Help with aggressive snake please!!

[WhompingWillow]

IMHO, babies SHOULD be nippy. You want a healthy lively animal. My baby boa hated me for the first three weeks. Nothing but hissing and striking. What else did he even know??? He arrived in November. I didn't push it. I can now pick him up out of the enclosure with my bare hands, no issues, and no huffy displays; Zen.

It happens....give it some time.

They live with us, and have no choice about it. We are the ones who have to be patient and understanding.

To be fair, I don't think health and nippiness can really be correlated. Yes, some snakes when they first arrive can definitely be nippy and defensive (I mean, who can blame them), but others are as calm as can be. Some others are very confident right from the start. I think it partly depends on species, partly on the temperament of the snake. So far out of 17(ish), only one of mine has been consistently defensive (hissing, striking, etc.), and that's my BCO - a species notorious for this when young. On the other hand, all 3 of my juvenile carpets (another species notorious for nippiness as babies) are some of the most pleasant snakes I have to handle.

I do agree that it's important to let snakes settle in and get comfortable and take things slow. No need to rush things when you'll be building a relationship for the next 20+ years.

[Bogertophis]

...It just sucks because tomorrow I’m getting more snakes and now I don’t be want to open the boxes lol

Gee, if you feel that way about it, feel free to re-direct the boxes over to my house...it's a "risk" I'll happily take, LOL.

As far as feisty hatchlings, I take it as generally a good sign...as opposed to some that are too complacent & then don't eat, the biters usually feed better.

I didn't realize that one of your new snakes was not a youngster, & you're right...buying from a large breeder, he's probably known less contact with people.
But either way, patience works & BPs are some of the most docile snakes around. (-along with Trans Pecos rat snakes ...)

[distaff]

Lolololol yes absolutely! All those unboxing videos are clearly not what they appear to be lol

In all honesty though after thinking some more this afternoon I know that my problem was the disappointment I had when I opened the boxes. All of my other snakes were also shipped and none of them were this defensive! I was able to hold them and inspect them and show them to my family and spend some time with the snakes before putting them in their tubs. No waiting until they de-stress....I could handle them daily and they were all very calm and mellow.

The He difference is that this time I got my snakes from big breeders and I didn’t account for this. I know large breeders don’t spend much time with their snakes besides cleaning and feeding so they are not used to people. My other snakes came from very small breeders that handled them daily and knew all of their temperaments. When this snakes arrived they weren’t afraid of me and not nearly as stressed out as my new snakes are.

And no only 2 of the snakes I got today are juveniles/babies....the Mojave Pied is freaking huge at 1 1/2 years old so imagine my joy opening the box and gently grabbing him from the bag (like I did with all my past snakes) only to be lunged and nipped at multiple times. It scared the :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: out of me Haha

So yes they will eventually be tamed and yes I will get better at handling them and probably get to celebrate my first bite ever lol

It just sucks because tomorrow I’m getting more snakes and now I don’t be want to open the boxes lol

Wear gloves, or use a towel if you feel jumpy. After my first bite (a nothing bite from a corn snake that barely bled), I was nervous around my OWN snakes for almost two years. Personally, I think the fear is hard wired (at least in me) and the bite tripped that on. Before that, I hadn't worried at all. Post bite, any snake head pointed anywhere near me sent a reflexive stab of fear and panic that I couldn't control. For a long time, I only handled them when necessary, and always with snake hooks. I was terrified that I would simply throw the snake off me if the head came near me. I didn't want to risk injuring the animal. I was jumpy and nervous, which made them jumpy and nervous.

After deciding I was going to fix that problem, I made it a point to handle most of my snakes each day, with leather gloves, and while watching YT videos of people nonchalantly handling THEIR snakes. The videos got my focus off the animal I was holding. After a while, the stabs of fear just went away. Took consistent and daily work, but I got over it (99%).

Hope that helps.

[NomaReptiles]

Gee, if you feel that way about it, feel free to re-direct the boxes over to my house...it's a "risk" I'll happily take, LOL

Dont ask again or I’ll probably do it lol

Seriously though I keep watching this video on YouTube from a girl in handling defensive snakes....she puts her hand in and just grabs the snake from behind/under and if the snake bites she just stands there talking saying this is all normal....he will let go of your knuckle and calm down in 5 min or so. (She’s nuts I swear haha) Guess if I keep watching that video I’ll gather the courage to open the boxes tomorrow haha

[NomaReptiles]

Wear gloves, or use a towel if you feel jumpy. After my first bite (a nothing bite from a corn snake that barely bled), I was nervous around my OWN snakes for almost two years. Personally, I think the fear is hard wired (at least in me) and the bite tripped that on. Before that, I hadn't worried at all. Post bite, any snake head pointed anywhere near me sent a reflexive stab of fear and panic that I couldn't control. For a long time, I only handled them when necessary, and always with snake hooks. I was terrified that I would simply throw the snake off me if the head came near me. I didn't want to risk injuring the animal. I was jumpy and nervous, which made them jumpy and nervous.

After deciding I was going to fix that problem, I made it a point to handle most of my snakes each day, with leather gloves, and while watching YT videos of people nonchalantly handling THEIR snakes. The videos got my focus off the animal I was holding. After a while, the stabs of fear just went away. Took consistent and daily work, but I got over it (99%).

Hope that helps.

Yes that’s exactly how I feel!! Only I have never gotten bitten. I usually just handle my other snakes and it makes me feel better again Great Advice Thanks! I need to work on that fear as well

[Bogertophis]

Dont ask again or I’ll probably do it lol

Seriously though I keep watching this video on YouTube from a girl in handling defensive snakes....she puts her hand in and just grabs the snake from behind/under and if the snake bites she just stands there talking saying this is all normal....he will let go of your knuckle and calm down in 5 min or so. (She’s nuts I swear haha) Guess if I keep watching that video I’ll gather the courage to open the boxes tomorrow haha

In that case, Pretty Pleeeeze send them here???

It's OK to wear gloves if you must, but it's probably over-kill, & the thicker the gloves, the harder it is to have the proper sensitivity for handling the snake (not too tight
or too loose...you don't want to hurt the snake or let it slip & fall).

"Snakes don't bite the ground they crawl on" as someone once said...& I agree! BE the ground...by that I mean keep your hands UNDER the snake as much as possible.

In my experience, snakes feel most threatened & are most likely to bite when held in the open (ie. away from you), so I tend to cuddle all snakes near my body...if they
were on the ground, they'd be trying to hide, so they feel safer next to you than they do at arm's length with "strange things moving around them"...they do NOT know
that your fingers, face & other hand is connected to the semi-safe thing that's currently holding them...they can panic & are easily confused, so another thing you can do
is to minimize their "view": put a small towel or cloth over them so they cannot see you for now. In future handling sessions (for those that are 'defensive' & scared) do
the same thing until you can gradually let them look out & see you without panic. In this way they get used to both your scent & touch without being so scared of this
"giant thing that's got them".

OK? Snakes don't see that well, remember that...scent & touch are the best ways for them to know who you are...vision is not their strong suit.

When un-boxing, most snakes are in bags or containers: just open it into their new cages & stay out of their way. (but the offer stands if you'd rather send them here, lol)

[Bodie]

It just sucks because tomorrow I’m getting more snakes and now I don’t be want to open the boxes lol

I am calling BS. . Despite what happened with your other noodle......When that package/packages is delivered......you'll be so excited and giddy! The only difference is that you will be more prepared when you open it.

Have fun!

[NomaReptiles]

Update!!

New snakes that arrived today were so much better!! Super calm, curious and gorgeous! My faith in having calm, non defensive snakes has been restored!! Lol

PS*: We named the Mojave Pied male “Ahole”. He’s the biggest PIA snake I have ever owned lol All the other snakes have calmed down and are much more approachable and calm.

[Craiga 01453]

Update!!

New snakes that arrived today were so much better!! Super calm, curious and gorgeous! My faith in having calm, non defensive snakes has been restored!! Lol

Excellent news!!

[Bogertophis]

Sounds like you're going to survive after all.

Good name choice, though I went the opposite direction back when I adopted a BCI yearling that no one wanted (a serious biter!)-
I named her "Snookems" & pictured her wearing a baby bonnet...I knew all along she was just a scared little "baby" & with only a
little effort on my part, I never got one bite in all the years I had her...she tamed down completely because I was patient & showed
her she had nothing to fear. And her name always got smiles from those who might otherwise have feared cuddling such a big girl.