i dont know what to do

[xXGregXx]

ok for the past 4 weeks my snake has been nipping at us trying to but us every once in a while. my sister tried to take him out of his cage today and he bit her good. he got a good grip and wraped himself around her fingure. i had to pri him off her thumb. but anyway this is driving me nuts. everytime i try to take him out he always tried to bite som1.i just feed him tuesday you think he still could b hungry? it doest look like he's going to shed i havent seen any of the usual "symptoms" how eva ya spell it. my mom keeps on say if he keeps on biting and trying to bite he's gone. i dont wanna get ride of him but i might have to.please help me

[kurgan]

i'm really a newbie but have you considered just leaving the snake alone for a while?
how long have you had him?
It sounds like a very over stressed snake who would benefit from several weeks of his own company and only his own company.
Also if you fed him on Tuesday just past he should be left alone for 48 hrs to digest his meal

[SatanicIntention]

How are his cage conditions, are they in the correct ranges? Also, how many mice are you feeding him at a sitting now? I remember you posted a little while ago that he was still only eating one adult mouse per week. He could be eating at least 3 in a sitting if he'll take them.

If he is striking at you, you may want to cover 3 (or 4 if you can) sides of the tank up with some dark construction paper, or a dark sheet. That will help him feel more secure and let him de-stress for awhile. I would leave him completely alone, except for cleaning the tank and changing water, for a good solid week. Also, try feeding him more mice per feeding, and see if that doesn't help. After that week of solitude is up, start slowly handling him. Move slowly with him, no fast movements, don't pick him up from above, but rather, scoop him up from the side. When you are going to pick him up, touch him on his side to let you know you are there(he may be sleeping when you want to pick him up) and then slowly but steadily scoop him up from the bottom.

You may want to recheck your husbandry, because if the temps aren't spot on 24/7, that may have caused a change in temperment. He may be too hot/too cold. Are you measuring the temperatures accurately with a digital thermometer? How many hides does he have? If you want, you can go to WalMart or another gardening store and get some clay pot saucers(the bigger diameter ones). The saucers are what the clay pot sits in and it collects extra water. Get two of those that are about 12" in diameter or bigger and knock a hole in the side of them with a hammer. You can also use the plastic saucers and cut a hole in the top rather than the side.

Ok, I've babbled on long enough. But seriously, try a few of those suggestions and see if he doesn't calm down a bit after a week or two.

[xXGregXx]

im measuiring his temps with one of those acu rite thermometers and i have a thermostate hooked up to it to regulate the temps. and behind his hides i have black construction paper so no light can get it so he feels comefortable. he's always on the cool side of his tank i dont know why but i have the temps right up to point. that week that i posted about feeding more i started giving him 2 adult mice a week but now i think i might have to up it to 3 if he's still hungry.but like i said before the pet stores i go go dont always have mice on his feeding day so i think i might have to swith his feeding day to thursday around like 7 o'clock when there shipment comes in at 5. and sometimes when they get there shipment in the mice are small. i feed live so if he takes 2 mice fine and doesnt want the 3rd mice what am i sapose to do?stick my hand in the box while he's still in the hunting mood and grab the mouce?? lol the other day day i did that cuz usual i could just pick him up gently right after he's done and put him back in his cage but he bit me. and if he doesnt take the third mouce what am i sapose to do with it let it go?

[Forrest]

Most pet stores will let you return feeders if returned in 24/48hrs after purchase. Check with your store and see what their policy on returns are. You can also place the rodent in a paper bag, slap it against the wall and freeze it. I would check with your mom before doing this. Santanicintentions summed it up best to calm your snake down. It sounds like he just needs some time alone.

[xXGregXx]

now way my mom would let me keep a frozen mouce in the freezer. he seems to be getting better i hade to pick him up and move him i was a little nervouse cuz he looked like he was going to bite me when i hade to move to to clean up the poop. but i was gently and scooped him up from the side. how can you tell if your snake's "sleeping" or not. i didnt think snakes slept at all

[tigerlily]

Yes snakes do sleep, but they don't have eyelids to close. The best way to make sure that your snake is awake is to make a little noise when going into the enclosure, like tapping the cage lightly or something like that. Usually they know you are coming from all the vibration of opening the cage and such but if you're not sure it's better to be safe than sorry.

[frankykeno]

We always make a bit of noise taking of the tub lid but also always stroke the snake lightly lower down on it's body so it knows we are going to lift it. If we are just doing clean up stuff they usually don't notice us much LOL.

If it doesn't eat one of the mice one week why not just get a little enclosure of some sort that you can keep the mouse in and let it eat and drink for the week. Makes an even nicer meal next week for your snake.


~~Jo~~

[kurgan]

If you need to kill the mouse I think picking it up by its tail and lower it down to a wire mesh cage/draining board etc, till it grabs hold, then breaking its neck with your forceps (by pressing onto the neck whilst you pull it back (it grips)) is the kindest way to do so.

[Simplest_Mistake]

How old is the snake? And what kind is it?