Phantom: Super Ghost BCI Progression Thread

Well my little guy (Phantom) has finally arrived after pacing the house for hours waiting for the Fed Ex Driver to show up. I think the driver was a little startled when I opened the door as he was laying the ‘prized white box’ on the door step.

This is only my 2nd time unboxing a snake (although I watched millions on YouTube), so I was a combination of excited and nervous. The good thing was that the fear of getting struck was very minimal. I’m including the ‘Unboxing’ video below as well as some pictures before I put him in his Quarantine Tub.

Here’s the details on my little guy. He’s a Super Ghost BCI (born in April 2018) from John Chausmer Reptiles (highly recommend). I tried to get a weight but he was very squirmy so I’m guessing a little less than 100 grams (that’s what the scale flashed but he was half way off).

The breeder said he’s on medium - large f/t mice which seems on the larger size for this little guy but I trust him since I’m such a newbie. I’ll probably wait for a couple more days to try and feed him (he ate exactly one week ago).

Thanks for looking! Appreciate any and all advice!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOV-6OWfP_c

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Congrats, what an amazing looking animal.

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Very nice indeed, that's sounds about right for the size of mice at that age my little ones are just over 100g and on them.
Looking forward to watching the progression of the squirmy little ghost [emoji3]

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WOW - looks amazing in your photos too! That's the test! Awesome little guy, Phantom. Glad you decided on a name, and an appropriate one at that.

I would wait 3-5 days before feeding. Then feed a mouse on the smaller side. Then start feeding every 7 days.

He's a BCI, he'll eat tonight. However, let him get settled and learn where everything is in the tank; hides, hot spots, cool spots, etc. Then feed. Just my opinion. Again, BCI's are pretty good eaters :).

He looks great. Continue to keep us posted!

Great looking boa. Congrats!

Thanks everyone! Noted on the when to start feeding, schedule etc....

I took a peek and noticed his standing thermometer was knocked over and some of the paper towels were shuffled around. I have yet to see him in his hide; he's either climbing about or sitting in the corner. The humidity was up to 87% because of the wet paper towels.

So since he's in quarantine, I'm wondering how everyone handles daily inspection (i.e. change water, substrate, etc...) I'd like to not disturb him during this acclimation process but is picking him up and taking care of husbandry needs ok?

With my BP, I barely touched him (or saw him for that matter) for the 1st 3 weeks.

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Thanks everyone! Noted on the when to start feeding, schedule etc....

I took a peek and noticed his standing thermometer was knocked over and some of the paper towels were shuffled around. I have yet to see him in his hide; he's either climbing about or sitting in the corner. The humidity was up to 87% because of the wet paper towels.

So since he's in quarantine, I'm wondering how everyone handles daily inspection (i.e. change water, substrate, etc...) I'd like to not disturb him during this acclimation process but is picking him up and taking care of husbandry needs ok?

With my BP, I barely touched him (or saw him for that matter) for the 1st 3 weeks.

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Hi

Beautiful snake !!

Can I just ask about the free standing thermometer ... does it have a wired probe ??


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OMG he's gorgeous!! I bet even more in person but wow I love his eyes! And what a treat that you got to show us an unboxing video! So squirmy haha

Very excited for you! Hoping he proves to be hungry boy with a monsterous appetite :p

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Hi
Beautiful snake !!
Can I just ask about the free standing thermometer ... does it have a wired probe ??
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Thank you! No wired probe. It's just in their for ambient temps and humidity. I spot check the floor temps w/ a temp gun. Tub is controlled by a UTH hooked up to a HerpStat2.

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Originally Posted by MissterDog

OMG he's gorgeous!! I bet even more in person but wow I love his eyes! And what a treat that you got to show us an unboxing video! So squirmy haha
Very excited for you! Hoping he proves to be hungry boy with a monsterous appetite :p

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Thanks!!!!! He does have some cool eyes. I wasn't a huge my fan of my BPs eyes (Red) when he arrived so this was my chance to improve in that area. I debated on the unboxing video but thought it would be a great way to document and look back at how tiny he was ;)

Boa eyes are really nice and you will also notice he will have dark and light phases.can be quite startling somedays


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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Thanks everyone! Noted on the when to start feeding, schedule etc....

I took a peek and noticed his standing thermometer was knocked over and some of the paper towels were shuffled around. I have yet to see him in his hide; he's either climbing about or sitting in the corner. The humidity was up to 87% because of the wet paper towels.

So since he's in quarantine, I'm wondering how everyone handles daily inspection (i.e. change water, substrate, etc...) I'd like to not disturb him during this acclimation process but is picking him up and taking care of husbandry needs ok?

With my BP, I barely touched him (or saw him for that matter) for the 1st 3 weeks.

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Daily inspections can be done quick and using the temp gun to check temps. I wouldn't handle him unless you have to. However, substrate changes (when he goes to the bathroom) and water changes are necessary.

I recommend taking him out and putting him right into a holding container. Then putting right back after cleaning, etc. Do this as little as possible.

However, I do recommend taking him out for maintenance.

Two reasons.

1. Less stress for him. That's his safe place and it can be weird having a hand in there moving things around, etc.

2. Avoid a bite. I never do anything in Behira's cage, except a quick temp check (with her on the other side of the tank), without removing her. Not worth the risk. She is not longer scared by anything at her size, but could want food!

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Originally Posted by dakski

Daily inspections can be done quick and using the temp gun to check temps. I wouldn't handle him unless you have to. However, substrate changes (when he goes to the bathroom) and water changes are necessary.

I recommend taking him out and putting him right into a holding container. Then putting right back after cleaning, etc. Do this as little as possible.

However, I do recommend taking him out for maintenance.

Two reasons.

1. Less stress for him. That's his safe place and it can be weird having a hand in there moving things around, etc.

2. Avoid a bite. I never do anything in Behira's cage, except a quick temp check (with her on the other side of the tank), without removing her. Not worth the risk. She is not longer scared by anything at her size, but could want food!

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Noted as such. I'm debating on whether I want to quickly add more holes to his tub. It's at 94% humidity..mostly because he's gotten his paper towels wet. It hovered around 70% before he arrived. Do you think this is important to do?

So I'm going to attempt my 1st feeding tonight and hoping that that it's a little less stressful then feeding a BP (referring to feeding refusals, etc....)

With that said, do the same feeding techniques apply with BOAs? Meaning, should I still heat the prey up with a hair dryer? Do I still need to feed in the dark? I've watched several feeding videos and they are never done in the dark nor do I ever see a hair dryer ;)

In general, I would try offering food with fewer "extra precautions" first. If he takes it, great! If not, you can always wait a day and then add darkness or whatever. But if he's willing to be an easy feeder I'd like to give him that chance and boas aren't generally reputed to be finicky eaters.

Prey should be warmed up to simulate body heat with any species, but the method of heating I think is up to you. I use hot water for mine and then dry the mouse/rat with a paper towel. Some people have claimed that using water reduces the scent which it may to some degree but I don't know how much and it hasn't been a problem for me so far. I guess I'd say the same thing here - go with whatever is most convenient for you first. If they don't appear to like it, wait a day and try again or try a different method.

Even if you find yourself initially needing to use less convenient methods I'd still try the easier ones again after they're more settled in, eventually it's nice to just have everything work smoothly and easily without extra steps involved.

Boas tend to be more aggressive feeders than BPs. Expect a strike. No heat pits on Boas, but warming cannot hurt. I warm for Behira.

I always feed at night and in the “dark.” Obviously not pitch black because I wouldn’t be able to see. However, tank lights out and pretty dim room.

This means he won’t expect food with lights on and will be conditioned to be fed at night, when he naturally looks for food anyway.

I like conditioning the snakes to not expect food with the lights on, when I handle. However, up to you.

Some feed, like breeders, when it’s convenient for them. Also, if filming, pretty difficult to do in the dark.

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

So I'm going to attempt my 1st feeding tonight and hoping that that it's a little less stressful then feeding a BP (referring to feeding refusals, etc....)

With that said, do the same feeding techniques apply with BOAs? Meaning, should I still heat the prey up with a hair dryer? Do I still need to feed in the dark? I've watched several feeding videos and they are never done in the dark nor do I ever see a hair dryer ;)

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You don't feed nervous Royals in the dark .. just dim / low lighting :)



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You don't feed nervous Royals in the dark .. just dim / low lighting :)



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Thanks everyone. These breeders make it look so easy in these videos feeding a whole rack of snakes while it takes me forever to get my BP to eat while trying to pull out all the tricks in the book!

I mentioned needing to continue the heating techniques because of the lack of heat sensors on a BOA as compared to a BP. I’ll give the feeder a quick shot of the hair dryer and see what happens.

I’ll also try and find a small lamp to put in the quarantine room as to avoid turning on the main light. As to Daski’s point, I’d like to condition my BOA in knowing when it’s feeding vs handling time (hook training aside).

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Thanks everyone. These breeders make it look so easy in these videos feeding a whole rack of snakes while it takes me forever to get my BP to eat while trying to pull out all the tricks in the book!

I mentioned needing to continue the heating techniques because of the lack of heat sensors on a BOA as compared to a BP. I’ll give the feeder a quick shot of the hair dryer and see what happens.

I’ll also try and find a small lamp to put in the quarantine room as to avoid turning on the main light. As to Daski’s point, I’d like to condition my BOA in knowing when it’s feeding vs handling time (hook training aside).

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Well my King snakes would probably try and eat a FROZEN mouse but all the others ( Royals , Retic , Boas , Corn and Rat snakes ALL respond really well with the warmed up mice ( 10 second hairdryer blast ) ..


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First feeding was a success! So much less stressful then feeding my BP which I’ll have to do later tonight.

The laundry room where I keep my new BCI was pretty dark so I turned on a small lamp and proceeded to heat up the smallest mouse in the bunch (14grams) with a hair dryer. When I opened the tub, he was sitting their motionless and didn’t seem to react to the dangling mouse. I had to gently tap him to get him out of his trance. Once he snapped out of it, he was in hunting mode and struck like a champ!!






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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

First feeding was a success! So much less stressful then feeding my BP which I’ll have to do later tonight.

The laundry room where I keep my new BCI was pretty dark so I turned on a small lamp and proceeded to heat up the smallest mouse in the bunch (14grams) with a hair dryer. When I opened the tub, he was sitting their motionless and didn’t seem to react to the dangling mouse. I had to gently tap him to get him out of his trance. Once he snapped out of it, he was in hunting mode and struck like a champ!!






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Excellent !!!

That's a confidence boost ... for both of you !

:)


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Excellent !!!

That's a confidence boost ... for both of you !

:)


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Thanks! A confidence boost only a snake owner would understand. Hopefully my BP feeding in a couple of hours doesn’t break it ;)

Great news! I'm glad he's eating for you, that helps confirm that he's comfortable in his new home.

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Originally Posted by dboeren

Great news! I'm glad he's eating for you, that helps confirm that he's comfortable in his new home.

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Appreciate it! Those feeders were just the right size.

CK...I am so glad he arrived safe!! He looks absolutely stunning, I just LOVE the light coloring. BIG WARM WELCOME to Sir Phantom!!! Keep us posted on how he settles in. :gj:

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

First feeding was a success! So much less stressful then feeding my BP which I’ll have to do later tonight.

The laundry room where I keep my new BCI was pretty dark so I turned on a small lamp and proceeded to heat up the smallest mouse in the bunch (14grams) with a hair dryer. When I opened the tub, he was sitting their motionless and didn’t seem to react to the dangling mouse. I had to gently tap him to get him out of his trance. Once he snapped out of it, he was in hunting mode and struck like a champ!!






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Nice! Good to hear!

Glad he struck and there was no doubt he was interested in food!

Once he knows food shows up there, watch your fingers!

I am convinced Behira thinks about food about 98% of the time, unless I "snap" her out of it with the hook or I am holding her, that's pretty much what she thinks about.

Seriously, very happy he ate on the first try. Here's to a lifetime of successful feedings! Behira has refused one meal of about 30, and that was the day she shed and I handled her to take out shed and clean up the tank, etc.

Basically, BCI's are garbage disposals (as are my corn snakes - Figment has missed 1 meal in 5 years - also shed related) and BP's are "Selective Feeders," which is a nice way of saying big pain in the butt. Don't get me wrong. I adore Shayna, but if I had $1 for every F/T rat I've wasted!

Really pleased phantom ate for ya


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Originally Posted by Jus1More

CK...I am so glad he arrived safe!! He looks absolutely stunning, I just LOVE the light coloring. BIG WARM WELCOME to Sir Phantom!!! Keep us posted on how he settles in. [IMG]file:///C:\Users\043881\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif[/IMG]

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Hey Just1More….appreciate the kind comments! So far so good and counting the days down when I can finally start holding him!

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Originally Posted by dakski

Nice! Good to hear!
Glad he struck and there was no doubt he was interested in food!
Once he knows food shows up there, watch your fingers!
I am convinced Behira thinks about food about 98% of the time, unless I "snap" her out of it with the hook or I am holding her, that's pretty much what she thinks about.
Seriously, very happy he ate on the first try. Here's to a lifetime of successful feedings! Behira has refused one meal of about 30, and that was the day she shed and I handled her to take out shed and clean up the tank, etc.
Basically, BCI's are garbage disposals (as are my corn snakes - Figment has missed 1 meal in 5 years - also shed related) and BP's are "Selective Feeders," which is a nice way of saying big pain in the butt. Don't get me wrong. I adore Shayna, but if I had $1 for every F/T rat I've wasted!

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Yea, I’m not too worried about my fingers now because he’s so tiny but I’m sure once he starts putting on my size it start to more of a concern! I’m so glad to hear it’s not my BP that’s just wasting F/T rats ;)

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Originally Posted by richardhind1972

Really pleased phantom ate for ya
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Thanks Richard! It was a good night. Even my BP decided to eat after a month off hiatus of rejecting food.

While psychologically it's normal to be apprehensive even about small bites, it's usually not that big a deal with young snakes. You saw my carpet python the other day, she's only bitten me once accidentally when she thought she was being fed. At that time she was about 3' 9" and I barely felt it. I had to check my hand and saw yup, there's some tiny red pinprick marks so I guess she did get me. Bottom line, it's scary in your mind but you're not going to be rolling on the floor in pain or anything.

Teeth size/shape does differ between species, I'm not sure how a boa compares to a carpet in that aspect but at least they're roughly the same build so hopefully it's comparable. If anything I would expect an arboreal species like a carpet might have slightly longer teeth because they may need that extra grip to hang onto their prey as they're going to have to support their weight in the air.

You'll recall that I put on a glove with the blood python, but that's only because I know she's definitely going to bite as well as because I haven't worked with them before so I don't know how strong a bite it will be. I do know that short tails are reputed to hit fairly hard though and while she's not long she's got a lot of weight behind her. Once she's comfortable here and settles down I'll ditch the glove.

By the time your boa gets big enough that his bites are stronger, I expect he won't be inclined to give them anymore. Boas are generally a pretty mellow species, I think this is more of a thing where babies of any species tend to be nippy because they're so low on the food chain so they have to be a bit paranoid.

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Originally Posted by dboeren

While psychologically it's normal to be apprehensive even about small bites, it's usually not that big a deal with young snakes. You saw my carpet python the other day, she's only bitten me once accidentally when she thought she was being fed. At that time she was about 3' 9" and I barely felt it. I had to check my hand and saw yup, there's some tiny red pinprick marks so I guess she did get me. Bottom line, it's scary in your mind but you're not going to be rolling on the floor in pain or anything.

Teeth size/shape does differ between species, I'm not sure how a boa compares to a carpet in that aspect but at least they're roughly the same build so hopefully it's comparable. If anything I would expect an arboreal species like a carpet might have slightly longer teeth because they may need that extra grip to hang onto their prey as they're going to have to support their weight in the air.

You'll recall that I put on a glove with the blood python, but that's only because I know she's definitely going to bite as well as because I haven't worked with them before so I don't know how strong a bite it will be. I do know that short tails are reputed to hit fairly hard though and while she's not long she's got a lot of weight behind her. Once she's comfortable here and settles down I'll ditch the glove.

By the time your boa gets big enough that his bites are stronger, I expect he won't be inclined to give them anymore. Boas are generally a pretty mellow species, I think this is more of a thing where babies of any species tend to be nippy because they're so low on the food chain so they have to be a bit paranoid.

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Good points Dave! And I agree its 99% psychologically because it happens so fast that you don't see it coming. I'm not too worried about the pain. I had an iguana who would whip and bite every time you would go near him ;)

Well it’s Feeding Day #2 already. It’s been 7 days since he ate his first Adult Mouse. Hopefully this feeding goes as smoothly as the last time and I can begin some short handling sessions 48hrs afterwards. Here’s a picture of him in his enclosure this morning. He’s yet to use either of his hides and spends most of the time on the warm side. His ambients have been 75-79, humidity around 80% and his warm side floor temps were about 90 when I set him up. Haven’t checked in awhile because he’s been on that side every time I check on him and I didn’t want to disturb him.

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Well it’s Feeding Day #2 already. It’s been 7 days since he ate his first Adult Mouse. Hopefully this feeding goes as smoothly as the last time and I can begin some short handling sessions 48hrs afterwards. Here’s a picture of him in his enclosure this morning. He’s yet to use either of his hides and spends most of the time on the warm side. His ambients have been 75-79, humidity around 80% and his warm side floor temps were about 90 when I set him up. Haven’t checked in awhile because he’s been on that side every time I check on him and I didn’t want to disturb him.

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I would not be worried that he hasn't used a hide yet.

Many breeders use racks and do not have hides. Took Behira a few weeks to get into one, and now, she uses them, sometimes, or partially.

Is cool side 75-79? Or is ambient 75-79?

Ambient should be closer to 80-82F and cool side can be 78F or so, give or take.

If ambient is 75-79F and the hot spot is 90F (which I think should be 86-88F), then Phantom has no choice but to be on the hot spot to stay warm.

Make sure there is a gradient, raise the ambient, and lower the hot spot. Just my opinion.

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Originally Posted by dakski

I would not be worried that he hasn't used a hide yet.

Many breeders use racks and do not have hides. Took Behira a few weeks to get into one, and now, she uses them, sometimes, or partially.

Is cool side 75-79? Or is ambient 75-79?

Ambient should be closer to 80-82F and cool side can be 78F or so, give or take.

If ambient is 75-79F and the hot spot is 90F (which I think should be 86-88F), then Phantom has no choice but to be on the hot spot to stay warm.

Make sure there is a gradient, raise the ambient, and lower the hot spot. Just my opinion.

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Both the cool side surface and ambients are 75-79 and I'm measuring Ambients by sitting an Accurite (w/o probe) unit on the cool side. I was also a little concerned by only getting mid 70s and was about to invest in another UTH for the cool side but was told by both the breeder and several on here that it wasn't an issue and to only worry if it dips under 70.

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Both the cool side surface and ambients are 75-79 and I'm measuring Ambients by sitting an Accurite (w/o probe) unit on the cool side. I was also a little concerned by only getting mid 70s and was about to invest in another UTH for the cool side but was told by both the breeder and several on here that it wasn't an issue and to only worry if it dips under 70.

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BCI's can handle lower temps than some other boids as well as drops, especially at night.

However, I still think the hot side is a little too hot and that's a wide gradient. If phantom is always on the hot side, even when not digesting, he's telling you something. IMO.

I also think 80% humidity and under 75F would be asking for trouble. Again, just my opinion.

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Originally Posted by dakski

BCI's can handle lower temps than some other boids as well as drops, especially at night.

However, I still think the hot side is a little too hot and that's a wide gradient. If phantom is always on the hot side, even when not digesting, he's telling you something. IMO.

I also think 80% humidity and under 75F would be asking for trouble. Again, just my opinion.

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Most of the drops (75ish) are at night or earlier morning. I'll go ahead and lower the hot side this weekend to get closer to 88. My plan was also to add more holes in the enclosure to reduce the humidity a little but I wanted to avoid disturbing him for the 1st two feedings.

And I have seen him exploring the cool side, just never hanging out there like he does the hot side. Appreciate the opinions.

With two successful feedings followed by 48 hours of waiting, I finally was able to start some short handling sessions with Phantom. Up until two nights ago, I never witnessed him using either of the hides. I decided to bump the temps down just a little and all of a sudden I found him in the hide nonstop. So either it was a temp issue or he finally realized what a hide was. I was almost a little worried what I might find when I lifted it a couple hours ago since I haven’t seen him in two days.

Here’s some pics my wife snapped during the quick session. It actually went better then I thought it would. He was squirmy but chill at times. Very curious while making sure his tail was securely wrapped around my hand. Very happy with session #1 and looking forward to the next. I also introduced some hook training.

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Really glad the first handling session went well, just nice slow steps and you will benefit in the long run,looking great


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Glad handling went well. It will get easier and he will get calmer from here. Give him a few weeks and he'll be a different snake.

Congrats on the consecutive successful feedings and positive handling session Kuhn. Those are some cool pics of your handsome critter. Sounds like you two are off to a great start!!

Glad to hear everything is going well with him :)

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Originally Posted by richardhind1972

Reallyglad the first handling session went well, just nice slow steps and you will benefit in the long run,looking great
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Originally Posted by dakski

Glad handling went well. It will get easier and he will get calmer from here. Give him a few weeks and he'll be a different snake.

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Thank you! I was a little anxious since it was my 1^st real interaction with him let alone a 1^st with a BOA. I’m very much looking forward to our next session which will probably be tonight when I make some modifications to the enclosure (add UTH to cool side and add more holes to help bring down the humidity (80%).

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Congrats on the consecutive successful feedings and positive handling session Kuhn. Those are some cool pics of your handsome critter. Sounds like you two are off to a great start!!

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Originally Posted by dboeren

Glad to hear everything is going well with him [IMG]file:///C:\Users\043881\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif[/IMG]

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Appreciate it my Georgia Snake Keeping Brethren! I’m really enjoying this little guy.

Does anyone think I need to put something ‘rough’ in the tub to aid w/ shedding? Currently I have two small hides, a water dish and scott towel substrate. I was trying to keep it minimal since it’s a Quarantine enclosure where it needed to be easy to detect mites.

@ CK- I would put something rough in the QT tub to help them shed. I need to drill some more holes in my QT tubs also. :)

Well I just joined the club and there’s nobody to blame but myself. My baby boa tagged me at least two times tonight. I’ve been handling him for short periods of time every night this week and tonight I thought it would be a good idea to get the wife and kids involved. Well I guess it was just too much and he tagged me multiple times while I was wrapping up the handling sessions. This is the 1st time I’ve been bitten by a snake and the ‘unknown’ turned out to be not that big of deal. In fact, I barely even flinched and actually was surprised to see blood. Hopefully I didn’t do any damage to the bonding process.

Gruesome picture below:

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Congrats on your very first bite! Phantom could have been stressed with to many hands handling him., but thats just I thought! I'm sure it didn't ruin your bonding situation with him. Just take it slow and maybe limit the hands that hold him until he builds more trust and confidence with you..

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Originally Posted by Jus1More

Congrats on your very first bite! Phantom could have been stressed with to many hands handling him., but thats just I thought! I'm sure it didn't ruin your bonding situation with him. Just take it slow and maybe limit the hands that hold him until he builds more trust and confidence with you..

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I think you’re exactly right! I had my wife and two kids (ages 2-4) trying to get involved so it was pure chaos. I don’t blame Phatom for resorting to a bite. He was getting pretty squirmy right before the bite so it makes sense. Before that, he was wrapped calmly in my wife’s hands. Tomorrow is feeding night so he’ll have 3 nights of non handling.

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Well I just joined the club and there’s nobody to blame but myself. My baby boa tagged me at least two times tonight. I’ve been handling him for short periods of time every night this week and tonight I thought it would be a good idea to get the wife and kids involved. Well I guess it was just too much and he tagged me multiple times while I was wrapping up the handling sessions. This is the 1st time I’ve been bitten by a snake and the ‘unknown’ turned out to be not that big of deal. In fact, I barely even flinched and actually was surprised to see blood. Hopefully I didn’t do any damage to the bonding process.

Gruesome picture below:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...fac4f4bcc7.jpg

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

I think you’re exactly right! I had my wife and two kids (ages 2-4) trying to get involved so it was pure chaos. I don’t blame Phatom for resorting to a bite. He was getting pretty squirmy right before the bite so it makes sense. Before that, he was wrapped calmly in my wife’s hands. Tomorrow is feeding night so he’ll have 3 nights of non handling.

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First, welcome to the bite club. The anticipation or fear of a bite is almost always worse than the bite itself.

Secondly, I agree, it was just too much too soon for him. He's tiny and not used to handling. That means he will get scared very easily. Slow down. Shorter, less hectic handling sessions for a while. Build trust.

Also, in your response (above), you nailed it. He was "getting pretty squirmy." He warned you and told you, ENOUGH! You didn't listen.

I've never been bitten by my BP Shayna, but I know when she's done with handling. Usually 10-15 minutes in (tops) she starts getting really active. If I don't listen and put her back, she gets stressed; a little more darty and can even breath heavier.

As you learn to get to know Phantom, and vice versa, you will learn to read him better.

He sounds pretty chill otherwise, especially for not being handled much, and will 99% grow out of this stage with continued gentle handling and with size.

I wouldn't worry about ruining the bonding. It's an isolated incident. He won't hold it against you. Learn and move on.

Were your kids and/or wife freaked out?

Also, good you didn't immediately throw him back in his tank. You don't want to reinforce that he gets what he wants if he bites. It was probably a minute later, which is plenty of time for him to not make a connection.

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Originally Posted by dakski

Also, in your response (above), you nailed it. He was "getting pretty squirmy." He warned you and told you, ENOUGH! You didn't listen.

Were your kids and/or wife freaked out?

Also, good you didn't immediately throw him back in his tank. You don't want to reinforce that he gets what he wants if he bites. It was probably a minute later, which is plenty of time for him to not make a connection.

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So as he started to get squirmy, the warning signs started to go off. I immediately started to walk away and head back to his enclosure. As I was doing so, I felt a prick on my hand and thats when I realized he was biting me. I'm actually kind of proud of myself from not pulling away and possibly injuring him. I thought he got me twice but after looking at my hands, it looks like 3 bites.

The kids and wife were not freaked out which is good. I explained it was 100% my fault and that Phantom was just scared. I look at it as a learning moment as well an opportunity to teach the family.

Bite Club Initiation complete :). Wear it as a badge of honor sir. Glad you and Phantom are both ok. Sounds like the lesson was learned now let bygones be bygones. :)

Really glad your wife and kids weren’t freaked out by the nip
As others have said it was probably the kids being kids,lol. that freaked him out a bit, at least you saw his body language had changed and now know what to look for on the next handling session and to pop him back when you see him start to stress, he should hopefully grow out of once he’s learnt there’s no harm going to be done
Good luck, at least it doesn’t hurt that much at that age, just surprising how many little pin pricks there are[emoji56] when the red stuff starts to arrive


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