I took Bella to the vet.....

[angllady2]

I completely understand what you are going through hon. Try to relax a little, deep breath!

From my experience with administering shots to dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and even a fish, most animals are like us, the shot is annoying for a moment or two, then you forget all about it and look for more trouble to get into.

Chances are, she'll be annoyed at you for a minute or two, but she'll forget soon enough. My advice here is, pick a specific time to give the shots, and stick to that time. When you need to give her her shot, get everything ready, then sit down and take a few deep breaths. This will be a LOT harder on you than it is on her. Once you have yourself calmed, gently pick her up. Get her settled comfortably, then calmly give her the shot. Be as quick and sure of yourself as you can. Once it is over, cuddle her up if she'll tolerate it for a minute or two, then instead of putting her back into her enclosure, let her have a little free roam time.

Most snakes enjoy roaming time so much, she'll forget all about the shot. Allow her 8-10 minutes of roaming time, then put her away. This will also make you feel less like you are "training" her to avoid handling. The big thing is to be calm about it, if you're all nervous and uptight, she will be too.

Gale

Thank you to Angllady2 - you obviously know exactly what I am going thru and picked up on how stressed I have been with all of this.

My only concern with giving her the shots is: will she become aggressive because she does not like to get the shots or is she not capable of such a thought process.

She has always been my most docile snake - my favorite snake and I don't want to ruin her personality.

Your thoughts on this??