New JCP- Wants to Eat Me

Well, I'm not sure he wants to eat me... but he gives a very good impression of it :O

He's nine years old, and was a rescue. His foster "dad" took him in and had him a year- put 600 grams on him- and got him to be tame. That guy took him out several times for us- no aggression displayed from the snake- and we even held him (well, my DH did).

We get him home- in his same enclosure, so his immediate environment is the same- and he eats right away. But, we're jumpy people (I know, we gotta work on that) but he did strike at my DH.

How long should we leave him alone? Should we try a snake hook to remove him? I think he'll be okay once he's out of the enclosure. Should we try giving him an item with our scent on it? Any other tips? I KNOW he's tame, because I saw him be handled.

Thanks! He's a big, gorgeous guy, and we really want to be able to hang out with him and handle him. I'll get some pics once I can get him out ;)

His enclosure is a large aquarium on a stand, with a hide, a soaking water bowl, and logs to climb on, and as mentioned, it's the same enclosure and all supplies that he lived in for the past year.

PS, I want to add how COOL this snake is. He seems SO intelligent and aware. He watches us, looks around, and is very response. These are truly impressive and awesome animals.

the snakes i have that do bite are all easy to handle once they are out of their cages... so i use a hook to pull them towards me and make the grab. then they're fine... never been bit one they're out.

Good to know! I just snapped some pictures of him in his enclosure. I did get some hissing... but that seems pretty typical of JCPs. No strikes. Good boy.

Here he is:

http://www.iherp.com/Gallery/90980/2...KgnLqlnvCB.jpg

http://www.iherp.com/Gallery/90980/2...IQFhbTJ2sp.jpg

He's pretty!!!

I know some people also put a towel over the snakes head in its enclosure and then pull it out with the head securred... then remove the towel.

Dunno if that helps any :-)

I have a three year old female JCP that's cage aggressive. But like all of you mentioned, once she's out, you can handle her pretty well. It might take a little bit for you to get teh confidence to pull her out. It's hard to get excited when they are striking the glass huh?

Good luck.