he struck at me!!!

it was late when i got home about 2 in the morn my room was pitch dark when i switched the lights on i noticed that wolfgang was out and about so i went to get him out and hold him a little while before i went to bed as i reached in he was in the corner and curled in an s so i thought well ill place this in first a waterbottle i had on hand and he bit it! and continued to try and bite me thru the tank a few times is this a freak coincidense did the lights scare him? he usually isnt out of his hides did he feel vulnerable? i need to know whats up because i have a 5 year old sister and wolfgang's her favorite pet... i cant have him biting her and turning her off snakes forever hes never before shown signs of agression... any takes on this will be much appreciated, thanks

Its night, thats when they leave their hides and cruise around. How long have you had him? How long ago did you feed him , or how close is it to his weekly feeding time? Did he do a quick strike and pull back, or did he try to strike/wrap?



I'm guessing he was out of his hide, unsecure, got scared by the sudden intrusion and light, and was striking to scare you away/tell you to back the heck off!


Heh, and yeah, that S is the ultimate warning position :)

and... don't bring your snake out when it does that S - it's telling you to leave it alone. make sure you respect that :)

and teach your little sister to respect it as well. i have a 7 yr old, 12 yr old and a 19 yr old... they all know to respect the animal... if it doesn't want to be picked up... leave it alone (that goes for the cats as well!) :D

I wouldn't really worry or call it real aggression. The snake had an off moment, it's going to happen. Maybe it wasn't your normal handling time, or your snake was just out cruising and you startled it, or it's close to feeding or shedding time, or maybe the teenage angst I've seen Adam make mention of. Could be tons of reasons why it had an attitude on at that moment.

As far as kids and snakes. We have a 5 year old son (as well as three older children). Every one of them has been taught that whether it's a snake, rat, cat or any other pet they have to respect the boundaries of that creature. If they want to handle living things, they need to know it's always about what that particular creature can accept and not about what they want to do right then with it. They can learn a lot about patience, respect and how to sit quietly and observe animals that way too. It also does not hurt a kid to understand that any living thing has the right to defend itself or just have a bad day and needs to be left to itself right now.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

or maybe the teenage angst I've seen Adam make mention of. Could be tons of reasons why it had an attitude on at that moment.

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What age does this fall under?

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

It also does not hurt a kid to understand that any living thing has the right to defend itself or just have a bad day and needs to be left to itself right now.

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I'm sooooooo glad there are people still out there like you!!!!!

You'd have to ask Adam for more real life experience on that question Allison. I know when our one female was just going on 2 and getting that bigger female look to her she acted up a bit. Very intent on feeding and not much else. Not really aggressive but I guess highly focused and not wanting to be messed about with much. She went back to her normal ways awhile later and is a very nice female so Adam's advice was bang on about it just being a stage of development and nothing to fret over.


Thanks for the compliment hon. I was raised by my granddad who had very definite ideas about life LOL. He was no bunny hugger type, heck he hunted but I've never seen a man with more respect for the natural world and it's creatures, domesticated or not. He taught all us kids that if we were bugging an animal and not seeing it's cues to leave it be then we were out of line. We best not come running to him whining about the consequences LOL. Funny how some folks don't like hunters, yet most of the ones I was raised with loved animals and were so very keyed into their unspoken signals, just naturally respected and understood them.

hes about 1 year old and is done shedding about 4 days ago feeding isnt for another 4 days and this morning he was his happy old self i know that he has a right to be left alone... and my sister cant reach his tank much less get him out... she only holds him under my supervision im almost positive i scared him by going from perfect darkness to bright bright bright thanks for the input he was just defending himself hes my baby i treat him well

o as well he has a few of his own signs he dosen wanna be bothered he has a rock that i dont bother him while hes looking stressed or if i think he feels like he needs to defend himself