Cage aggression; can be helped?

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Originally Posted by DavidG

It's really common. Do you feed inside of the tank? Most of my snakes are cage defensive. Hook training would be the best method in most cases. Getting a 18 ft long snake on a hook is a challenge though.

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You dont actually have to get it out with the hook. As long as the snake knows when it sees the hook and there is no food you should be able to pull it out

Reviving this thread with a few updates :D

Python # 1) male ball python - hook? shield? as long as I don't smell like a rat...I can easily scoop him up :D

Python # 2) 3+ year old female retic (aka, El favorito) - she's the oldest and "biggest" (my retics are from the phil. localities that produce smaller than average retics) of my retics...she's also the gentlest. As long as I don't smell like ANY rodent, I can easily scoop her up. She even looks forward to handling; my ball python would occasionally ball up/crawl under the hide when I open the cage but this retic? As soon as she realizes it's my hand in there, she just lays still to let me pick her up and handle her. Of the three, her feeding response isn't exactly "reticish"; she doesn't lunge at her food as aggressively as my other three pythons (yep...my ball python has a stronger feeding response!). She used to be a nasty cage pusher tho (messed up and scarred her face this way)...until I figured out that her pushing decreased significantly as I handled her more (heck...I even have to bring her with me whenever I'd go jogging in our subdivision!)

Python # 3) 2 year old+ female retic - Still cage aggressive sadly...but at least as long as I've placed her in my hands, she chills down and doesn't strike.

Python # 4) 2 month old male retic - cage aggression is still there...tho not as bad. Occasionally strikes at me even when I'm already handling him but there is a noticeable difference compared to the time I got him.

Questions:

1) The last 2 retics obviously need a LOT of work in taming down; I use a shield to protect myself and serve as a stimulus that I want to pick them up without getting harassed. All this time, although they would be cage defensive initially, once I have them in my hands, they do not struggle/attempt to flee. Am I going somewhere? :D

2) as for pythons 3 and 4...I guess I might as well shoot for the moon or risk a LOT of bite scars if I want them to be as "easy to pick up" like the first 2 pythons...yes?

3) as of now, my male retic seems to be the "nippiest". I take it this has a LOT to do with his age, right? (he'll be 3 months old this 26th).

Thanks again for the help/input.

PS: Unless I'm trying to recall an uneaten food item, I use a shield only on the last 2 pythons for handling.

I second the posts suggesting hook and/or tap training. It's really a must when raising retics, IMO. Also, how frequently, and what size/type of prey are you feeding? The snakes may simply be hungry. Retics have high metabolisms, and are extremely motivated by feeding rituals; and if they are ready to eat, or even think there may be a chance they'll get fed, they may just come at you "teeth first, questions later..."

What I've found to work extremely well when the snakes are still young, is to condition the snake thoroughly. Almost every day (except feeding or day after) open the cage, reach in *with a hook or other improvised blunt device*, and gently tap or rub the snake's sides and snout. Follow this with either reaching in and taking the snake out for handling, or simply shutting the door again, and going about your day. If you do this on a regular basis, frequently, the animal will be conditioned to the fact that cage-opening doesn't necessarily mean feeding. Now, on feeding days, offer no physical contact with the snake, simply open the door, toss in food, close up, and either observe or leave. Now, for up to 48 hours or so after feeding, most retics will remain in "food mode" and a certain amount of cage-food "aggression" or "heightened eagerness" is to be expected. Retics love to eat, and this is simply part of their nature.

This has worked well for me, and retics seem to pick up on the routine rather quickly. I have even used this method on young WC animals, and they have become some of the most docile, predictable animals I've worked with.

Hook training really is the best thing you can do, and you dont make them ride the hook like you would with hots. You simply touch their head with the end of the hook to let them know that you are not coming in with food, and instead are coming to pick them up. They will eventually start to understand this and when you touch their heads, ideally, they should move back and away from your hands so you can pick their bodies up more easily. Here is a great video which you can look at to see what I mean.

YouTube - Hook Training with Reticulated Pythons

@aaramire

hmmm. Come to think of it, based on the vid you posted, I believe the latter 2 retics have become "shield -trained"; I use the shield (fine; the top of a critter keeper) to tap the head portion as I pick them up. No wonder why they're "nasty" when I try to pick them up. ;)

@Kyle

The the 2 yo retic's fed every 2 weeks with a medium rat (trust me; she's definitely not big enough to handle even a small rabbit, let alone a chicken/quial). When she was younger, she was fed weekly of the same food item until she hit 2 years.

The juvenile's fed weekly a medium mouse/pinky rat (he's as slender as my thumb).

I am in total agreement with KyleZ. I have never used "hook training", but rather used a similar routine that KyleZ uses. Open door, snake comes out, first thing they smell is my hand. Hence, no food. Door opens, closes again, start looking for food. They never smell me if there is food; and they never smell food if it is me.

This has worked for me with retics, rocks, green & yellow anacondas, bloods. savus, carpets, balls, boas, burms and BRBs.

Chris

hook training is def a good way to go with a snake i would never just reach into a cage to grab a snake you never know they can mistake you for food my snake i own now is a retic he is hook trained and i havent had a problem with him yet when u put the hook in there to pick them up and give them a lil nudge thats a good way of telling them that its not feeding time

With my burm, I do cage feed, and he does get very very hissy when I put my hand in their to grab him out, but a quick tap on the head with my hand shuts him up, and he comes out nice as you please. Its all about putting in the time and effort.