She tried to bite me?

So a few min. ago I walked over t my bp's 6qt tube and opend it up just like normal. I slowly stuck my hand in there to let her know I was there. (she is still very shy) As I did that she striked at me. I was really cunfused cuz she has never done this before. I ahve had since Oct. 2nd of 2010 and I handle her often. Never during shed and day before and after feeding.

I'm just wondering if this might be in the norm?

Thanx:)

Did you tap the cage to let her know you were there?

Nooo??? What do you mean tap the cage exactly?

Snakes can be sleeping when you go in their cage. You let them know you are coming in by tapping it first, as they hear via vibrations and not sound. If they are very still they may be sleeping and can get startled by your sudden presence in their cage, causing a defensive reaction.

Also, some snakes can become defensive of their enclosure and require a hook to be taken out and then they are fine in your hands. I would imagine you just startled her though.

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Originally Posted by Herp4life11

So a few min. ago I walked over t my bp's 6qt tube and opend it up just like normal. I slowly stuck my hand in there to let her know I was there. (she is still very shy) As I did that she striked at me. I was really cunfused cuz she has never done this before. I ahve had since Oct. 2nd of 2010 and I handle her often. Never during shed and day before and after feeding.

I'm just wondering if this might be in the norm?

Thanx:)

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Don't worry about it, its normal, you must have scared her. Just like slyther said, let her know your there. They can be in really deep sleep some times.

You stated that you hold her often, never during shed and a day before and after feeding... You should really wait 2 days after feeding to handle her. Handling them with a hardly digested mouse in her belly can cause a regurgitation, which is really hard on a snakes health. Just a heads up.

~ DZ

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Originally Posted by Slyther83

Snakes can be sleeping when you go in their cage. You let them know you are coming in by tapping it first, as they hear via vibrations and not sound. If they are very still they may be sleeping and can get startled by your sudden presence in their cage, causing a defensive reaction.

Also, some snakes can become defensive of their enclosure and require a hook to be taken out and then they are fine in your hands. I would imagine you just startled her though.

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My wife found That out the hard way with my big albino female boa. They don't like to be woken up by you grabbing them to take them out of there tank lol. That was the first and only time she had ever shown any aggression

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thanx a lot everyone and ya'll are prob right. i prob just scared her. She must of been catching some Zzzzzz:P

What could I use as a hook until I get one? Anyone know? JW

If I were you I wouldn't use a hook. This is a little over the top for her just striking at you. You can use a hook if you are really that worried about it.

~DZ

I agree with DZ, but if you wanted to bootleg a hook I'd steal it off of a thick, plastic coathanger and duct tape it to a thin broomhandle. Not that I ever did something like that before... I have a legit one now ;)

i have a lock on my snake's cage that requires a key to undo and theres 2 sliding glass front doors that i have to jostle slightly to open so there's plenty of "warning" when i'm going in there. sometimes if i think my bp is sleeping and she's inside one of her hide boxes but i need to get her or move her for whatever reason, i'll very lightly tap the hide box to let her know i'm gonna lift it off or other times i'll just lift it very slowly and usually she's aware of my presence by then.
but generally i try NOT to disturb her unless i really have to or its handling day.

oh and dont ever let yourself get comfortable enough to go "well, she's never struck at me before so she probably wont ever do it."
keeps you on your toes if your constantly on the look-out for a strike even if you think you've got the most docile animal on the planet...

from my experience when you get comfortable something is bound to happen. cuz we let our guard down and i think the animals get a sense of that.

if she's still in a 6 qt tub, some young bp's go threw a strike at everything phase. and even with no handling most will just out grow it and instead of striking they will just hiss or do nothin at all when you pick them up. I just purchase a male hatchling that will strike every time you even go near him, and won't stop until you leave him alone. I don't handle him at all, and he'll out grow this phase before very long without me handling him.

I have a normal that I rescued not to long ago and this snake strikes at me all the time, especially during feeding time. I do not let this discourage me from doing what has to be done. I know that one day I will get bitten but it won't be that big of a deal because I am expecting it. I think everyone is correct when they say that you probably just startled the snake.

I agree with everything. Im not to worried about. Just was wondering what ya'll thought.


Thanx:)

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Originally Posted by Herp4life11

thanx a lot everyone and ya'll are prob right. i prob just scared her. She must of been catching some Zzzzzz:P

What could I use as a hook until I get one? Anyone know? JW

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It doesn't actually have to be a hook if you are jsut going to use it to give them a little nudge to make sure they are awake. Just anything you can use to give them a little poke so they know you are coming will be fine.

She could have also been hungry and expecting food ! Esp if you open the cage and slowly put your hand in there...

What I do is open the tub, I gently tap them on the head/upper body with my hand/open palm from above to let them know its not food that is coming. They are already awake from opening the tub, but they don't know at this point if its food or handling thats coming up...

I feel that method always works great with shy BP's too, as your open palm covers them up, while the other hand scoops them up from underneath, they don't feel so exposed that way. Once they are calmed down, you can remove the hand above them slowly. Also works for the ones that have attitude, LOL.

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Originally Posted by zina10

She could have also been hungry and expecting food ! Esp if you open the cage and slowly put your hand in there...

What I do is open the tub, I gently tap them on the head/upper body with my hand/open palm from above to let them know its not food that is coming. They are already awake from opening the tub, but they don't know at this point if its food or handling thats coming up...

I feel that method always works great with shy BP's too, as your open palm covers them up, while the other hand scoops them up from underneath, they don't feel so exposed that way. Once they are calmed down, you can remove the hand above them slowly. Also works for the ones that have attitude, LOL.

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Basically what you are describing is doing the hook technique but with just your hand instead of an actualy hook. That could work fine with bp's as they are a very docile snake but using your hand to poke a lot of other snakes to let them know you are there could easily get you bit. A small warm object like your hand could easily be mistaken for food, as it is moving towards them, for more aggressive eatters. That is why people use the hook technique for snakes. The poke with a hook or stick, because of repitition, allows the snake to learn no food is coming so then the warm hand could safely move in to grab them.

the method I'm talking about is best for smaller snakes or hatchlings, and I mean you come from above with a flat palm, not towards the snake from the front, where it can strike you. Most of them cannot strike straight up, and the flat palm presents no good area to hold on to.

Its kind of hard to explain :)

There is a video somewhere that shows it better, its also used with aggressive boa youngsters...

But yes, if in doubt, use a hook to touch them with, so they know its not feeding time, then pick them up.

I just use a 12" piece of thin styrofoam as my indicator that I am coming into the tank for handling.