glove until they had enough without you withdrawing your hand. After a few hits they usually (from my experience) go into a ball. That is when you pick them up with your ungloved hand and allow them to relax. If they get defensive again intercept with the gloved hand. Do this every other day or so and for a few minutes at a time and increase the time from there. I got a female hatchling in and she was a little monster. First bp to ever bite me. A ferocious little thing lol. Didn't hurt but i feared i might drop her in surprise if she caught me off gaurd. I did this for about a month and now she is 400g of sweet. I don't even handle her very often anymore since she has mellowed out. I can now clean her tub and do a health check without her trying to rip my face off lol. Good luck! :gj:
Re: not touch/play with my bp for almost 2 months
Easiest way to grab one that's snippy is from the rear. Just grab a coil and pick it up. If most likely will calm down quickly once in hand. Look for tongue flicking and an extended body. These are your best signs of a a curious non aggressive BP. Also if you run a finger down the midline a relaxed snake's body will ripple. If they're tense, it'll feel solid and not react that way. No here's the scary part. If they don't relax and are still in the "S" position ready to tag you, ball them up. From the rear, come over the top of the head and force them to retreat into a more defensive posture. They're called Ball Pythons for a reason! A few times of this and they'll get that aggression is not acceptable. I've done this and it's worked well. I've actually been thinking about posting a video on this as I have a snippy candidate now. Let me know if you want to see it and I'll work on it tomorrow. I fed yesterday.
Dave
Re: not touch/play with my bp for almost 2 months
where can i get this leather glove?