Need Help With BP!!!

[Daltonf]

So I'm in the army, and recently got back from a short 6 month deployment. I have made arrangements with my sister to watch after Charlie while I was gone. She didn't. Apparently he was fed once while I was gone, and never handled. Now whenever I go near his habitat while he is it he strikes at me through the glass. He is eating again, but I don't know how to get him hadleable again. If anyone has any advise, it would be much appreciated.

[lunasjy]

The best thing for you to do is to just handle him. You may get bit and your arm may be strangled but the more he is handled right now the more he will be back to his old self. Half an hour a day (excluding feeding days) and keeping him in a low traffic area of the house and in a quiet room will lower stress.

[JoshSloane]

Throw on a work glove and hold on for dear life. He will get readjusted to you. If he bites you do not put him back. Stick with it and show him that all is ok.

[Sauzo]

Just pick him up. Not like a BP will do lots of damage. I'm not sure I would use a work glove though as it doesn't give the snake your feel and I would imagine it could cause the snake even more stress. But definitely don't pull if it does bite as that will do more damage to you and the snake. Just work with him about 3 times a week starting off with like 5-10 min handlings and then slowly extend the handling by 5 mins per week. Eventually he will calm down and when he learns that biting you isn't going to get him anywhere, he will probably just give up on that idea.

[JoshSloane]

Unless you have no reaction to getting bitten you DO need some kind of glove. You want to be able to take a bite and not flinch or pull your hand back. The snake needs to learn that it can't influence you with hisses, bites or strikes. You must be persistent and show the animal that you aren't thwarted by it's aggressive attempts. Having a glove on not only protects from the bites, but also for most people keeps them from pulling their hand back too much. What I've done with aggressive animals is to have one glove on, pull the snake out with that and once the animal calms down use a non gloved hand to gently touch the animal. Persistence is the key.

[JoshSloane]

Also you aren't going to get anywhere with this animal if you only work with it three times a week. Snakes do not have higher brain structures to integrate infrequent memories into long term consciousness. You aren't reasoning with an animal like a dog or horse. You are simply conditioning the snake to understanding your hand and your smell does not mean danger, that's it. Work with the snake daily for short periods. 24 hours is plenty of time for it to recover and be ready to handle again. These animals aren't china dolls.

[Tsanford]

If your in the army and you can handle being shot at, then a little snake bite is nothing. Bites from ball pythons are near painless...

What you need to do is man up and start holding him on a daily basis. Depending on his size, this method works great - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7DQssbM0uk

Just get in there, show no fear of being bit and start handling him. After the first couple minutes he will calm down and start slow. If you show fear he will feed on that...

[bcr229]

Could it be that this poor guy is just really hungry, and that's why he's hitting at heat and movement through the glass? I had a rescue boa that while recovering from regurge syndrome would hit at anything she could see, since she was getting tiny meals, but once she was over it and back onto a more typical diet so she wasn't hungry all the time, she became very chill about being handled.

[JoshSloane]

Being shot at has nothing to do with fear of snake bites. Also, not everyone in the military is shot at. It's called an involuntary reflex arc and it's natural to withdraw your hand. Sometimes you can't do anything about it. Point is persistency. I also agree the snake is probably very hungry and his feeding response is fully engaged constantly. If he will take it, offer food every 4-5 days for a month and see if this doesn't calm him down. Hungry snakes are always a bear to deal with.

[anicatgirl]

Update?