Any advice on how to work with Natsu on getting out of his cage?

So Natsu has calmed down some what. I try to hold him each day (besides when in shed or right after he eats) for about 15-30 minutes depending on his body language. He has gotten where he will huff and hiss a little while out exploring on me and if he gets spooked he'll pee on me but he hasn't stuck at me since the first week, unless I put my hand in his cage to get him out. I've been using a hook to pull him out because if I put my hand in there he immediately gets in the strike pose. How can I work with him to be able to reach in and get him? Once he gets bigger I won't feel comfortable using the hook because I don't want to hurt him. Any advice would be appreciated! I don't mind getting tagged so if I need to just start putting my hand in his cage and leaving it in there till he gets used to that I will (that was suggested by a friend that has boas but I don't know if that works with bloods).

here's a pic of him waiting for me to spray his moss:

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...pswpg1jt1o.jpg

And then hen waiting for me to spray him:

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps4dsr7efu.jpg


And finally him after i sprayed him:
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...pskbnuzyzn.jpg

He loves his moss and always waits with his nose out for me to spray his head and then he'll sit there for a minute then go back into his moss and you can see it shifting around as he buries himself lol.

I don't know anything about the question... but thats adorable that he does that. such personality.

I would say that sounds fairly normal for a young blood. They really do tend to calm down with age. I have a semi adult blood and she is still a little huffy when i first reach into her cage. I also do what your friend said i will sometimes open the cage and just reach in lift up the hide and wait for her to calm down (usually 10/15 mins) then when she is noticeably relaxed i put the hide down and leave her alone, just to get her over the anxiety of being disturbed.
I personally wouldnt worry about the hook. I have an adult that i reach in and grab but i always use the hook first just to get a sense of her mood. I would never stick my hand in an adult bloods cage with out getting a good feel for the mood. I usually give her a little nudge with the hook to alert her to my presence, then depending on what way her head is facing ill try to shift her around so shes not poised at my hands when i grab her.

Thanks! I will start putting my hand in and leaving it in there and see how that goes! I really want him to get more comfortable with me.

What happens if you reach in and grab him out right away? Ime short tails are just a bit grouchy in cage and it's better to just go for it, once you have tapped or otherwise alerted the snake that you aren't food first. I have a couple that are not happy about coming out but don't actually bite, despite all the bluff.


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Originally Posted by GoingPostal

What happens if you reach in and grab him out right away? Ime short tails are just a bit grouchy in cage and it's better to just go for it, once you have tapped or otherwise alerted the snake that you aren't food first. I have a couple that are not happy about coming out but don't actually bite, despite all the bluff.


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As soon as I open his cage he starts huffing and gets in the strike pose. I haven't tried just putting my hand in right away. After I open the lid I usually then touch him with the hook and he'll hiss at me and jerk around like he's going to strike at the hook. I then usually just lift him and get him out of the cage with the hook. But once he's full grown this won't be an option so I need to build trust with him that I'm not a predator going to hurt him. So I'm just trying to figure that part out. After I get him out he's fine he explores my lap and only huffs a little. I did get peed on today because my husband came in unannounced and it scared him enough that he sprayed me and I can definitely attest that he's a boy. Plus my husband found a female albino blood that he really likes but before he brings her home I want to make sure that I am doing things correctly with Natsu since I'll end up being the one to take care of the other blood as well.

Why wouldn't using the hook an option when he's full grown? I use a hook for my borneo. I don't just reach my hand into any enclosure (aside from ball pythons) and just grab the snake, not unless they're actively moving away from my hand or looking away. 90 percent of the time I use the hook.

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I don't have advice, but can you not get a bigger and thicker hook or snake tongs for when he's an adult?

He's still pretty small, I would throw a glove on if you are concerned about a bite or just go for it, see what he does. A lot of times it's really just bluff and noise. All I do is open the cage, lift the hide and touch their side to get them alert I am handling and grab them out, if i wait and think about it seems to just get them more defensive. I only use the hook if they are looking like they want food to tap and snap them out of it. Although some days they are not in the mood and it's better to just leave them alone, I normally only handle once or twice a week so maybe cut back a bit on time out?


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No one around here sells a bigger hook I can see if I can find one on Amazon but I'm always apprehensive about using the hook, I'm afraid I'm going to hurt his ribs or something I would rather just be able to grab him out and make sure he's supported the whole way. I'll try just reaching in and grabbing him and see how that goes and cut back on the handling. thanks guys!

I just follow the better safe than sorry route, I don't really want to risk a bite at all from an adult. Lol

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I have an anxiety issue and some people I know have told me horror stories where they have hooked their burm or boa and cracked their ribs with a hook on accident and one died and so that now has me worried that would happen with Natsu. I would rather be bit any day than be the cause of my animal dying. I know I worry a lot but it's part of the anxiety disorder so I try my best to do what I can and find ways to ease the anxiety and my snakes help as long as I don't have people telling me that what I'm doing might kill my animal (i.e. using the hook, also had someone tell me that using the rack system for my balls would kill them but I know a lot of people on this forum and people I know use them with no problem so I just keep telling myself that and it helps).

Have you tried covering up his head with a small hand towel before picking him up? I've done this with other defensive snakes - if they don't see your hand coming they don't nip, and once you get a hand on them they are ok.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Have you tried covering up his head with a small hand towel before picking him up? I've done this with other defensive snakes - if they don't see your hand coming they don't nip, and once you get a hand on them they are ok.

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Yep, I sometimes use the hide to block their head a bit while I grab the middle, once I've got a hand on them good and get them over to the door they have settled enough to grab safely with hands. I use the towel trick on my iguana if I need to grab him in a bad mood lol, calms him down really well. That's one animal I don't want to take a bite from though.

I'm going to try the towel trick thanks for the suggestion!

The towel trick worked!! Thanks so much makes me feel more confident and he's not as stressed either! He barely huffed at me on the way out of the cage and then was his usual explorey self :)

This is the 'female' that I might be bringing home in a few weeks (she's in shed so looks more white than she normally is plus waiting for her to finish her shed to make sure she is a she because one of the owners told me male and the other female so they are not sure until they can probe after she sheds):

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...psqn1ozan5.jpg

Glad it worked! I took my baby blood out today, he's definitely a jumpy little guy but didn't manage to connect at all and did pretty well for his first handling with me. He's right around the same age as yours probably, born this summer.

I have raised a bunch of Bloods from fresh hatched babies till they were adults. I can say from the hundreds of baby blood bites I have had all of them were over it way before being adults. I am talking about devil babies. They all had plain cages their hides were folded newspaper substrate was also newspaper. Plain handed I would open the cage and immediately pick them up from their backside never going toward the face. Hooks make them more jumpy from my experience I think its the cold steel. I would hold them a few minutes everyday never moving anything in front of their face. Even the nastiest Cherries I had would always calm down usually puppy dog tame. They huff and puff that's a Blood thing! Its when the tounge is straight out hissing you know your getting bit!!!They will get used to you then you know you achieved greatness :-) That's really just meanning your adding more to your collection!!!Good luck and support your new addiction!!!

I'm glad things are working.

I just thought I'd point out one thing. You may be misunderstanding the use of a hook. Many of us use it to alert the snake with a body rub, and then use it to redirect the head should they turn and want to strike. Once alerted and in position, the snake is still picked up by hand.

Occasionally with lighter, semi arboreal snakes you can let the front end of the snake crawl through the hook and cradle the rest of the body on your free arm which is similar their use of branches in the wild. Arboreal and semi arboreal snakes are more accommodated to reaching with less support.

In your case, with a completely terrestrial and heavy bodied snake, it would be used to alert and redirect only.

The advantage is a hook will get you a little more added distance VS paper towels or something else. The disadvantage is if they strike the hook hard, it could hurt their mouth.

It sounds like things are working out, but thought I'd clarify that using a hook doesn't necessarily mean "hooking" the snake.

Beautiful python you have.

Enjoy!

Wish I had advice / something to contribute other than what others have said, but gosh darn it, you guys!!!! The photos of Natsu waiting to get spritzed are almost enough to convince me that we need to add a blood to our collection pronto. :D

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Originally Posted by Gio;[URL="tel:2476955"

2476955[/URL]]I'm glad things are working.

I just thought I'd point out one thing. You may be misunderstanding the use of a hook. Many of us use it to alert the snake with a body rub, and then use it to redirect the head should they turn and want to strike. Once alerted and in position, the snake is still picked up by hand.

Occasionally with lighter, semi arboreal snakes you can let the front end of the snake crawl through the hook and cradle the rest of the body on your free arm which is similar their use of branches in the wild. Arboreal and semi arboreal snakes are more accommodated to reaching with less support.

In your case, with a completely terrestrial and heavy bodied snake, it would be used to alert and redirect only.

The advantage is a hook will get you a little more added distance VS paper towels or something else. The disadvantage is if they strike the hook hard, it could hurt their mouth.

It sounds like things are working out, but thought I'd clarify that using a hook doesn't necessarily mean "hooking" the snake.

Beautiful python you have.

Enjoy!

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thanks!! Yeah the person who showed me how to use a hook showed me wrong I have since then looked up videos on the proper way to use a hook! Thanks for the info!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gio

I'm glad things are working.

I just thought I'd point out one thing. You may be misunderstanding the use of a hook. Many of us use it to alert the snake with a body rub, and then use it to redirect the head should they turn and want to strike. Once alerted and in position, the snake is still picked up by hand.

Occasionally with lighter, semi arboreal snakes you can let the front end of the snake crawl through the hook and cradle the rest of the body on your free arm which is similar their use of branches in the wild. Arboreal and semi arboreal snakes are more accommodated to reaching with less support.

In your case, with a completely terrestrial and heavy bodied snake, it would be used to alert and redirect only.

The advantage is a hook will get you a little more added distance VS paper towels or something else. The disadvantage is if they strike the hook hard, it could hurt their mouth.

It sounds like things are working out, but thought I'd clarify that using a hook doesn't necessarily mean "hooking" the snake.

Beautiful python you have.

Enjoy!

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Excellent post and spot on with all advice IMHO


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OMG! Cute pics! Gotta love the little burrowers. Mine doesn't like to get spritzed, she huffs up a storm.;) I wish I had advice for you, but we rescued our Blood when she was nearly 2 and she, for the most part, has been an angel. But, I'm sure you'll get some great advice on this forum.