Handling issues

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Originally Posted by Old Sloppy

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but my BP eats 1 small rat every 14 days.
How do you feed 4 jumbo mice?
And how heavy/large is your BP ?
Do you introduce them 1 at a time or some other method? (all at once) ?

Harry

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^This.... Are you sure you don't have a Burn or something?

If hes 3 I dont see what the problem is with the 4 mice? I have a 2 yr old that will take small rats every 3 days if you offer. My female eats about 2 smalls a week. Plus, depending on where they come from, the sizes can really vary. Just because a pet store calls them jumbos doesn't mean they are :)

sent from my EVO

I have a very good friend that is a herpatologist and i asked him his opinion not everyone would agree im sure but he suggested a snake hook. it will make the snake want to be held because it will not feel supported. make sure it is large enough for your snake tho. best of luck tho

That is if you are afraid to get bit...

You guys actually lift their hides up and take them out of the place they feel secure?
That is the only time I do not bother my BP. When he is in his hide, that is his safe place so I never mess around with that.
Then again my BP will come out as soon as I open his enclosure doors. He knows it is feeding time if I place the tub in front of his enclosure and if there is no tub, then he knows it is handling time.
My suggestion is to get over the fear of being bitten, don't let him be the boss of you. Reach in and pick him up, one hand 3" or so from the back of his head and the second hand about 4" from his tail. Just make sure you do not go at him face on. He will be fine with that, then just handle him for 5mins or so, do that everyday other then 24hours before and 24hours after feedings. He will get used to it and not have any problems with it.
My friend had a BP that would strike at everything day or night and was never handled. After 2 weeks of me going over everyday and doing what I described above, the BP was fine with being handled and even seemed to enjoy it. My buddy is now able to take him out of his enclosure and enjoy him.
Hope this helps. I know someone will have an opinion on this, but it has worked for me with my BP from day 1 and on my buddies fierce/mean BP as well. Good luck and I hope you get to enjoy your scaley pet.

Snake hooks work great! That's what we use sometimes to get ours out of their tank if they seem to have an attitude. Once they're out, they calm down. I'm also going to suggest something most people will disagree with and that's feeding in a different enclosure. Maybe your snake is confusing your hand with food. We feed all of ours in different enclosures and have never had any problems (we also started out doing this when they were babies, so it's what they are used to). It may not work on an older snake, but anything is worth a try. You also have to show him who's the boss...YOU ARE! If he strikes and you leave him alone, he knows to do it again if he don't want to be held. I, personally, haven't been bit yet, so I can only imagine that it would startle you. I believe that all snakes have different things that work for them and their owners and you just have to find what works. Try the things others suggested until you find something that works. Good news is (from what I've heard)....the bite doesn't hurt as bad as the startle of having a snake strike at you. Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jaxx

You guys actually lift their hides up and take them out of the place they feel secure?
That is the only time I do not bother my BP. When he is in his hide, that is his safe place so I never mess around with that.
Then again my BP will come out as soon as I open his enclosure doors. He knows it is feeding time if I place the tub in front of his enclosure and if there is no tub, then he knows it is handling time.
My suggestion is to get over the fear of being bitten, don't let him be the boss of you. Reach in and pick him up, one hand 3" or so from the back of his head and the second hand about 4" from his tail. Just make sure you do not go at him face on. He will be fine with that, then just handle him for 5mins or so, do that everyday other then 24hours before and 24hours after feedings. He will get used to it and not have any problems with it.
My friend had a BP that would strike at everything day or night and was never handled. After 2 weeks of me going over everyday and doing what I described above, the BP was fine with being handled and even seemed to enjoy it. My buddy is now able to take him out of his enclosure and enjoy him.
Hope this helps. I know someone will have an opinion on this, but it has worked for me with my BP from day 1 and on my buddies fierce/mean BP as well. Good luck and I hope you get to enjoy your scaley pet.

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Jaxx

This is great advice for everyone, but may I also add, do not feed you BP in it's viv, take him out and feed him in a tub or something like that, that way the chance of him striking over food is minimal

2nd the snake hooks.

Most of the time I've encountered striking has been on picking up the snake, not normal handling. Any snake I've used a cage hook on has lost their striking behavior fairly quickly and I guess that they figure out that I'm not picking them up so I can eat them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Old Sloppy

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but my BP eats 1 small rat every 14 days.
How do you feed 4 jumbo mice?
And how heavy/large is your BP ?
Do you introduce them 1 at a time or some other method? (all at once) ?

Harry

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Due to the handling probs I haven't weighed him since I've had him, he's about 3.5 ft in length though. I introduce them one at a time, straight after the last one, I leave him alone to swallow, the offer the next one. He strikes or will take it of the log in his viv. I would like him to be on small rats but my local shop has stopped selling them, the large/jumbo mice are approx 30g each I think. I think we would eat alot more, so I'm planning on buying done rats online, but want to get the handling problems over with first.

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Originally Posted by babyknees

Move his hide and anything else that could get in your way or that he could wrap around. Get at an angle where you can grab him from behind so if he decides to strike he won't hit you and just pick him up. Like Ilovelace said he's not used to being handled so try to get him out with the least amount of stress to him and you and just take it slow.

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If I move his stuff out the way, won't he feel more insecure? I did that last week.