What a booger...

Last night I took Ginger the Rescue Case out for a soak, to see if he had any more ticks. I am happy to say that after over an hour in soapy water, nothing showed up.
BUT the fun began when I took him out and prepared to put him back into his rubbermaid home. He leapt for a shelf in the kitchen with shocking fastness. I never thought that a big, fat BP could lunge that fast, but it was like those cobras you see on Tv. I got him under control finally, but he was completely flipping out in my hands and trying to get away, hissing like a mofo all the while. I was careful not to apply too much pressure to him, but he was really going nuts from being handled, for the twenty-foot journey from soaking rubbermaid to living-in rubbermaid. Then once inside he scrambled for the warm hide.
This snake is completely terrified of people. What have I gotten myself into!? My boyfriend wants to throw in the towel and give him away, but I am going to stick it out and keep this snake, since I am the one who does cage maintenance anyway. This is a really good arguement for boycotting the adult-WC market.

Poor guy. If it weren't for the possibility of creepy-crawlies getting on your other critters, I'd say leave him alone entirely for a few more weeks. Realistically, though, that's not an option for you. I have a suggestion you might try, tho. Snyder definitely recognizes my voice and she's much less likely to be startled about being gotten out if I talk to her first to let her know it's me. Hanover is pretty much to that point, too. You might try occasionally opening his container and just speaking to him for several seconds and closing it back so he doesn't associate your voice with unpleasant things, then make a point of speaking to him each time before you take him out of it. It may not calm him any but it doesn't cost you anything to try.

sounds like he REALLY doesn't like the rubbermaid company.lol Marla makes a good point above, just keep it up, they don't all "like" people. You just have to do what you can sometimes.
Thanks
Rsuty

LOL.....Marla, snakes are deaf. They don't have external ears. ;)

David, they don't hear like you and I do, but they absolutely feel sound vibrations and can apparently recognize vibratory patterns as indicating something in particular. You don't have to believe me, but it's definitely worked to calm Snyder who used to be really jumpy about being taken out when I'd do it without warning her first.

Yes they can sense vibrations easily, but I think saying that they "recognize your voice" may be anthropomorphizing them a bit too much. I'm not quite sure why but people always seem to be trigger happy to proclaim that their pets have this 6th sense that allows them to connect with their owners somehow. Did you ever think that perhaps being that Ball Pythons are very shy that the high-freqency vibrations being put off by your voice scared the snake into being still? Its certainly not out of the question.

I am not anthropomorphizing to say that a snake can recognize a particular vibratory pattern to which it is regularly exposed, David. It's not like I'm saying she's a dog who comes when she's called, just that this vibratory pattern is one she's learned doesn't indicate a threat from a predator so far. That doesn't mean she recognizes pitch or voiceprint or words, just a vibratory pattern, as in the wild she'd likely learn to tell the steps of a jerboa from the steps of a gazelle.

And, no, she's not being "scared into being still," because before I started speaking to her prior to lifting off her hide, she'd recoil immediately when it was lifted, even lifting slowly. Now she doesn't recoil and wraps right around my arm and gets to sniffing and looking around instead of balling up, recoiling, trying to hide in a sleeve, or similar behaviors.

Tou che. Good points Marla. I love some friendly banter every now & then. ;)

David, I know ya do, and I'm perfectly happy to have a friendly debate sometimes, but I'm not sure when I read these things from you if you're just tweaking me or if you genuinely believe that I am prone to anthropomorphizing and flights of fancy. :shock:

Haha.....Gotta keep you on your toes, right? Don't worry, I was just tweakin ya. If I'm gonna give you a hard time, you'll know it LOL.

My snake snores and his favorite color is chartreuse :P

David, do ya know sometimes I want to box your ears? ;)

Smulkin, I can tell you're lying because no one's favorite color is chartreuse! :)

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David, do ya know sometimes I want to box your ears?

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Yeah, but join the club LOL. :D

I am SO surprised anyone else would have that reaction. ;)

If I say that Plissken cries like a puppy when I leave him alone too long is that anthropomorphizing? :D

My young bp seems to be very timid. I only handle her a few times a week, and she's been eating great (no more than 5 seconds between dropping the mouse in her feed box, and her striking at the mouse...almost an irresponsible, fearless kind of quickness) so I don't want to change anything.

She balls up when i remove her from the cage, but then unballs as soon as she feels secure in my hands. Are they just like that when they are young?

Beaglegod ,your beginning to sound like ole JB up there looks:)

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

She balls up when i remove her from the cage, but then unballs as soon as she feels secure in my hands. Are they just like that when they are young?

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It's perfectly normal. It's not so much an age-related issue as it is a handling and security issue. Some BP's (like some people) are just naturally more shy or more reluctant to be handled. A lot of BP's get used to it with regular handling (without traumatic results, such as dropping, which can set them back) and getting them used to it can go more quickly if they usually can feel secure (they have good, dark, snug hides in the enclosure, don't have a lot of traffic or people pulling them out, aren't pulled out by kids or nincompoops who swing them around or drop them or otherwise cause them to feel insecure). I'm not saying you do any of those things, just that time and consideration for security will generally add up to a snake that's not too reluctant to be handled.

What is anthropomorphizing? Hec I can't even say it without twisting my tongue :lol:

Well, you spelled it very well, for someone who can't say it and doesn't know what it means. LOL

It means applying human characteristics to an animal.

Oh ok, Thanks.

hey wait, my nile comes when called, oh yeah, she just wants to eat me,
But the fish, yeah our fish come over to the front of the tank when I walk by, I think they like me, oh dang, They just want to eat too.
so sad really, no one loves me but the humans, and maybe the ferrets and stewie the Rabbit, you never can tell these days
Rusty

We Love you! :D

Mmmmmm......rabbit stew......oh, oops, nevermind!

oh, I'll get you Randy, oh wait the nile will, she is still hungry..lol
Rusty

https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop...08/Cnv0058.jpg

Is that Stewie? I was inquiring about him in another thread by the way. Glad to know he is still alive :mrgreen:

he is, bottle fed from day one, him and his sister, his sister "louie" was adopted to a nice family. Stewie is a fixed male who loves to eat iguana food as a treat. My boy Stewie.

He has such a cuuuuute little bunny face :lol:

thanks, beleive it or not he is a 3.5 lb meat rabbit..lol No comments out of you Randy..lol
His father was a 22 lb satin meat rabbit, and his mom was only a 3.5 lb dwarf cross, poor girl. He was a rescue from a very large animal cruelty case, and has been doing well, thankfully.
Rusty

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Originally Posted by Rustysdragons

His father was a 22 lb satin meat rabbit

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:shock:

I haven't been online in a few days, but here's an update on my skittish BP.
I handled him a few days ago. Taking him out of the cage, he was pretty tense and balled up, but he did relax and try to get lost in the sofa cushions. I mainly took him out to check for any ticks; I gave him a good soak shortly after, and found nothing floating around in there. I have used the Zoo-med tick spray; I used it two days ago and will re-treat with it tomorrow, since it says to repeat treatment every three days. It's made of natural ingredients, so I figured I'd give it a shot along with soakings.
This "big baby" BP is probably going to be skittish forever, but I can deal with it. I really didn't adopt him to be a lap-snake; that's what Goblin is for!

Sounds like good progress! You'll have to keep an eye out for a while for hatchling ticks, but getting rid of the adults is the most immediate need.

Grr, there are a few more. Last night I saw them. But it was the third day since I last sprayed, so I resprayed and resoaked everyone. Still saw no ticks in the soaking water, though there were tiny ones in the bci's water bowls. I never knew how horribly ... horrible ticks could be. And to top it off, I have strep throat!

So sorry to hear that, Ginevive! I haven't had to deal with ticks or mites on my reptiles, but I remember when I was a kid, we got a really bad flea infestation from the dogs. Just when you thought you were rid of them, all the eggs hatched and you started all over again!

Even if you find a product that claims to kill the eggs, you should just count on missing some of those microscopic boogers when you treat. Some will hatch. Just keep treating and treating. Maybe do some research on the life-cycle of these guys. Eventually you'll kill off all the living before they get a chance to lay more eggs. A little research could help you know how close you are to achieving that goal.

I sure hope you get to feeling better soon. Strep sucks!

Keep on trying never give up. I think that it is really a wonderful thing that you are doing. I wish you the best of luck with this rescue.