General BP ?'s

Ok I have my Husbandry down and my snake has ate but I have a few newbie questions. Here is a little background.

I have had my snake for a little over two weeks left her completely alone for a week and her first feeding try was a failure because of me she was very excited about eating but I scared her. the second feeding attempt she ate and I have given her three days alone.

now my questions:

when and how should I begin handling? Me and my wife are anxious to try to handle her but I don't want to rush it. She is always in her hide so I don't want to scare her.

and I have a question about behavior. when I get near the cage lately she looks at me and follows my movement is this normal or does she think I am something to eat? she also puffs up and acts scared if I take the top of her tub to change the water etc. is this normal? when I have lifted her hide to check on her she puffs up and sometimes hides her head under her body(cutest thing ever) or she puffs up and moves her head back away from me? is this all normal? It is obvious she is scared of me so I don't want to get bit or stress her out but I know they are shy snakes so maybe they always do this?

Sorry for the long post but I just dont know what behavior is normal or what her behaviors mean exactly any help would be great. thanks.



Brandon

You can start short handling sessions with her now if you'd like - I'd limit them to 15 minutes, and keep them positive. If you're fearful of her, she'll pick up on that. Be as relaxed as possible.

If they "S" their necks when I handle them, I gently straiten their necks out of the position with a couple of fingers against the neck, which seems to get them out of the potential strike mode and they can't strike with a straight neck.

When she's calm and relaxed for a minute or so, put her back up - she'll start to associate that when she's calm - she gets what she wants (to be put back up). Remember that handling is for our pleasure.

Especially if she's a baby, the behaviors she's showing you seem typical and normal. You're a big predator in her mind - she hasn't learned yet that you can be trusted.

Take your time, and enjoy the process! Can she bite you? Absolutely, but I assure you that the anticipation of a bite is far worse than the actual event.

Good luck!

I agree with Robin.
Furio wasn't too hot on the idea of me picking him up. He tried to get away alot sometimes and other times stayed curled in his ball. Now after a few weeks of short handling I've upped him to being out about an hour a day (Except on feeding day and for 2 days after) and he explores all over me, especially the head and shoulders area and frequently falls asleep in my hands.

She'll warm up to ya. You just gotta give her time to get nice and comfy with you and your scent.:gj:

ok tonight I went to try to handle her and she was curled up with her neck in an S shape and she was fallowing the movement of my hand. does this sound like I should attempt to pick her up or leave her alone. I am not afraid to get bit I have been bit before but are snakes like other animals where if they bite and it keeps you at bay that they will learn to bit every time they don't want to be messed with? I just don't want to do anything to mess up her temperament if that is even possible. thanks.

I forgot to mention that this time when I was trying to take her out of her cage she was in the corner of the tub head facing me so I let her be because there was no way to grab her without going over her head. How do I get her out?

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Originally Posted by Timbuktu

ok tonight I went to try to handle her and she was curled up with her neck in an S shape and she was fallowing the movement of my hand. does this sound like I should attempt to pick her up or leave her alone. I am not afraid to get bit I have been bit before but are snakes like other animals where if they bite and it keeps you at bay that they will learn to bit every time they don't want to be messed with? I just don't want to do anything to mess up her temperament if that is even possible. thanks.

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Yes, they can "train" you and learn what behavior has worked in the past to keep you at bay - including this "S"ing up. If you can, the next time you attempt this - get something to lightly touch her on her head (the bottom of a water bottle works well but really anything will do) so that she ducks her head and then just pick her up quickly and confidently.

Then sit down and have some quiet time with her.

I don't think that you'll be affecting her temperment - right now you're just building trust with her. :)

Hey thanks for the questions and answers I just like this place so I can learn more..
peace

thanks so much for the help. I took her out with success she is a sweet snake once she is out of her home. thanks so much.

:gj: Keep up the good work and enjoy her! You'll find it will get easier and easier, then you'll "remember when" and smile.

most important, don't let your snake (or any animal) bully you, i went threw the same initial phase the first few weeks i had my ball (her name is bonnie by the way i've had her now since november, she is very gorgeous i'll post up some pictures, but am also new to this forum). I actually picked up the slower i'm moving the more hesitant i am and focusing on her every move rather now, i just usually gain control of her directional movement by picking up her tail end (assuming i'm not waking her up out of her cozy knit ball) with another hand i'll pick up somewhere higher on the neck lift her out of the cage and put her on my neck, ....then go about cleaning the tank and changing the water, she seems very curious when i go about doing this...at first she just hid her head in my clothing ...tonight she actually jumped:confused: off me falling into the sink where i was washing her dish, which was my mistake feeling TOO confident... but as we should not fling these snakes they are fairly hardy animals...notoriously a great first exotic pet for someone because of this


basically there is a margin for mistakes.. as they aren't encouraged i don't think you have to worry about permanently altering her temperment from picking her up wrong or anything, might just make her grumpy for a few minutes... sorry for the long post but also wanted to introduce myself... James
thanks:banana:

I often use a baffle, just something like a plastic lid from a shoe box when I need to get to an hungry/fiesty animal. In my left hand, I hold the baffle above the animals head or between their head and my right hand, and use my right hand to grab the animal. Once I get them picked up, I put the baffle away and handle the animal as usual.

You should not need to touch the animal at all with the baffle :) Works great on those animals that have hair-trigger feeding responses and think its lunch time everytime the draw is opened

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Originally Posted by Timbuktu

thanks so much for the help. I took her out with success she is a sweet snake once she is out of her home. thanks so much.

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Glad to hear it went well! :D

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Originally Posted by rabernet

If they "S" their necks when I handle them, I gently straiten their necks out of the position with a couple of fingers against the neck, which seems to get them out of the potential strike mode and they can't strike with a straight neck.

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While they can't do their instant strike with a straight neck, I have had a big snake come out of it's bin in a friendly pose and give me the worst BP bite I've ever had. It hurt for a couple of seconds and bled a bit, but I was fine after running it under cold water for a minute. Their teeth are so small that even a large deep bite isn't too bad. My cat is FAR more dangerous.

So glad to read the handling went well. :) You were given some wonderful, common sense advice in this thread to help your family and your snake start down the road to good handling experiences.

Just from my own experiences with our snakes I can tell you the babies are a bit more spazzy about this stuff at first. If you think about it from their basic snake brains...you and your wife are pretty big heat emitting possibly it might want to eat me things. Develop simple routines is the advice I was given when we first got into snakes and we follow it to this day. We have routines that indicate to the snakes "here comes some rats, it's feeding day!" We have routines for "hey want to come out and hang out with me a bit" times. Others for "I'm only here to collect your poop, don't mind me". :)

Simple routines done over and over seem to work well with ball pythons. As they mature they seem to get that what we do means "X" will now happen in their lives and they are generally pretty laid back about it.

Remember though in the end, captive born snake or not, this is a snake with all the instincts nature gave it. Even the most mild mannered one can and will react negatively to you (it's only negative from your human viewpoint...for the snake...it's business as usual). As you interact with your snake, you'll become more attuned to it and be able to more easily read it's signals. That will help you and your family judge when it's okay to do something and when it's just easier for you and your snake to wait till another time. :)

thanks for all the support we had her out again yesterday and it went good but I have one more question lol I promise I will try to not ask anymore.

when she was in my hands yesterday she started being more out going and moving more. she would get her head out away from my hands a bit then turn toward my arm with an S shape in her neck and tongue flickering? what is this meaning?(maybe nothing) my main thing is I dont want to be handling her if she is really stressed(I know it stresses them a little) is the S shape in the next a sign of fear about to strike? or is it just a common snake position that means nothing when they are being held? thanks.

Brandon

If you animal is wound up in the S pose, its a defensive pose. Its hard to say if the animal will bite while in that pose but you can bet its possible. A relaxed animal will act relaxed, it will either crawl around or just sit and chill but if its in the S pose and looks rigid and staring at you, you may get tagged. They don't always give you warning like that.

Ralph Davis posted a vid up on you-tube a while back, not sure which one it was, but he was filming an animal and she was watching him

ive got one that ive had for a few week now and after he stroke at me while i was trying to pick him up, i decided to start wearing a leather glove, he stroke at me 1 time after that, i didnt slow down at all and sence then he hasnt struck at all

It's actually going to take you getting to read your animal. There's a casual, relaxed S pose where they're just chilling while you're handling them, then there's a defensive, hard and stiff S pose with a stare that means they're ready to strike if you look at them funny. You'll learn to read them over time. It sounds from your description, since she was just cruising and relaxed while you were handling her, that the S shape you saw was the former of the two. :)

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Originally Posted by Timbuktu

thanks for all the support we had her out again yesterday and it went good but I have one more question lol I promise I will try to not ask anymore.

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Please don't worrry about questions. Helping newcomers is one of the most enjoyable "jobs" of this site. Ask anything you need to know. It will help you and your new snake have a better experience. :)

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when she was in my hands yesterday she started being more out going and moving more. she would get her head out away from my hands a bit then turn toward my arm with an S shape in her neck and tongue flickering? what is this meaning?(maybe nothing) my main thing is I dont want to be handling her if she is really stressed(I know it stresses them a little) is the S shape in the next a sign of fear about to strike? or is it just a common snake position that means nothing when they are being held? thanks.

Brandon

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The tongue flickering is just what snakes do. They receive immense amounts of information with that amazing tongue of theirs. It's picks up scent and transfers it into a specialized organ in the roof of their mouth so tongue flickering is pretty much a constant thing with snakes. A really fast flicking can indicate a snake trying to figure out what's going on, a normal slower flick-flick-flick is just a snake keeping track of it's environment. You'll soon figure out the difference when you watch how fast that tongue is moving when prey is nearby or watch a really ticked off snake trying to figure out if it needs to defend itself. :)

The S position is used for lots of reasons - preparing for a feeding strike, preparing to defend itself or just keeping that vulnerable head back in case the snake gets attacked. Remember these younger snakes are preyed upon in the wild as much as they are predators. Their instincts tell them to make sure they can protect their heads at all times (hence the defensive balling up these particular snakes do). If you think about what your little snake is doing, it's doing everything right! It's aware, engaged and assessing it's new environment just like it should be doing.

When I'm handling a snake I don't know really well and they draw back, I don't worry as much as I just become more aware. I don't wiggle my fingers near that head or anything silly like that when they are drawn back but I don't tense up either. Sometimes it's best to just stay still, quiet and calm and wait for the snake to decide what's up. Sometimes you can just redirect them with a gentle tap from an object like the rubber tip of a pencil to pop them out of it. With big snakes I don't know I might even wear thick gardening gloves in case they do want to try for a quite nip. :)

Brandon, at this point, just make handling a very short, very calm and gentle experience. Even if it's only 5 good minutes, that's enough. Next time it could be more or just the same quiet 5 minutes. Even if all it is, is the snake coiled on your lap while you watch tv for 10 minutes. The point of it is to just to get your snake used to handling and that handling does not present any dangers to it. Focus on that - a nice handling time, a quiet removal and return to it's home and with enough repitition most of these lovely gentle natured snakes become pretty relaxed about the whole deal.