Question about GTP's

[Monster Dodge]

I've always heard this is more of an observing snake and dont really digg being handled I.E. very aggressive towards handling. How many of you members who house these snakes actually handle them? I would be fine with just having a GTP for observing in a really nice enclosure

[Lucas339]

some can be held. none should be held before a year of age. i can hold mine without issue.

[Void]

I've always heard this is more of an observing snake and dont really digg being handled I.E. very aggressive towards handling. How many of you members who house these snakes actually handle them? I would be fine with just having a GTP for observing in a really nice enclosure

I've got one and she has no problem being held. She does have a lil cage aggression but once shes out shes great. She's not even head shy ^_^

[Monster Dodge]

none should be held before a year of age.

Why is that?

[mainbutter]

I've held one at a show, but it was specifically so I could be shown a docile GTP

I regularly handle snakes that 'should' be nippy, and one that IS (and she's only got me once). There's a lot more to handling a snake and having positive physical interaction with it than just having one that is super-docile, though it helps.

[Lucas339]

Why is that?

they have fragile spines. you can cause damage to the spine and not know it for a while. they can end up with spinal kinks that can be detrimental to reproduction if they are bad enough. this is why you should never by a GTP that has been popped or sexed to early. popping should never be done even on older animals and probing should be done when the animal reaches at least a year of age and over 100 grams.

[kristan]

I handle all of my gtps. I've actually found them to be inquisitive and interactive. I bought my first one as a little neo and she has never shown any signs of aggression..I never had to "tame" her down, she was friendly from the first time I ever handled her. I got two others from breeders as yearlings and both were very easily handled. I also have a (presumably) WC female biak, and she has been a very mild-mannered snake since the first time I handled her. I've spoken to several breeders that agree that most gtps are easy to handle, however they often chose not to do so due to their own time constraints and the size of their collections. I think one issue with this species is that, due to their care requirements, they have not traditionally been kept as a "pet" snake. People have kept bps for pets for a much longer time period, which has given everyone time to find out how tame they can be. My guess is as more people start keeping gtps as pets (that are handled) rather than breeders, their reputation will change a bit. However, as with all species, some individuals will not be as handle-able as others.
I always remove mine on their perches, they tend not to respond as well if you try take them off of their perches before taking them out. Also, mine get extremely excited about food, or the possibility of food, so I usually mist them once before I get them out, which makes them tuck their heads - this gives me a second to get their perches out.

[TrpnBils]

I always remove mine on their perches, they tend not to respond as well if you try take them off of their perches before taking them out. Also, mine get extremely excited about food, or the possibility of food, so I usually mist them once before I get them out, which makes them tuck their heads - this gives me a second to get their perches out.

See right there's why there is no single right answer to this question because I'm completely opposite in my practices but I get the same results.

I've found that mine get really irritated when I mist them down and I get bit more often after than before. With younger ones, I also tend to put my hands in right over top of them and bring them off the perch that way... I don't pull them off, but I encourage them to come off on their own.

All of ours are handleable, but some are less friendly when you're actually reaching into their personal space (for lack of a better word) than others. Even the largest adults that I handle at work are fine once you get them out and I actually do public educational programs at schools, etc. with ours (obviously I don't do this every day as I think that would be excessive, but it's fine every so often).

[Zoe]

Mine, too, get irritated when they are misted. I do agree with the removable branches though - SO much easier to take a GTP out that way!

I handle my three with no issues. The female can be a little bit aggressive if you're moving around near her head but other than that, she's fine. The other two have not so much as hissed or huffed at me.

[pas]

I handle all mine, though as noted above, I don't handle until they're a year old or so. Some can be a little jumpy (particularly the younger ones) and don't seem to be too fond of it, while others seem to enjoy exploring outside of their cages. Depends on the individual animal, but I don't have any that can't be handled.