Any Tips? (Head Shy)

[Voodew]

My baby BP Bruce is in no way aggressive, but he get startled easily. Any fast to medium speed movements in front of his face make him recoil and hide is head some place else. He is also very head shy. Like I said, he is in no way aggressive when I try to pet or touch his head, but he recoils and I seem to scare him every single time. Other than these two things he is perfectly ok.

Do you guys have any tips to reduce his skiddish/head shy behavior? Is it just because he is still young? Have any of you had this problem?

The reason I'm asking is because I recently purchased a Red Tail Boa baby, and he is in no way head shy or skiddish. He seems to love it when I rub his head and will stop slithering to rest his head while I do it.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Commandokev]

It is completely normal and will get better with age.

[Phantomtip]

Time, patience, and building the trust. As he gets older and isn't in the everything can eat me stage he will calm down. Building the trust about just because you move a little fast doesn't mean you're going to eat him and aging on his part.

[GregsMoko]

My bp is 10 months old and reacts the same way but in saying that I found that the sooner I accepted it and was more comfortable with it I could notice a change in Moko. I usually say the same thing to him when he recoils "it's ok big guy" always in a more comforting voice than my usual pitch. (with a couple reassuring pets, and his head resting in my hand)
After three weeks I can see a change in his demeanor and he has less reactions . Now when I put him down he's not afraid of my hands and it's usually where he heads. Each time I hold him I'll study his demeanor first, there are times when he just doesn't want to be held, he wakes up pretty grumpy and I try to avoid waking him. When I pet him I always start mid body and work my way up , and I let him see my free hand , then with my free hand I go towards the under side of his head , he doesn't flinch nearly as much. Whether it's the vibration of my voice when reassuring him or the fact that he sees my free hand approach first I'm not sure but it works for him and getting to know his moods and personality first has paid off big time. A mutual understanding, I love him and he tolerates me

[kilopular]

I don't know about anyone else, but with my ball python I decided to at least try to hold/look at his head everytime i held him, so he could get used to it (for vet visits, check ups, etc.) Now he really doesn't care that much and I don't think he's even a year old. It took a bit for him to get used to it, but he doesn't mind now.

[Voodew]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll just remain patient and keep doing everything I can to make him comfortable and let him know he doesn't need to be afraid of me.

Thanks again

[RockNRollProcelain]

With all of my little ones who were head shy (5 of them atm) what I did was when I would handle them, I would slowly work one finger up their spine starting from about two to three inches behind their head. I would move my finger slowly towards their head until I was touching their head. This lets them know I'm there, and lets them know that I'm not going to hurt them - they weren't hurt when I pet their neck, they won't get hurt if I pet their head. Then I would do little circles on their heads. All of my BPs like this. Sometimes they'll even push their heads against my finger as I do little circles on their heads (I do the same massage to their cheeks). None of my BPs are head shy now, and some of them are very young - 4 or 5 months at the most. (Btw, this technique has also made them not nose shy because I would work my finger closer and closer to the tip of their nose. I can now pet starting from the tip of their nose and go down with no flinching, shying, defensive strikes/poses, etc.)

As others have said, it really just takes time and patience. I was able to work my BPs out of their head-shy-ness sometimes as quickly as a couple days, and sometimes it took almost a month. Each snake will be different, and, as others have said, it's about building the trust between you and your snake. Good luck!

[kikkimea]

We rescued a Pinstripe that the owner was afraid of and used a hook to even remove his hide so we could see him. He was striking every time, but I realized pretty quick that it was just fear.
We started to handle him with caution and two days later I sent the seller a pic of me holding his "terrible" snake. He never gave him a fair chance!
Today I can even hold his head to inspect his mouth if I have to, and to date we haven't been bitten once..
Just be confident and relentlessly stubborn about your snakes improvement.
I guess the moral to this story can be summed up with the words of Henry Ford:
"Whether you think you can or you can't, either way you're right."

[piedpython]

My ball python would never strike just ball up or hiss when reaching for him and was very scared with fast movements. Two months later he actually crawls up my hand and arm when going in his cage and he has never balled up or hissed. I can pet his head or anywhere on his body without a flinch. I handle two to three times a week so he learned to tolerate me quickly. I know snakes do not enjoy being held but I think mine "looks foward" to streching out and exploring when out of the cage.

[coldbloodaddict]

I would just stop messing with his head.

have someone constantly putting there hand on your head/face and how will you react?


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