What have i gotten myself into

Well i thought i was ready for a bigger snake. So i picked up a 8 foot burmese/rock(owner says) python. I fed him once and as i was looking into his cage he struck at the plexi glass in a effort to eat my face. Im not going to give up on this snake, but i have admit that im a little put back. Im looking for any advice that yall can give me on handling a some what aggressive snake. I havent really handled him yet beside putting him into his tank. All my husbandry is correct, he is in the proper sized tank 6x2x2. Should i just go in and handle him and deal with the bites? Or should i take a different approach.

You probably weren't ready for him yet.

If you're really determined, wear gloves when handling and feeding. Maybe it's too much for you and you should get rid of it.

Later, Matt

I don't own the giants, but I believe that the rule of thumb is that once 8' or larger, you should always have someone else who is knowledgeable about handling snakes to be present. Don't try to handle by yourself.

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Originally Posted by DutchHerp

You probably weren't ready for him yet.

If you're really determined, wear gloves when handling and feeding. Maybe it's too much for you and you should get rid of it.

Later, Matt

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Yea i already put gloves on order. The guy i got him from says that if i cant handle him then i can bring him back and trade him out for his smaller (6 foot) burmese. But i really dont want to give up. Im hoping that he was just in feeding mode and i got to close. IM going to give him a weeks break and cover his tank with a blanket. After that im going to try and take him out in short burst every day until we both get more comfortable with each other

If it turns out you still can't handle it, you DO know that a 6ft snake becomes an 8ft snake in no time, right?

Later, Matt

Of course it is a well known fact that snakes only bite on the hands. Therefore your wearing gloves will completely protect you from any bite by a snake you know basically nothing about.

Sounds good.

I have no doubt we'll be seeing news reports in no time, doubtless with headlines something akin to: New Snake Owner Strangled by Pet Python quickly followed by, No one can understand how it happened, he was wearing gloves.....

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Originally Posted by echs332000

After that im going to try and take him out in short burst every day until we both get more comfortable with each other

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Do you have a second handler to be with you when you do these "short bursts"? This really isn't something to joke about with a larger constrictor. If you handle with no one else around who is comfortable with large constrictors, how do you plan to remove this animal from yourself if it decides to bite and constrict your arm, or gets a coil around your neck?

I'm really not trying to scare you - but you admit to having zero experience with large constrictors, and you got an 8 footer.

The best thing that would be for you if you wanted a snake that got rather large would be to purchase the snake you wanted (Burm, Retic, Anaconda, Rock, etc.) as a hatchling or juvenile. When you get a snake that's older, it's harder for them to get used to your scent and become used to human contact. If it was a baby, the biting wouldn't hurt no more than a pinch (when my female bit me it only felt like a pinch) and obviously it doesn't hurt one bit. Sometimes people can't even feel the bite. So it would have been best to go with a hatchling or juvenile while it's still small. The younger they are, and the more you handle, they may just get used to quicker than a sub adult or an adult would.

Well...



...Good Luck.

Got a picture? Could be a STRAIGHT Rock....

Which would be even more trouble....