Vik absolutely positively hates me.

Hello everyone.

Well, I got Viktor mid December. He was a month old (born Nov. 22nd '06). I'm sure everything is perfect... I've got a herpstat ND maintaining my temps, two identical hides on each side, a humidity level averaging 50ish%, 20gal long, eco earth substrate, no real "open" space... it's a nice place to live... he'll sleep during the day and come out between 8-10pm. His first shed went perfectly.

He didn't like me at first, so I slept with some clean socks and put them in the tank for a few weeks so he'd get used to my smell. I think that helped for a little.

I was handling him 2-5 times a week, but as of late I haven't handled him in a week. He'll curl & rear up whenever I open the tank to take him out or change his water. I have not been bitten yet, but I've totally built up getting bitten in my mind & have become a complete wimp because of this. I know it won't hurt, but the fear of the strike is making my attempts to handle him deteriorate.

He eats every time I feed him (every 1-1.5 weeks). The last time I fed him he sniffed the mouse then went right for my hand. I was wearing a pair of rubber gloves and holding the mouse by the tail with a pair of foot-long tweezer/tongs - my hand was basically out of his line of site! He had to move and climb to get a clear shot at me. And I always make sure I don't get my own stink on the mouse. I left the mouse on a piece of paper towel and let him eat it that way.

I was looking at him through the glass today and he stared & mouthed the words "get f'ked" to me.

I know from everything I've read here that there are just some snakes that are this way and never change.

As of today, I feel like I've fallen victim to what I preach against - my pet owns me. I also feel like a failure of a herp owner. Any advice? Have some of you dealt with this & managed to "change" the snake?

edit: crap, could someone move this to "General BP?" Sorry about that.

1st question what sized mouse? I am assuming adultish. You aren't a failure, you have only had him for a month and a half, no worries. The hatchling that i had bought was very snappy. But after about a month of persistance he began to relax. what i try to do when i take out a snake that is a bit deffensive/aggressive, was keep him moving in my hands, you don't want him to be feeling that he is being grabbed by some monster from the sky. If you keep him moving then he feels like you are part oh his enviroment. try that and keep us updated.


~mike

Hey Mike. I've been feeding him thawed fuzzies. I'll be staying on it like you said. I really really hope he comes around soon. I don't want to stress him out over and over.

i would try moving him up to about a hoppersh sized mouse, the snappyness may be from being a bit hungry, unless he is a really small snake. hope that helps!

~mike

I'll definitely do that, starting tomorrow. Thanks again.

glad to help. keep checking back incase others have any suggestions.


~mike

Yeah, I'm going to. I'm F5'ing this page every 10 minutes or so =)

just remember hes a snake, not a dog. his instincts, especially being a little guy, are telling him you are a threat. hell come around. it just takes time and patience. dont give up! :rockon:

Be careful of putting sock in the enclosure, as you don't want them ingested. You might want to consider lining the top of the cage, if you want to familiarize him with your scent. (although I've had no experience with this method)

My advice is to cover 3 sides of your tank. 20 gallons is still pretty big for a 4 month old snake. He's also young, so keeping handling sessions short and no longer than 15 minutes. You may also want to consider a small adult mouse as well. Remember this little guy is bottom of the food chain and he knows it. Remember to have patience, move slowly and always wash your hands before and after handling.

Good luck and let us know how you progress. :D

Hey, thanks for the replies. I'll keep an eye on the sock, maybe change it to something with more bulk to it. I've already got three sides covered :D . How often have you handled your youngins? Daily?

speepdaedeesi - yep, I had a little trouble with that at first (the dog comment), but I caught on after all the research I did. I'm glad I'm getting positive replies about this, I was anticipating "well, some snakes are like that." Either way, I hope that isn't the case.

I don't have any youngsters right now. I had one female that was prone to striking defesively. She'd hiss (a lot) and strike at me (occassionally). It took almost 2-3 months of establishing a routine to get her to calm down. She hasnt' struck at me in almost 6 months and only lets out a hiss every now and then.

Another thing you may want to try is to just open the cage and light stroke her for a minute or two. Wait until the hissing and striking has died down, because I believe that pulling your hand out while she's making her show for you is just reinforcing that her behavior works. If you're intimidated you may want to consider gloves for awhile, if that would make you more comfortable. Just a couple more suggestions.

i suggest you do what i'm doing right now with a kingsnake who's being snappy. crumple some newspaper and fill the entire tank with it. this will allow him to feel much more safe.

once a week remove one piece of newspaper and over the next few months slowly the tank will empty.

works GREAT!

Assuming Vik is a young BP and even if he isn't, he's new to you and new to all the smells and vibrations of your home. Striking at you is absolutely normal in this circumstance and I think if you look at it this way, you'll accept it for what it is. Just a stressed, possibly quite young snake that is pretty sure the big warm mammal thing likely wants to eat him. Purely a defensive, survival mechanism and something that most snakes get past (some don't but BPs generally are pretty laid back).

Try Aleesha's idea of the newspaper in the tank. It's not pretty but it's a proven trick to settling in a nervy snake.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ickTopView.jpg

We got an adult female BP awhile back who was incredibly aggressive, the pet store employees were afraid of her and she was a big girl. We did the newspaper trick and just fed her and left her be basically for weeks. Then we would get the gloves on and just remove her gently but firmly, keep her out for a few minutes only then put her back in....over and over again...until she finally got it through her basic brain that we weren't actually a danger to her and there was no need to constantly try to bite us. Eventually we could have her out for longer periods and these days small children can handle Brannagh.

We do have a routine with all the snakes. When it's time to be handled we gently stroke their body down the last half (not hear the head) before we lift them, every time. They seem to recognize that this routine means they are coming out as we don't do this when we are just cleaning tubs. They have another routine that we do on feeding days. BPs are creatures of habit and simple routines seem to make them feel less stressed and less likely to strike out. The fact is though that some snakes are more reactive and even the calmest snake will occasionally jab at you for who knows what reason, just being a snake I guess. :)

Thanks a lot for the great advice. It makes me so happy to know that there's still hope for my guy, and that I'm not too late. I'm going to do the newspaper thing along with getting him a bigger meal. Frankykeno, what method do you use on feeding days?

Do any of you think Vik is a feed in another tank/location candidate? I know some of you believe in this and some don't.

also you might try this when you go into his cage go in with a water bottle if he strikes just touch the top of his head with the bottle and he should ball up them pick him up and handle him. Slow a first and for short periods working your way up in time. If your feeding f/t and hes going for your hand guess what. Your hand is warmer than the mouse so that what he goes for. Just remember this is a wild animal and a snake to boot so to him as a baby your trying to eat him (in his mind). Just work slow and keep it short at first I have a banded female that has bitten from day 1 this weekend I had my first bite/strike free handleing. good luck and I hope this helps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Quadrophenia

Do any of you think Vik is a feed in another tank/location
candidate? I know some of you believe in this and some don't.

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No, I don't think feeding location has anything to do with his behavior. I would think moving him to a separate feeding location would only serve to stress him further.

I recently got a young new bp myself. He was born back in July.
When I got him home he was a hissing nippy fool, really amounts to what everyone said he is just scared.
Mine would strike at me every time I opened the tub or even if I was in front of the tub he would strike at me thru the tub.

I did what one suggested to you. I let him settle in for a couple weeks and during that time when I would open the tub to change the water I would speak very softly to him ( yeah I know they don't have ears ) and I would stoke his back side very lightly for a second or two. I would try to move very slowly and never over his head. After a few weeks I would handle him for a few mins every other day or so no matter how much he hissed. The trick is to let them know that hissing and striking is not gonna stop you from doing what you do.
Now he has settled in nicely and knows I am no threat to him. Now when I open his tub he climbs out and wants to hang on me and crawl up my hands and around my neck. But he still will ball up and get scared if when he is in his cage I move to quick around his head and face.

Just keep working with him and move slow and be gentle. I swear by the speaking softly and stroking them lightly everytime you open the cage. It has worked on both of my bp's.