Handling

Alright! This is the third thread i have posted on handling. Im thinking of quitting. I have had my ball for aver two months, it has eaten at least six times. Everytime i walk past the cage, it strikes at me. And everytime i hold it, it bites. I have done everything that i was told on this site. What should i do? How do i calm it?

Keep holding it. It sounds like you got lucky and got one of the ornery ones. :P The only thing you can do is to keep handling it for short times, probably about 5-10 minutes every day when it's not shedding or after feeding. Eventually it will understand that you're not trying to eat it and will stop striking.

sometimes it is just the snake. each is different and can/will behave differently. double check all of your husbandry and rule out any stress/fear or medical problems. you might want to contact a breeder with ones for sale and ask for one that is puppy dog tame. generally the babies are a little more snappy/scared than adults.


vaughn

Here is a trick that works well for RTBs I have heard. Wear your oldest junkiest t-shirt around all day. Then put it in the cage for a week. BPs like to smell a lot. I know when I get Salina out she sniffs me all over. Once she realizes its me she is really calm. You will probably want to toss the shirt after the snake messes on it.

Thanks for the advice! I am gonna try the t-shirt thing. I hold it pretty much everyday. I hope it calms down.

My snake was like that when i forst got her, I just wore long shirts and covered my hands with the ends of the sleeves and jus let her crawl around all over me, every other day i would pull out my hand of the one arm that wasn't holding her and stroke her a few times, that got her to calm down and now i jus reach in there and grab her with my hands still covered but once i get her out of her territory then i uncover my hands and jus let her crawl on my lap for a few she doesnt seem to mind any more.

Just keep at it and be patient, whatever you do keep holding it until it stops biting. Give it 10-15 minutes a day, 2-3X a week and be patient.

I got 10 BP's about three weeks back and just now started handling them. Out of the 10 BP's only one hissed and actually struck at me. Once out of the tub she quickly calmed down. The other 9 were as calm as could be and didn't even hiss. I'll start handling them once a week and gradually move up to 2-3 sessions a week for a few months. After about a year with me I'll gradually reduce handling down to 2-1 sessions a week for 5-10 minutes to keep them tame.

This is of course a side from handling during cleanings.