Mean snake!!! Is it likely they grow out of it with handeling?

[dr del]

Hi,

I think she is probably just striking out of fear more than anything else.


dr del

[DustinB]

Just start fresh and leave her completely alone for a week, feed her and wait 2 more days. The you can start trying to handle her for a little bit at a time. No fast movements, don't move her around too much. She will likely just sit in your hand for a while. After a few times of holding her calmly she will probably start to explore a little. Just be patient with her and try to keep things as stress free as possible while shes out.

Does she eat ok for you? My female wasn't quite as bad but she sure was testy. She's still a little nervous after a few weeks of handling. She's getting better but she still looks at me like she wants to eat me.

Like I said, just be patient and easy going with her. She will calm down with time.

[aff19802]

Will definately work on getting to act better... All the advice is apprecaited and i feed her once a week I thought about increasing it but i dont wanna overfeed her...

[sg1trogdor]

I don't know. I have some that have calmed down and a few that I refuse to go near for anything other then feeding or cleaning. Just handle her a lot while shes small because once shes full grown you wont be so apt to do so.

[casper]

You should try picking it up from behind. Don't put your hand in front of its head and no quick movements.

[Patricia]

Just handle her a lot while shes small because once shes full grown you wont be so apt to do so.

I've heard both that AND the other angle of NOT handling so as not to stress them out.

[mrshawt]

Is she in a rack? If not, I've heard you can get them to calm down by placing a towel or other opaque fabric over their enclosure for a couple days so the movement around the enclosure doesn't startle her.

I would go with that over continuing to handle her for now. Once they get bigger, yeah, they're more intimidating but I don't think they have the same attitude. I'm guessing smaller bp's strike more because they're scared themselves that everything is so huge.

[jblaze]

I don't know much about aggressive snakes, but I don't think waving your hand around in front of her and tapping on the tub would help her be less aggressive. I wouldn't appreciate it, and snakes are way more easily stressed than us, so I can't imagine she likes it.

This video was a mere attempt to show the aggression of the snake. I am sure "AF" does not sit in front of the tub all day and motion his hand around to see if his snake will attack.

Besides from all the "original" answers given, the ones that say to leave the snakes alone are the most informative.

What are you attempting to feed them? If not live, try frozen. If frozen, try live. Although these snakes can go for a while fasting, it looks very young and really should be eating each feed.

What are the temperatures in your tubs? Are you using under belly heat? Does the snake have two hides in the tub to choose from? (Cool/Hot)

Has the particular snake eaten before? If so, what did it eat? I feel that the snakes are stressed out for some particular reason, where do you keep them? Do you feel that their enclosures are in a high traffic area? Do you have any other pets that could possibly hang around the tubs?

I am just trying to get some background information, hopefully your snakes will return to good demeanor in no time!

Good Luck my friend.

[h00blah]

well young animals are normally way more fearful than the adults. but as it was already stated, just leave her alone for a bit, if u go to change her water, or spot clean, ignore her... if she strikes at u oh well, dont think about it, she'll strike at u, then hide eventually. u do ur thing, and she'll come around. i love feisty BPs .

[MarkS]

OK, watched the video and listened to the commentary. First thing... She is NOT 'mean' You are applying a human concept to an animal. This is what is known as anthropomorphism. You are trying to apply human attributes to an animal. Saying that she is mean is to imply that she is doing this just out of spite or in an effort to 'get even' or because she just wants to hurt you. None of these is accurate, only human beings will strike out for these reasons.

Snakes will strike for one of two reasons and ONLY one of two reasons... Out of hunger, or out of defense. If it's hunger, you can try feeding her larger meals more often. If it's out of defense, not much you can do except leave her alone until she grows out of it or get used to having her strike at you. MOST baby snakes will either try to hide or strike out of defense. When they are first born and still small, they are a food source for virtually everything else in their environment. It's no wonder that they become so defensive with every other animal around them trying to eat them. It will often take them a year or two to figure out that the big giant (you) that keeps staring at them isn't going to eat them.

Usually, once they get some size to them and a little more confidence they will calm down. In the mean time. Just get used to being struck at. Go ahead and leave your hand in there. You might be surprised at how little it hurts. Often times they'll even strike with a closed mouth and not even bite. They're just trying to scare you off so you don't eat them.