Week two of having her. Still striking. Normal?

[Ptshay]

She still strikes when I put my hand in to move stuff around, or want to take her out. Any tips on reducing the amount that she strikes? I read a pillow case then putting her on your belly is good. A friend said let her bite you (with a glove on so you don't flinch) then pick her up and hold her to your body and kind of protect her / keep her warm. Anyone heard of this?

81g female
~90°
~80~
60% humidity (I feel a shed coming, but she doesn't have pale eyes at all.)
24x18x12 exo terra cage.
Starting f/t Small mice tomorrow.
2 hides, bushes, good size water bowl.

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[thingsthatmakenoise]

She's just little. My little banana boy was randomly snappy when he was little if I did anything inside his viv while he was in it. He never actually got me, it was just warning shots. He calmed all the way down after about a month and now that he's close to 600g he never does it at all anymore.

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[Sallos]

I followed this guy's method and my little BP calmed down quickly. He advises against letting it bite you.

[Alicia]

It's totally normal. All babies are fearful. Some are more fearful than others. Sometimes, you just have to wait for them to grow out of it.

But, in the meantime . . .
Has she eaten for you yet? If not, I'd say, don't worry about handling. It's more important to start them eating. Handling and moving items in the cage are secondary to establishing a feeding routine. Even then, a good rule of thumb is to wait for a new baby to eat three consecutive meals before beginning regular, non-maintenance handling. That's kind of a good barometer for determining whether or not they're comfortable and settling in well.

In the future, it may also help to not move things around while she's in her home, but wait until she's out in her holding cage/clean shift to rearrange anything that needs to be fixed -- messing around with the cage while she's in it is predator stuff. Way less scary to do it when she's not trapped inside with the Hand Monster rattling around. (Unless you're just talking about removing and replacing the water bowl for cleaning. That makes sense. In this case, to minimize activity for very nervous snakes, duplicate bowls really come in handy.)

Speaking of the cage . . . That may rather large cage for a little snake, even with all the clutter. Might work, might need to temporarily downsize for her. I see the half log, which many BPs feel very insecure in. What is the other hide?

Hopefully, more folks will chime in.

[Sauzo]

Well the first wrong thing is that the snake is "aggressive". Snakes aren't aggressive, they are defensive. To them you look like a giant who is going to eat them or kill them. They are simply protecting themselves. An aggressive snake would be like a mamba who actually will chase you lol. My best advice is just go about doing daily stuff like changing water, spot cleaning, feeding etc. Then once the snake is eating good and feeling more comfortable, then you can work with earning trust.

[Sauzo]

Lol I want to see that guy in the video try and handle my JCP on one of her bad days. I bet he would cry and take his toys home lol. Anyways, like I said before, just let him settle in and get used to the surroundings. First and foremost, you want to get them eating good and strong.

As for letting them bite you, that's how I got my JCP semi tamed down. When I got her, she was a TERROR. She would strike from across the cage and even struck at the tv. First I got her eating good. Then I just let her bite me. Easiest way is to make a fist and let them strike the back of your hand. Usually small guys cant get a bite on you. After a while most will quit if they see it provides no reaction and doesn't scare "the monster" away. Then my JCP went to head butts. Those didn't work. She then got went to mock strikes. During that time I just did water changes and daily stuff and she eventually more or less learned my hand wasn't going to eat her. She is still weary and I still get bit a fair share but she is calming down. Some snakes just are nervous. My dumerils is a slug. She doesn't care how you pick her up. She fine with it and actually will curl up on my hand and sit for hours. Just take it slow and let both of you guys get to know each other.

[thingsthatmakenoise]

I followed this guy's method and my little BP calmed down quickly. He advises against letting it bite you.

I really like HLH's videos too! He's actually a wild life biologist so he knows quite a bit more about reptiles than most people.

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[Ptshay]

It's totally normal. All babies are fearful. Some are more fearful than others. Sometimes, you just have to wait for them to grow out of it.

But, in the meantime . . .
Has she eaten for you yet? If not, I'd say, don't worry about handling. It's more important to start them eating. Handling and moving items in the cage are secondary to establishing a feeding routine. Even then, a good rule of thumb is to wait for a new baby to eat three consecutive meals before beginning regular, non-maintenance handling. That's kind of a good barometer for determining whether or not they're comfortable and settling in well.

In the future, it may also help to not move things around while she's in her home, but wait until she's out in her holding cage/clean shift to rearrange anything that needs to be fixed -- messing around with the cage while she's in it is predator stuff. Way less scary to do it when she's not trapped inside with the Hand Monster rattling around. (Unless you're just talking about removing and replacing the water bowl for cleaning. That makes sense. In this case, to minimize activity for very nervous snakes, duplicate bowls really come in handy.)

Speaking of the cage . . . That may rather large cage for a little snake, even with all the clutter. Might work, might need to temporarily downsize for her. I see the half log, which many BPs feel very insecure in. What is the other hide?

Hopefully, more folks will chime in.

She's eaten 3 times and she has a log cave in the warm side

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[mdb730]

Are the two hides log hides? If they are you should consider changing them out for hides with only one opening where they can feel safe. I also recommend leaving it alone for awhile and keep handling to a minimum.

[Rikoku]

Are the two hides log hides? If they are you should consider changing them out for hides with only one opening where they can feel safe. I also recommend leaving it alone for awhile and keep handling to a minimum.

Adding to this, they should be identical hides so your snake does not choose security over thermoregulation.