Got my first Tic

Well I took the plunge and got my first tic after trolling for about 6 months and deciding if I want to take on such an adventure. A lavender albino tiger. Good looking snake, but like an idiot I didn't weight it when it was still in the shipping bag.

Nippy would be an understatement. Totally pissed off would be more accurate. Wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't say I was questioning my decision.

Sounds beautiful.

I tend to second guess animal acquisitions too. The first few days an new *anything* are very stressful. I actually RETURNED the last dog we took in. I just felt completely overwhelmed. BF convinced me to go back to the shelter for her. She turned out just fine.

Good luck with your tic.

I'm sure she will calm down, the first week is always sketchy with anything I bring in. I just normally don't flash forward in time and imagine a 15'er trying to rip my face off!

not sure what kind of reptile experience you have but retics can be a huge challenge but the rewards are well worth it. I'm fairly new to them also being as I got my first one 2 years ago. but same as any species give it time to settle in and relax before attempting to do anything besides maintenance. hook training is a must when young to prevent accidents in the future. they have an awesome feed response so be sure to use extreme caution on feeding days. the biggest tip I can offer on handling is watch the eyes and body language. if the eyes are dialated then they are not relaxed or comfortable yet. I have a couple that I hook and let them come fully out of the enclosure before picking up with my hands just because they dont like anything in their home. feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions and i'll help the best I can. also if youre on facebook be sure to join the retic nation group if you havent yet. they can be a lot of help and a lot of good info being shared. Enjoy your new baby :)

My goldenchild girl was the same way when I opend the bag. The first time I held her she was a doll and for the most part is sweet as can be. I say most time because she was rather grumpy this morning when I tried to clean her cage. Just handle them with confidence and use a hook for sure. gental rub her back lets her no im not food and I can go rite in... congrats and enjoy my retics quickly became the favorites in my collection.

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Originally Posted by H.o.F.R

not sure what kind of reptile experience you have but retics can be a huge challenge but the rewards are well worth it. I'm fairly new to them also being as I got my first one 2 years ago. but same as any species give it time to settle in and relax before attempting to do anything besides maintenance. hook training is a must when young to prevent accidents in the future. they have an awesome feed response so be sure to use extreme caution on feeding days. the biggest tip I can offer on handling is watch the eyes and body language. if the eyes are dialated then they are not relaxed or comfortable yet. I have a couple that I hook and let them come fully out of the enclosure before picking up with my hands just because they dont like anything in their home. feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions and i'll help the best I can. also if youre on facebook be sure to join the retic nation group if you havent yet. they can be a lot of help and a lot of good info being shared. Enjoy your new baby :)

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Thanks, I've had snakes since high school. I just figured it was time to take the plunge, I've been wanting one for some time but with the lacy BS it moved my time line up. Not that I really had a time line but I figured now is as good of a time as any. Ever since I laid eyes on the bright morphs I had to have one.

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Originally Posted by frostysBP

My goldenchild girl was the same way when I opend the bag. The first time I held her she was a doll and for the most part is sweet as can be. I say most time because she was rather grumpy this morning when I tried to clean her cage. Just handle them with confidence and use a hook for sure. gental rub her back lets her no im not food and I can go rite in... congrats and enjoy my retics quickly became the favorites in my collection.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

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I've got the hook, I've read so many times about the hook it was the first purchase. I learned on my first snake that confidence wins the day. What caught me off guard is that once I had her she turned on me. Every other snake i had once I got a hold of them and got them out they were more worried about getting away. She is young, I wish I weighed her, she has that neonate "OMG I'm being EATEN! panic in her eyes".

Well I couldn't wait the whole week. I took her out on Friday and she snapped twice but once I got her out of her bin and away from it she turned into another snake. I've heard a few others talk on the forums about how they are quite territorial about their living quarters. I scented her with a used t shirt as well, she was crawling all over that so hopefully that will imprint on her well.

The one thing I can't get over is the eyes. I'm used to those ball python eyes of emptiness. I def get a feel of consciousness behind hers.

I named her Helena. I name all my girls currently named after Orphan Black characters. She is Helena because she has sweet intentions but won't hesitate to kill you if need be, I thought it fitting.

I feel your pain, literally. I have had a dwarf retic the last few months that has been verging on satanic. I posted this in other threads, but it took us literally months before he didn't tag me repeatedly every handling. He still nips once in a while, but its gotten better.

I am going to retry hook training. The first time we initiated the process, he would lunge and strike at the hook. Consistency is key with these guys. And I definitely know what you mean about still striking once out of the cage. My dwarf will strike at anything that moves even while in my hands.

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

I feel your pain, literally. I have had a dwarf retic the last few months that has been verging on satanic. I posted this in other threads, but it took us literally months before he didn't tag me repeatedly every handling. He still nips once in a while, but its gotten better.

I am going to retry hook training. The first time we initiated the process, he would lunge and strike at the hook. Consistency is key with these guys. And I definitely know what you mean about still striking once out of the cage. My dwarf will strike at anything that moves even while in my hands.

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Good advice Josh,

And seeing how you were ready to give up when confronted with the same issues, and then deciding to keep at it speaks volumes. You are one of the folks that can offer REAL advice from personal experience!

I can see people reading your advice in the future and you directing them back to your initial posts that show the same initial concerns.

It's nice of you to step up in this thread because I know where you were at just a few months ago.

I'm not sure how to go about it, but I think Josh deserves some "Reputation Points" for this. Even though he is still working with his animal, progress has been made and he is certainly a good resource for a person trying to calm down a new baby retic.

Wow thanks Gio! It's been a pretty harrowing experience, but we are making strides. It was frustrating to want a retic so badly, but for him to be so hard to handle.

I truly hope that one day he will be a no issue snake. I've come to take this on as a long term challenge.

Between my powerlifting, rugby, karate and a hateful retic, my hands are torn, bruised and bitten to an almost unrecognizable state, much to my girlfriends chagrin.

But it's all worth it in the end!

Thankfully I don't think I'm going to have a hard time of it at all. Took her out today for a bit twice with no nips each time. Tried to get some photos but they didn't turn out to well, I'll try and get some in better lighting tomorrow.

I have only had a couple of tics that were absolutely satanic right out of the bag when they first arrived. One is aptly named Satan simply because he has been for the better part of most his life (the last 3 years). Only these past few months has it really clicked that the hook is the source of his anger. Perhaps he sees it as a lack of trust and respect on my part, but I have learned with him that hook training and using a hook has kept his aggression going. Now I use my hand, and he rarely strikes, and has only landed a bite once since he was a baby.

My other biter is a goldenchild HOGS, he would have tore you up repeatedly when we first got him from NERD. Absolutely beastly aggression. But finally this last week, after being in his new vision for a couple weeks, he's no longer aggressive once out of the cage, and quite handleable.

Moral of the story is this: Yes, some snakes can be horrific to work with (across all species, not limited to retics), but you need to find out what makes them angry and fix that. If and only if they retain their aggression after settling down. Remember, he likely wants to be left alone when young. If he bites and you put him back, you are rewarding this bad behavior and he gets what he wants. Hate to have to say it, but remember, when he lands a bite stay strong and keep pulling him out DO NOT put him back after a bite or it will encourage that behavior and lead to bigger issues down the road.

Good luck

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

I have only had a couple of tics that were absolutely satanic right out of the bag when they first arrived. One is aptly named Satan simply because he has been for the better part of most his life (the last 3 years). Only these past few months has it really clicked that the hook is the source of his anger. Perhaps he sees it as a lack of trust and respect on my part, but I have learned with him that hook training and using a hook has kept his aggression going. Now I use my hand, and he rarely strikes, and has only landed a bite once since he was a baby.

My other biter is a goldenchild HOGS, he would have tore you up repeatedly when we first got him from NERD. Absolutely beastly aggression. But finally this last week, after being in his new vision for a couple weeks, he's no longer aggressive once out of the cage, and quite handleable.

Moral of the story is this: Yes, some snakes can be horrific to work with (across all species, not limited to retics), but you need to find out what makes them angry and fix that. If and only if they retain their aggression after settling down. Remember, he likely wants to be left alone when young. If he bites and you put him back, you are rewarding this bad behavior and he gets what he wants. Hate to have to say it, but remember, when he lands a bite stay strong and keep pulling him out DO NOT put him back after a bite or it will encourage that behavior and lead to bigger issues down the road.

Good luck

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My experiences definitely agree with you there. My retic hated the hook, and I actually was worried he was going to hurt himself from striking at it so hard. Now I just slowly put my hand in, lightly brush him with my hand. Now instead of tagging me a few times he just starts to slither away from me. I can just pick him up and pull him out without much of an ordeal. He still strikes if you get too close to his face too fast, but its much more toned down than a few months ago. It feels like a war of attrition between us, the more he bites, the longer I keep him out. I only put him back when he has calmed down for a significant while. Somehow I feel like we have started to gain some understanding between us, if only a little. I also switched him to shredded aspen instead of paper towel. I think this might have helped a bit to make him feel more secure in the tank.

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

I have only had a couple of tics that were absolutely satanic right out of the bag when they first arrived. One is aptly named Satan simply because he has been for the better part of most his life (the last 3 years). Only these past few months has it really clicked that the hook is the source of his anger. Perhaps he sees it as a lack of trust and respect on my part, but I have learned with him that hook training and using a hook has kept his aggression going. Now I use my hand, and he rarely strikes, and has only landed a bite once since he was a baby.

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Retics are so fascinating. Do you do the same movements you would do with a hook with your hands instead or do you have a different approach?

Well, it's been two weeks and Helena has calmed down completely. I'm pretty happy with her. I was a little concerned last week because she didn't eat, but this week she took a small rat fuzzy/pup. She didn't take it very aggressively either. She just reached up and took it and then slowly began to wind herself on it. It wasn't the type of feeding response I was expecting. Not that I'm complaining, I'll take the ginger feeding vs jumping across the room and ripping the forceps from my hands. I weighed her pre feeding and she's at 175 grams.

We have been handling her a lot. 3 of the 4 of us like snakes, the one daughter is terrified because she got tagged once, she will pet them but not hold them. So she has been spending a few hours out a day. She particularly likes chilling on my hand and watching TV.

my goldenchild has the laziest feeding response in the world.. all I have to do is show her the rat and lay it on the ground. my s/d on the other hand flys out of the tub to get anything that looks like food.

Interesting thread. I just added two additional SD and SD cross hatchlings. One was just scared nippy and calmed down within days. But my other I could easily see it was pure aggression. Hell she actually would attempt to crawl towards me jut to strike. Hopefully with some alone time and then some regular handling she will come around. First one I ever had with so much aggression. But I think she's starting to get it now. One of my other girls was super nervous and nipped at times but now she's probably my calmest out if the family.

I have a fascination with retics. I just love their patterns and those eyes! I go back and forth about getting one all the time because I question if I'd be able to handle it when it's full grown. I have a habit of falling in love with angry animals that just love to bite me. So my luck I'd get a biter that will only grow up as a potential hazard to me. This thread reconfirmed that I should probably just stick to my smaller ball pythons and boas. Besides, as of now I have no one around to help me out with a big snake. I'll just have to live vicariously through everyone's posts and pictures. Lol

Good point Tash, I wouldn't have gotten one if I didn't have help. But thankfully my wife likes snakes as does my daughter so we have plenty of hands if need be. I spent a lot of time searching and reading on retics first. My OCD is a good thing when it comes to husbandry I think. ;-)

I have found that like other things on the internet you have to check your sources. I have seen plenty of bad advice about feeding these guys. Anything from basically force feeding to practically starvation. I feed, and drink(mostly) responsibly.

Here is a pick of Helena finally. 213 grams. Sorry, she wasn't cooperating.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...1030_thumb.jpg

So pretty, esp. against the deep blue fabric.