Hissing

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Interesting... in all my years and all my Royals... I’ve never EVER heard one hiss !!

They must be more reserved over here in the uk :)


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Can't hiss with a stiff upper lip & all that...:rofl:And such a lowly sound for a Royal, no wonder they don't. ;)

I have heard a BP hiss as a baby. Made me decide on taking his brother instead. If you think a BP hiss is freaky, I have a male retic that is an adult. When he hissed at me when I first got him boy was that an experience. Everyone jumped back and took a look. I am still working with him and at 12ish feet I am happy he is a runner and doesn't hiss anymore.

I have learned when a usually sweetheart snake seems extra hissy or on the move, it's best to leave them alone. Either you are risking a bite or getting used as a toilet or both.

Out of our four, I only had once hiss - Pumpkin, our Piebald female. She was nervous and actually I don't hear her doing it much anymore as she is settling in nicely. It would be when we were getting her out for handling. Now my Loki, he is always looking to strike. Very nervous and at 1.5 yrs, I was hoping he would settle down by now. He gets handled a bit, maybe I need to get him out more. The other two, Snickers and Heath, have always been "boopable" according to my daughter.

Interestingly enough, the 2 most chill snakes, Snickers and Heath I got from the same breeder a year apart. The other two were from different breeders. So it makes me wonder how much they get handled before they get shipped and if it makes a difference with their personalities.

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Originally Posted by Dr-G

Out of our four, I only had once hiss - Pumpkin, our Piebald female. She was nervous and actually I don't hear her doing it much anymore as she is settling in nicely. It would be when we were getting her out for handling. Now my Loki, he is always looking to strike. Very nervous and at 1.5 yrs, I was hoping he would settle down by now. He gets handled a bit, maybe I need to get him out more. The other two, Snickers and Heath, have always been "boopable" according to my daughter.

Interestingly enough, the 2 most chill snakes, Snickers and Heath I got from the same breeder a year apart. The other two were from different breeders. So it makes me wonder how much they get handled before they get shipped and if it makes a difference with their personalities.

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I'd say it's both "nature" & "nurture". I'm sure some snake breeders are way too busy to do much "handling" before snakes are sold, but if they do, it all helps. Then again, I've bred my share of snakes, & in any given group of neonates or hatchlings, some are always more calm than others. They really DO have their own personalities, but even so, nearly all can be worked with to improve how they act as pets. And that's not just BPs, it goes for all kinds of snakes. A small percentage are really chill, another small % are bonkers (lousy pets), but most of them fall somewhere in between, workable and they improve with empathy & patience.