Acting up.....lil help plz :)

[Lucifers_Mommy]

Lucifer has been a lil bugger lately.....i put myh and near him or pet him gently and he hisses at me, i pick him up and he strikes at me and its starting to make me want to just leave him in his pen and not bother to handle him....im just kind of worried about being bitten...even tho ive heard it doesnt hurt it still it just kinda freaks me out when he launches at me hes only been doing it the last 2 days and he shows no signs of shedding.....ive heard of some people that say to just take him out and handle him and let him bite you then just leep handleing him so he gets used to the fact that your not a threat....im still just a lil nervous about it...any suggestions?

[frankykeno]

I'm in no way purporting to be a snake behaviour expert here but just a few experiences we've had with aggressive behaviour so just my own thoughts really.

Before all else since this is a sudden change of behaviour has anything changed in his environment? Anything like temp or humidity jumps or new cage set-ups or a change of diet? Any changes in handling amounts or frequency? Basically anything that could be causing him to feel very stressed and defensive? Is he well and acting normally as far as eating, defecating, etc. otherwise? Is this occuring very close to his normal feeding day? Does it happen only during certain times of the day/night?

With our aggressive large female we used gloves till we got her to start settling in. That way we could handle her safely (she is a rather large mature female). We tried to make our handling sessions during very quiet evening hours, we didn't take her out of the room she was used to being in and we strove to make the transitions in and out of her enclosure as smooth but firm as possible. In other words, no hesitation just picking her up firmly and gently so she got the message that her attitude wasn't going to change anything.

Yes she either bit or tried to bite and did struggle but we just kept her safe and supported her body till she calmed down. We didn't return her to her enclosure until she showed calm acceptance (even if that only last 2 minutes it still got the point across). The trick seemed to be to stick to an absolute routine in how we handled her over and over again, to not push her too far too fast and most of all to show absolutely no fear. I used to literally stand in front of her tub and say out loud..."okay Miss Brannagh you are coming out of that tub the easy way or the hard way but it's about to happen" or some such heartening words LOL. I do really feel that the snakes can sense fear or hesitation in someone handling them and it makes them even more defensive and uneasy.

Don't give up or be afraid. Gloves are great until the snake calms down. Just make sure it's not something physical in nature or husbandry issues. Any sudden change in behaviour in our snakes always worries me so I tend to be very careful about checking that sort of thing first.


~~Jo~~

[Lucifers_Mommy]

ive only had him a couple of weeks, his cage temps are perfect , and so is the humidty....temps are 91(hot side) 86 (middle) and 80(cold) humitidy is like 55-60 %...he ate the 3rd day i brought him home (it was his regular feeding day, i decided to try it and if he didnt want it i would let him settle in more) but he hasnt really been like this at all before so im just wondmering what to do

[Razaiel]

Hi there I'm still relatively new to snake keeping - my little one is just 8 months old so if anyone more experienced thinks I'm stepping over the line - please step on me but I think your temps are a little low - the hot side should be about 95 and the cool side about 85.

Jo (Frankykeno's) advice is really good though, but it may be just because your snake is still new and a bit nervous - especially if it's a young one and not much used to being handled. I've always followed the advice on this forum that Jo has given too - I talk to her, remove her hide from her, talk to her some more and gently stroke her side so she knows she's going to be picked up and handled.

Maybe some more experienced owners will have more, better advice.

Best of luck with him

Sue

[frankykeno]

We do that gentle removal routine with our snakes that are used to handling and accept it. With Brannagh for awhile it was more the quick and firm, no muss, no fuss, no time for her to go into her snap and bite routine until she got it through her stubborn snake brain that no one was trying to hurt her. With little Malachi how is a baby bp and still a bit jumpy we are working to get him used to the removal part as he's totally calm about being out of his enclosure and going back into it but a bit upset when you reach in for him. Makes total sense though when you are a 290 gram critter and some big giant human hand comes at you....heck I'd freak too LOL.


~~Jo~~

[tigerlily]

It's very possible that you are just now seeing he's true colors. For the first couple weeks, the snakes are very stressed out and need a bit time to be comfortable. You may want to try Jo's idea about a routine and grab gloves. Every night pull him out and handle for 5-10 minutes. You may just need to show him that you have no intention of having him for dinner, and he should figure it out soon.

(But make sure you are positive on those temps, sometimes if they are too high or too low people have commented on behavioural changes. )

[Lucifers_Mommy]

ok thansk for the help, my temp on the hot vaires between 93 and 91 but its useally always closer to 91...plus he uses all areas of his tank so i dont think its a problem , ohterwise he would only stay in one spot right??


anyways i think i will start taking him out with gloves and teach him that im not a threat, il give hijma fe days to calm down....2morro(monday) is fedding day so i will just wait till about wednesday to handle him again...hope fullly everything goes ok thanks for the help