Tips to help a BP become less head-shy?

So i've had my BP for a year and 7 months now and in that time I have never been bitten or struck at.

Well tempered overall I would say, only one problem. Head-shy!
It's not really a 'problem' perse since I know most younger BP's are head-shy, but is there any way to help lessen it?

I don't know if anyone elses snake does this, but if I even make an advance with my hand anywhere near the snakes head, the snake freaks out and pulls back into a ball. I'm not lunging at the snake either, i'm making sure to go in nice and slow.

I'd really like some tips, if anyone has any, on how to try and get the snake to become less head shy and more accepting of me without causing the snake stress that'd be awesome.

I handle the snake almost every day and I can see the snake watching me from its enclosure quite a bit. Feeding response is superb, never gone more than 2 weeks without eating and only during sheds. Enclosure temps and humidity are perfect always. Snake actually sometimes prefers to be out of the hides and curled up between some small branches I have in there so he can see what's going on. 100% sure he watches what I am doing most of the time!

After holding for about 5 minutes or so, the snake will start exploring and slithering all over the place and sometimes rest on my chair with me. I was told it comes with time and how frequently you handle them by some people. Just wondering if there's anything else I might not know of.

So! Any tips would be appreciated! Thanks!

If hes not in his hides...thats usually a sign thats something is wrong...not that he's happy. When you describe your temps and humidity as "perfect", what are they? And how are you measuring them?

As for the head shyness... that depends on the snake. Some will freak out if a hand is in their eye line, while some don't mind it until you actually touch his head.

My snake is head shy a bit, but if I come from behind and touch his head, he doesn't seem to mind. He will actually let me rub his head and under his chin. But if I come from the front, he ducks back. My husbandry is good also, but sometimes after holding the snake, he will hang out on the tree branch for a while before going back to the hide. If you are getting good sheds, and the snake is eating good, I wouldnt worry about it being out in the branches sometimes.

Him being out of his hides isn't something new. Sometimes he goes in and sometimes he doesn't. He really seems to like watching me. Even when he's in his hide, he will usually poke his head out a little and see what's going on.

Like I said, it's how he's always been. He's always shed without issues and he always eats without issues. I don't think that something is wrong?

I use two small temp and humidity gauges inside and a digital Accurite monitor for inside temps and humidity. The gauges are not as accurate of course but I put them in anyway :P Tank is a 20G long glass with locking mesh lid. 3/4 of the lid is covered by aluminum foil to keep humidity up.

Overall though he has a superb personality and doesn't mind other people handling him either. He's also roughly 1,100 grams as well at only 1 year 8 months old.

Maybe I just need to be more patient with him and maybe he'll warm up to me a bit more.

Mine was pretty head shy when I first got him... Whenever I handle him I just always try to touch his head a few times, from behind and from in front, after a while I suppose he just figured it wasn't a threat cuz he's much better with it now

Mine tries to act like she is a wild green tree python on her branch at times.....you look at her and can just tell by the look on her face...."Yeah, thats right...I am a wild dangerous snake on the prowl...hanging out in the jungle". :rolleyes: Its actually hilarious...but we try not to laugh AT her!! :P

Trying rubbing the neck slowly and then work your way up .....I have one that is NOT head shy at all and another 2 month old that is a big scardey cat of EVERYTHING! But once out for a while.....he calms it down.

My BP breeder friend gave me this tip that may or may not work for you. He said that if you take your BP out and hold it until it is comfortable enough to settle in or even start looking around a bit, place it into your lap and put one of your palms over the BP's head and one below. He said not to hold the snake tightly, but don't allow it to draw away quickly. The key is to teach it that your hands are not threatening, even if they are taking away it's sight. He also said that holding the BP in this manner helps it to get used to your scent. I have done this with Anubis (my normal male), with pretty good results. When I got my female, Isis (another normal), I found out that she wasn't as head shy. :D Anyway, just a tip from a local breeder, hope it helps.

my pied is dog tame, but he is very timid

Most snakes are head-shy to some degree, although I have a few BPs who totally aren't... Toby actually leans into my finger, and lets me rub both the top & bottom of his head. :) The only way I can think of to make one less head-shy is just regular, gentle handling - but some will never get used to it. It also helps to approach them (with your finger) from the neck/back, rather than coming at them head-on.

Thanks everyone for your replies! Very helpful info!

one of my snakes is like that.. i usually just slowly pet her neck right before there head

Some are just by nature going to be this way, no matter how much you work with them. I have a gorgeous het clown female who jerks her head away all the time, and curls into a tight ball - I have no doubt, she's always going to be that way. The rest of my crew is pretty relaxed, but she's just VERY scared of anything near her head.

Wasn't much fun when she recently had a bad shed that I had to assist with. She fought me so hard to get into a tight ball when I was working removing shed from her neck behind her head that she bit her lip and freaked me out when there were a few drops of blood on my hand, and then I had to un-ball her again to examine her mouth to see that it was just something minor.

It breaks my heart that she's that frightened, but I try to respect her boundaries and not force her to become the snake I'd like her to be. There are times, like removing some stuck shed I have to make her more uncomfortable, but for the most part, I'll sit quietly with her for a bit and then just put her up. She is also a fabulous feeder. She's so extreme that she immediately balls up from a relaxed position the moment I open her tub.

Tips:

* Handle regularly as long as he/she is feeding well.
* You may touch the top part of the snake from about the shoulder area down, get them used to this... maybe even a slight stretch. Most of my snakes love to be stretched so much they will wrap their neck on one wrist & tail on the other for a stretch.
* Approach the head from UNDERNEATH and lightly rub the chin. I find more BPs like their chins rubbed, but work towards this- get them used to handling first & work up to chin rubs.

I have some that will willingly place their head in my hand for a rub- only a very few will tolerate me touching the tops of their heads. Respect their comfort zones & they will be more trusting of you. ;)

Mine doesnt mind if i touch her head from behind but she gets really jumpy if my hand is by her head and above it, so i just go from under her head when im tryin to get closer to her head.

Its natural with balls. Their instinct is to protect their heads, which is what they do when they ball up. Some grow out of it, some dont. You will just learn to handle around it.

Thanks again everyone :)

I re-setup his cage a couple days ago and he's been in and out of his hide. I was sort of worried and debated putting it back the way it was but just now I tried feeding him and BAM. One mouse down, several to go :D

We've had our youngster for nearly 4 months, and this week I stroked the top of his head for about a minute for the first time ever. He flinches easily, and I haven't even tried to have my hand in front of his face, but when approached from behind, i.e. not seeing my hand, he's OK with having the top of his head touched.

Interesting about rubbing their chins. I'll try to work up to that.

What is the wierd obsession with petting your snakes head?? For Christs sake if you wanna pet something on the head get a nice fluffy puppy dog or kitty cat!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by BiggBaddWolf

What is the wierd obsession with petting your snakes head?? For Christs sake if you wanna pet something on the head get a nice fluffy puppy dog or kitty cat!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

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I for one, do not pet my snake's head, fwiw. I'm only commenting on what I presumed was a question about the snake jerking away quickly when your hand comes near its head, during normal handling.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BiggBaddWolf

What is the wierd obsession with petting your snakes head??

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Who says it's an obsession (other than you), and why the nastiness? The posts on this thread talk about helping a snake to develop trust in its handler and overcome that natural flinching. That'd be a good thing if ever you need to help remove stuck shed as already posted, give medication, etc.

Sorry didnt mean to come across as being nasty, but it just seems that some people think that snakes should be petted like other animals, most usually get over the flinching with normal handling, and some dont. I guess I dont really make an attempt to get them over the flinching by intentionally touching their heads..:rolleye2:
But I guess you all are the experts though :bow:

I have an EXTREMELY head shy male BP, and nothing that I do works. He has eaten a few times since I bought him a while back, but now it's been a month. I have left him alone (no handling) for a good amount of time so that he could adjust to his enviroment. The tank is located under my beardies which has a skirt which helps keep his enviroment calm from all the busy people walking by. I have even given him a smaller hide, which seemed to improve his mood for a short while. He was constant fresh water, and humidity varies but is check regularly (my house is very dry). He's had medium temp mice and hot mice. The last thing to try in MY books is a larger mouse. Tonight (he has blue eyes so he's going to shed) but since it has been so long since he's eaten, we figured we'd try. Once we got the mouse hot he struck, but since he missed it, he would not try again. I'm so frustrated with this snake! :rolleye2: Can anyone help me?

You can email me with responses at: greenidvixn28@gmail.com

Thank you!

Holy revived old thread batman.

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