2 year old male burm, acting aggressive, what to do?

[Hypancistrus]

Have not tried the balled up newspaper yet, but I put more hides in. He really like the grass hide. I am going to see how this goes. I don't want to overwhelm him with changes all at once.

[johnlebel97]

id say he may want to hide alot more maybe drape a towel over half the tank so he has a large dark area... if he gets to the point where he needs to go i will definetly take him in!!! i love a challenge! i usually wear a glove an just stick my hand in the tank so he can bite it and i dont pull away so he realizes that he isnt a threat to me.... i have 2 retics a burm and a rock python an i will kiss all of them on the face without worry!

[Jadonh]

id say he may want to hide alot more maybe drape a towel over half the tank so he has a large dark area... if he gets to the point where he needs to go i will definetly take him in!!! i love a challenge! i usually wear a glove an just stick my hand in the tank so he can bite it and i dont pull away so he realizes that he isnt a threat to me.... i have 2 retics a burm and a rock python an i will kiss all of them on the face without worry!

That's The smartest thing, I have ever heard........Oh yeah except for diseases you can pass from yourself to the snake, or from your snake to yourself. WOW. The other thing is, You put on a glove and let them bite you so that they realize you are not a threat to them, or he isn't a threat to you........TILL HE BITES YOU IN THE FACE< WHERE THERE IS NO GLOVE!!!!!!!!

[johnlebel97]

a clean towel is used....
and ive never taken a bite to the face... i owned well over 100 snakes since is was 16 and any of them that were pissy i used same method with and after about 3-5 times of entering tank with the glove they would ignore it...

[johnlebel97]

then again everyone has their own methods that seem to work for them... just sayin what works for me...

[tomfromtheshade]

Number One: FEED HEAVILY. A two year old burm that is only four feet long has been severely underfed for far too long. I would offer food every seven days, and I would not be stingy with the food. I would feed at least two prey items of appropriate size every seven days.

Number Two: Prepare the enclosure. Make sure that you have multiple hides in the cage, a water container large enough for soaking, and plenty of heat. I would try to keep the hot spot at 92F and keep the cool end down around 84F if possible. The main point is that he needs a lot of heat to digest that much food that quickly.

Number Three: Handle sparingly for the first few months. This snake has been through a lot of shtuff and he doesn't need you screwing with him until he settles in and can actually live like a snake should live instead of a starving refugee.

I'm willing to bet that when the snake can't remember the last time it was hungry, thirsty, or covered in mites it will be a much happier camper.

After this adjustment period I recommend hook training. I use a cardboard tube from a wrapping paper roll, but it's the same general principle. After he has calmed down he should come to respond to hook training.

Captive bred burms tend to be one of the calmest large constrictors out there. I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if once this guy adjusts he doesn't calm right down puppy dog tame on his own.

[Hypancistrus]

One of the reasons we took him in was to eventually use him in educational demos and events. Do you think he will ever be trustworthy enough to use in that capacity?

[johnlebel97]

theres always hope!!! i intend on doing the same thing with my reps too

[Jadonh]

It's a good idea, and I respect that. I use several snakes in my shows, and some have been aggressive when I have first taken them in. As stated before, heavy feed and just keep working. Good luck