Ongoing Strikes. Suggestions?

[wonderwhitters]

Hey all! So Poe, my BP hasn't been handled a whole lot yet, as we are trying to let him acclimate. Also had two successful feedings, and a shed cycle with us and we've only had him a few weeks now. That being said, I got him out today for the first time in a week and he was extremely scared and struck at me 4-5 times. I figured he'd be warming up to us and realizing we aren't going to harm him by now, but he's still pretty angry. How do you get your BPs to calm down, become more comfortable being handled/around you?

I'm a very patient person, and happy to do anything that will help get him more comfortable with us. That being said, I do hope he eventually warms up to us so we can handle him on occasion/interact with him/give him some exercise outside his home.

[bcr229]

Reptiles really don't warm up to you, they simply learn to tolerate being handled as they learn through careful, patient, gentle handling that the big Godzilla monster (you) is not going to gobble them up.

This video is a good tutorial in how to deal with a defensive snake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDjlg1njtfY

[Bogertophis]

I'd try keeping a small hand-towel over him while you handle him (cuddle on your lap for say, 30 minutes at a time) so he's not seeing you...we're huge & scary.

After he learns to recognize your touch & scent (both more important to snakes than vision) & calms down (however long it takes), then gradually let him start
looking out from under the towel. Before you know it, he'll no longer need his "security blanket".

Keep one more thing in mind: snakes feel the most threatened by our approach & picking them up. I disagree with those who advise you to only handle for a
few minutes, because those first few minutes are the most stressful. You need to give him time to de-stress & learn...so make time to hold him while maybe
reading or watching tv, etc. If you only handle for short intervals, they have trouble calming down. (The only exception would be for snakes that are so tiny- like hatchling colubrids- that they're at risk of being over-heated by our being 98.6* & holding them too long; but BPs are much bigger, & need the higher temperatures anyway.)

[wonderwhitters]

Appreciate the video and all the advice! Thankfully i'm not afraid to handle him, I'm just sad he's so stressed & upset when I do. I know they never feel "affection" towards their owners like a dog or cat do, but I certainly hope we get to a point where he's not terrified of me all the time. Just makes me feel badly for him.

[Moose84]

Hey all! So Poe, my BP hasn't been handled a whole lot yet, as we are trying to let him acclimate. Also had two successful feedings, and a shed cycle with us and we've only had him a few weeks now. That being said, I got him out today for the first time in a week and he was extremely scared and struck at me 4-5 times. I figured he'd be warming up to us and realizing we aren't going to harm him by now, but he's still pretty angry. How do you get your BPs to calm down, become more comfortable being handled/around you?

I'm a very patient person, and happy to do anything that will help get him more comfortable with us. That being said, I do hope he eventually warms up to us so we can handle him on occasion/interact with him/give him some exercise outside his home.

So the animal is striking at you AFTER you have picked it up? Or he struck at you 4-5 times before you could pick him up?

[Zincubus]

So the animal is striking at you AFTER you have picked it up? Or he struck at you 4-5 times before you could pick him up?

Yes this is relevant ... they generally calm down immediately they're out.

Either way I’d leave the handling for another couple of weeks .. a couple more feeds then try again .

Even consider getting a cheap snake hook off eBay .. just to direct his ‘teeth’ away from your hand when you pick it up . Then quickly sit down , maybe have a blanket ready and place the snake down on your lap .
Let it stay there , just gently stroking or touching it occasionally

[ballpythonsrock2]

My first suggestion that you might be doing or not doing I don't know is always take them out in the evening or night NOT the day time. I always let my snake alone in the day so it can get it's needed and wanted sleep.

I figure out which hide it is in and then I knock on it. I have the plastic black type like Reptile Basics sells. So when you knock the snake knows it is you. Slow is the main technique you want to use in handling. Slowly lift the hide up and set aside. Your BP will be most likely be curled up. I stroke the side gently then lift my snake slowly gently out.

Once I am holding the snake you might want to do no petting or caressing. Just hold it and let it do what it wants to do. I can now stroke or touch the snake but they are they're most comfortable if you don't touch them especially the head area and neck area. Light touching on the side near the middle might be OK for you but the best is to just hold and let the snake look around and explore. That helps soothe their fear.

Then keep handling to 15 min. max or shorter it the snakes darts about and shows you they want back in. I think your snake will eventually come around to your handling.

[Bogertophis]

Just to add...while you certainly don't ever want to drop your snake, you need to refrain from holding on too tightly, as that sets off the alarm "predator!"

Snakes learn to recognize both our scent & touch...they just don't all take the same amount of time to relax with us. Stay patient. Remember they don't visually
recognize us when we approach, they assume the worst, so by identifying yourself (scent &/or touch) they'll learn to accept being picked up, but our approach will
always be their least favorite part. Face it...we're scary-looking to a snake! LOL

[Moose84]

My first suggestion that you might be doing or not doing I don't know is always take them out in the evening or night NOT the day time. I always let my snake alone in the day so it can get it's needed and wanted sleep.

I figure out which hide it is in and then I knock on it. I have the plastic black type like Reptile Basics sells. So when you knock the snake knows it is you. Slow is the main technique you want to use in handling. Slowly lift the hide up and set aside. Your BP will be most likely be curled up. I stroke the side gently then lift my snake slowly gently out.

Once I am holding the snake you might want to do no petting or caressing. Just hold it and let it do what it wants to do. I can now stroke or touch the snake but they are they're most comfortable if you don't touch them especially the head area and neck area. Light touching on the side near the middle might be OK for you but the best is to just hold and let the snake look around and explore. That helps soothe their fear.

Then keep handling to 15 min. max or shorter it the snakes darts about and shows you they want back in. I think your snake will eventually come around to your handling.

I have a few issues with the advice given here.

1.) I have never had issues handling ball pythons during the day. I would say the advice of holding the animal during a time it is searching for food would be misleading and probably add another reason for the OP to be struck at as the animal has already shown signs of defensive behavior.

2.) "Knocking on the animals hide" probably isn't a great idea either seeing as how that is its form of defense and place of comfort. To me that's like saying "shake the beehive before you pick it up..."

3.) The "stroking" you are referring to after you have knocked on its hide, upset it and caused it to be defensive will only piss a BP off more. I have found that simply taking a pen or whatever you have near you and gently tapping the animal on the head to take it out of food mode (which could be what is wrong with the OPs animal) works better. **I DO NOT MEAN BEAT THE ANIMAL OVER THE HEAD... It's literally touching the top of its head.. I know someone will think I'm advocating hitting it in the head and that's not accurate.** Rubbing their sides will only cause them to be more defensive and cause for the snake to sense the heat of the handler and lunge at it. That's actually a great way of getting bit to be honest.

[Caitlin]

I am a big fan of the habituation strategies used by Lori Torrini, who does target training and other behavioral mod work with snakes - largely Morelia (including a large training project with 10 or so snakes), but other species as well.

Check out her video on habituating new snakes - there may be some tactics or tips there that are useful for you!