Addressing snake aggression / cage aggression

[BFT12890]

Some of my snakes were/are somewhat defensive while in their tubs: this includes a SSTP who's calmed down considerably, a Hog Island BCI who can still get grumpy, and a young coastal carpet who sounds much like your corn (she's bit me more often than all my other snakes: pic below).

My advice (that's worked for me) is to just go right in there and pick him up. I found that not hesitating and being confident when approaching the snake makes the overall experience a lot less stressful for the snake and handler. As long as your not grabbing him aggressively, rough, or too hard I bet he'll calm down in time. If he bites you don't put him away right away: he'll learn that that's a way to get out of being handled, only put him away when he calms down.

As for breaking a tooth I've yet to have any snakes get hurt from tagging me. Possible, but seems uncommon.

Alright thanks! I've tried the confident approach and got tagged three times before he was out of the cage lol. Guess ill have to just keep at it. Im not aggressive when entering, but darn he is QUICK when he wants to get away lol.

Thanks for the advice, and gorgeous carpet! ive heard they have a reputation for being a little aggressive at times.

We have a large bull snake that is basically a pet. He can be cage aggressive. Not sure if this is the best way, but we pull open his tub and let him come out on his own. Once out a little ways, he lets us pick him up with no problems. Hope this helps, it seems to work well for us. Good luck!

Ive heard of several people doing that with their larger snakes, unfortunately my corn is only about 2 feet long and his cage is about 4 feet of the ground. So as of now I cant use that option :[ thanks for the input though, this is definitely a technique I will keep in mind when I enter the red tail/dumerils world.