Wiggles, the Children's Python

[Homebody]

Just curious, was there a fee required for that?

Yep. $10.

[Bogertophis]

Yep. $10.

Oh good, that's not bad at all. Just pays for their office help keeping track of things. (it could be a lot worse)

[Homebody]

Oh good, that's not bad at all. Just pays for their office help keeping track of things. (it could be a lot worse)

I was surprised at how cheap it was.

[Homebody]

Wiggles bit me again. I grabbed him from behind to keep him from entering the forbidden gap (see post #59), and he swung around and bit me on the base of my right middle finger. Unlike the last time he bit me (#14), he wrapped and held on. I would describe the feeling as mildly irritating, certainly nothing to fear, kind of like a mild jellyfish sting. I don’t know why he wrapped. It was clearly a defensive bite. He just doesn’t seem to have his striking technique down. When he’s hungry, he bites and releases. When he’s defensive, he bites and wraps. It’s a good thing he has me to look after him. I don’t think he’d fare very well in the wild.

Anyway, as a result I’ve modified my approach to Wiggle’s recreational time. I no longer allow him to come out of his enclosure on his own. Now, I open his enclosure. If he comes to the threshold looking for a way out, I gently pick him up and put him in his favorite hide on top of his enclosure. If he’s at all stressed by my picking him up, my thought is that he’ll recover quickly there. He usually spends a few minutes there before coming out to explore. After an hour, I gently scoop him up and put him back. Allowing him the freedom to come out of his enclosure on his own was supposed to reduce his stress, but too often, it led to distressing situations. So, I took away that little bit of freedom. I think he’s better off for it.

[Bogertophis]

Was he fed live previously? He does seem to have it backwards- But maybe he's less-than-thrilled with f/t prey so when it doesn't struggle (or maybe isn't warm enough?), he lets go.

That "should have been" a defensive bite (to your hand) but it sounds to me like he's hungry & when he caught something warm & wiggling, he decided to go for it. Silly snek!

[Homebody]

Was he fed live previously? He does seem to have it backwards- But maybe he's less-than-thrilled with f/t prey so when it doesn't struggle (or maybe isn't warm enough?), he lets go.

That "should have been" a defensive bite (to your hand) but it sounds to me like he's hungry & when he caught something warm & wiggling, he decided to go for it. Silly snek!

He bites and wraps mice just fine. It's my hands that confuse him. The first time he bit me, he clearly thought I was food, but he bit and released. This time, the second time, he was clearly trying to defend himself and yet he bit and wrapped. Maybe with more practice he'll learn to bite my hands properly. Hopefully, not.

[dakski]

Homebody,

Have you thought about hook/tap training Wiggles?

I do it with all my aggressive feeders.

If you want info on how to do it successfully, I can pass it on.

I think it would help.

From what I've know and experienced, Antaresia can go for hands anyway, but hook training could greatly reduce the tendency and certainly in tank.

[Homebody]

Homebody,

Have you thought about hook/tap training Wiggles?

I do it with all my aggressive feeders.

If you want info on how to do it successfully, I can pass it on.

I think it would help.

From what I've know and experienced, Antaresia can go for hands anyway, but hook training could greatly reduce the tendency and certainly in tank.

Great idea! I found your thread and video: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ead-with-Video
Anything to add?

I target train Wiggles once a week, but this will give me something for me to do with him the other six days. Thanks.

[dakski]

Great idea! I found your thread and video: http://Hook Training Instruction Thread with Video. Anything to add?

I target train Wiggles once a week, but this will give me something for me to do with him the other six days. Thanks.

Be consistent. Look at body language. Sometimes I have to rub/tap a snake for 2 seconds, sometimes, 30 seconds, to get them to "snap" out of food drive and/or understand that I am coming to pick them up.

Once they relax their body, I am comfortable picking up any of my snakes, even if they've been striking a moment before.

[Homebody]

Wiggles weighed in today at a bruising 164 grams. That's 44 grams more than her last weigh-in on March 26th and 83 grams more than in January. I'll probably start adding a pinkie to the hopper he takes weekly. Another feeder will give me an additional opportunity to target train.