Handling Questions - For Beginners

[ckuhn003]

A little background.....I've had my BP for 1-2 months now (4 successful feedings) and I've started the handling process. My BP only shows himself late at night but I've been trying to handle him during the day times. I usually tap on the glass lightly and/or tap on his hide before I remove it to get his attention. I'm a still a little fearful of trying to reach in when he's active for fear that he'll strike at me. He hasn't shown any aggression when I've gotten him out but has struck at the glass enclosure 1-2 times (once after feeding and another after I put him back because I think he was a little scared after some quick movement when I walked by the cage).

My handling has own been for a few minutes at a time. As I stated above, I remove the hide, gently rub his body and scoop him up from behind. I usually hold him for a minute or two and then either put him on the scale to weigh and rest or put him in a plastic enclosure and cover w/ a blanket while I take care of the husbandry tasks. I figured the blanket would help reduce stress of being out of his enclosure.

Should I continue w/ these practices and/or increase my holding time? Is it still OK if I hold him during the day (knowing that he could be sleeping)? I've been thinking about doing this 2-3 times a week.

[Craiga 01453]

With the exception of tapping on the glass I think you're off to a good start. If he's already out and about, then no need to alert him that you're coming, but otherwise, a gentle wiggle of the hide he's in will alert him. Th3n just slowly lift his hide and present yourself. A gentle stroke to show you aren't a predator is a good idea. Like you sid, picking him up from behind is also best. If for some reason he seems like he may be in strike mode, whether defensive or food driven, a little tap or two with a paper towel tube usually calms them down.
I know it's hard at first but try to put any fears behind you and pick the animal up with confidence. They are good at reading us, if we are calm, they will also be calm.
Keep handling sessions short to start nd just watch your snake, learn his movements and mannerisms.
You're off to a great start, keep up the good work.

[ckuhn003]

With the exception of tapping on the glass I think you're off to a good start. If he's already out and about, then no need to alert him that you're coming, but otherwise, a gentle wiggle of the hide he's in will alert him. Th3n just slowly lift his hide and present yourself. A gentle stroke to show you aren't a predator is a good idea. Like you sid, picking him up from behind is also best. If for some reason he seems like he may be in strike mode, whether defensive or food driven, a little tap or two with a paper towel tube usually calms them down.
I know it's hard at first but try to put any fears behind you and pick the animal up with confidence. They are good at reading us, if we are calm, they will also be calm.
Keep handling sessions short to start nd just watch your snake, learn his movements and mannerisms.
You're off to a great start, keep up the good work.

Thanks Craig. I picked up the tapping on the glass from a presenter on snake handling at a local Repticon. It stuck w/ me because he related it to knocking on your neighbors door before entering the house. You don't want to barge in and alarm your snake w/o letting him know your coming. But to your point, it sounds like a gentle wiggle of the hide will do the trick. Funny store, my BP has NEVER used his cool side hide and I went to remove it the other day to clean the cage and there he was. SCARED the living daylights out of me!! Haha......

I've also used a small snake hook and paper towel holder to tap him to get him out of strike mode.

So daytime handling (when he's not active) is ok??

[tttaylorrr]

sometimes i do little raps on the glass too. nothing aggressive; i just use my index and middle fingers' nails to give a quick tap-tap-tap-tap.

So daytime handling (when he's not active) is ok??

yes.

[elleon]

If you aren't familiar with snake body language, there is a noticeable difference between striking pose and caution pose. Both will present the S-shaped neck, but if the head and neck are on the ground, then the snake is just being cautious. If the S-neck is lifted off the ground, that's a sign that they may be more likely to strike, but is still not a guarantee that they will. I found that recognizing this difference helped me feel more comfortable with handling, and especially with initially picking him up, since a nervous snake will often pull his head back to protect it. Typically, opening the tank lid or door makes enough noise to let them know you are coming in, and I do bump his hide a bit before removing it just so he isn't startled. Like you said, I also stroke his side a couple times before picking him up, just so he knows I won't hurt him, though he usually takes a couple minutes to calm down in my hands still. Early stages of handling are as much to get you comfortable with it as it is for him. Sounds like you're doing well though!

[SDA]

I always place my hand on my snake before taking him out. It reassures that I am not a giant beast coming to eat him and gets him to visually relax a bit before i take him out.

Try and avoid tapping, striking, or rapidly moving hides. Slow steady movements are best. I would even go so far as to limit petting or stroking your snake while you are hand training him.

Keep up a routine and you will end up just fine. Just remember, he can't bite off your finger even if he bites hard so while shocking, it won't hurt bad at all.

[ckuhn003]

If you aren't familiar with snake body language, there is a noticeable difference between striking pose and caution pose. Both will present the S-shaped neck, but if the head and neck are on the ground, then the snake is just being cautious. If the S-neck is lifted off the ground, that's a sign that they may be more likely to strike, but is still not a guarantee that they will. I found that recognizing this difference helped me feel more comfortable with handling, and especially with initially picking him up, since a nervous snake will often pull his head back to protect it. Typically, opening the tank lid or door makes enough noise to let them know you are coming in, and I do bump his hide a bit before removing it just so he isn't startled. Like you said, I also stroke his side a couple times before picking him up, just so he knows I won't hurt him, though he usually takes a couple minutes to calm down in my hands still. Early stages of handling are as much to get you comfortable with it as it is for him. Sounds like you're doing well though!

Great advice on the differences between a strike pose and a caution pose! I'll definitely keep this in mind. I've always been enamored w/ these breeder videos on youtube where they confidently push the snakes head back into their body to keep them from moving off the table. I strive to get that confidence..haha
Can I also assume the chances of striking goes down once the snake is out and being held?

[elleon]

Mine at least seems to calm down once I pick him up and have him out of the tank. He seems scared still when he is in the cage and I start picking him up, but seems to relax after a couple minutes. I let him sit still in my hand while he calms down, and try to avoid poking at him too much while he is relaxing. Wrapping his body around my hand seems to help him relax faster than if I let him curl up in my hands. As I'm sure you've seen in the breeder videos, hatchlings may still be nippy even while they are out, and there's always the chance of startling your bp and having him go back into defensive mode, but as long as you move slowly and avoid putting your hand near or over his head, he should be ok. I've also noticed my bp start to "run away" when he is too anxious, and this lets me know he's been out too long. He'll start to move really fast as if he's trying to get away, and it can get hard to keep up with him. It's taken a while for me to learn his body language, so your bp may behave differently and have different signs.

[ckuhn003]

Just used these tips and had my best handling session yet! My confidence was up while I looked for the patterns outlined in this thread. A brief tap on the hide and I used a snake hook to turn him in the opposite direction so I could pick him up. Stroked him once or twice and scooped him up slowly. I held him 1-2 minutes w/ one hand before he started to explore which gave me some confidence that I could slowly introduce the other hand and enjoy the session. I'm considering this 5 minute session a success. No visual signs of stress from my BP

[hollowlaughter]

I do the knocking out of habit, but my boy really doesn't need it.

Can take time, but eventually (if lucky) you'll have an animal that you won't need to use the hook with and will be ready for handling due to certain cues you're giving it vs "feeding time". Mine can tell the difference due to things like "rat smell, enclosure top left open" vs "no rat smell, enclosure top closed, knocked on". They're smart enough to differentiate.