Bad 'Snake-Sitter'

[ProfessorChaos]

Due to some recent family issues, I was forced to leave my BP in the care of a friend, whom I thought I could trust.

Boy was I wrong.

When I finally went to pick Avatar (his/her name) up, I couldn't believe my eyes: they had sold her cage and bought a bigger one, which might be too big, the cage was a complete mess, she was covered in patches of yet-to-be-shed skin, she was longer but much skinnier...and worst of all, she became VERY mean. I couldn't even unclip the top of her cage without her striking me through the top of the cage.

Funny thing, the snake-sitter never mentioned buying a new cage during my weekly checkup calls..

This was all over the span of ~7 months (family "issues" might have been a bit of an understatement.

I was wondering what I should do to re-tame Avatar? I can't even pick her up without her biting me now, I've been bitten twice in four hours.

All advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
-Matt

[daniel1983]

First of all....you can't tame snakes. But you can acclimate them to the captive lifestyle. Since it is basically like you are getting a new snake, I would just go about it that way....Don't handle for a week or two for the adjustment...get it feeding regularly...then begin handling....If she/he does not eat and continues to be aggressive, it is most likely due to stress. Make sure you have enough hides and are providing the proper temperatures and humidity in the enclosure.

[ProfessorChaos]

Here are some quick pictures I took while she was feeding (they are links just in case you don't want to see snake-swallowing-mouse images)...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/IMG_0008.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/IMG_0009.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/IMG_0012.jpg


This picture is large, but I wanted to include one big one so the experts here could point out anything obvious that is wrong (hopefully there isn't anything).

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8573/img00066ia.jpg

This is after I tried to clean everything up as best I could on with short notice.

Thanks again for your help,
Matt

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

I would start as if she was a new BP to you. Setup her habitat, go to a smaller enclosure , make sure there are plenty of hides, setup temps properly, etc.

If the damage was done in 7 months, it might take a while to re-acclimate the snake, I wouldn't expect a sudden change. Just do your best , and in the long run I would hope she turns back around. After all, at least you know she was a more "tame" snake before, it is feasible to think that she can be again.

best of luck!

[ProfessorChaos]

Thanks guys,

I was really happy that she did eat..but she never did seem to have a problem with that.

The tank she is in now is a 40 gallon (according to sitter) 'breeder' tank. Is this too large? I added a second hide on the other side and put a larger water dish in there...but I'm still having problems keeping the humidity up. Everything I've been reading here so far has really helped; misting is working as a temporary solution atm.

[daniel1983]

A 40 gallon breeder is perfect for an adult. How big is your bp? You might want to put her in a good soak and make sure its next shed goes really well. From the pic, it looks like she needs a good shed to get her back on track....also, it appears to me that she may have a retained eye cap from the pic...check it out, and if so, that may be one reason she is kinda fiesty (she can not see well)....nothing really to worry about for now...like I said just make sure she has a great shed next time

[ProfessorChaos]

I'm hoping for a nice smooth one-piece shed next time.

I checked for the eye-cap, but I honestly can't tell if it's still on there or not. I don't want to go rubbing her eye with a Q-tip if I'm not sure..maybe it'll show up under different light.

I'm not 100% sure how big she is, but I'd estimate around 3-4 feet. Once I can get her to get used to being handled again I'll measure her.

I guess it'll be a long process full of band-aids to get her used to being handled again .

Thanks,
-Matt

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

Just curious, but at 3-4 feet do you normally feed her 1 mouse or several? Or was this just a re-introductory meal?

If your sitter was just feeding 1 mouse every week, that may be a cause for some of her foul temper as that is a small meal for a 3-4 foot snake, and also explain her skinniness. At her size I would imagine a medium rat would be a good meal, depending on her size.

[tigerlily]

Don't worry about the qtip thing. I would really follow Daniel and Bryan's suggestions. Start with a nice soak, after the 48 hour digestion period. Give her some time in a properly set up environmnet, and then begin working with her in small intervals. 5-10 minutes a day. As long as your feedings go ok, up the time you handle. As for the size a meals. I only feed small rats at max. You don't want to go too big, especially if he/she is used to smaller meals.


Good luck, and maybe consider gloves too.

[elevatethis]

Here ya go:
http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal/stucksheds.htm

Are you just feeding her 1 mouse a week? That could have something to do with her lack of body weight. For a 4' female, anywhere from 50-100 grams of food per week is enough to pack on solid weight. 2-3 mice will give you that. Or you could switch to small rats and she'd need just 1 per week. Easier on you, probably easier on the snake too.