Calming down BP's - feisty hatchling

[mvptext1]

I recently got 2 female BP's from the same clutch. They are both possible het pieds, so basically normals. Their personalities couldn't be any different. One is amazingly calm and curious. She is an amazing snake to handle and will even tolerate a soft touch near her head without jerking back. My other female though is very skittish. When I got her, she showed a lot of defensive behavior, so I expected that when I brought her home. The guy I got her from told me that most hatchlings eventually clam down in time once they get settled in.

My question is, how long does it usually take for a snake to calm down and settle in and not feel defensive all the time? I've watch Justin Kobylka's videos and he commented in one I believe that by 6 months they usually settle down. I also know by reading other posts that some people have BP's that just stay defensive and are snippy.

She is in a 10 gallon right now with a cave system I made out of extruded polystyrene. So she has 2 identical hides with a narrow passage connecting them. Her hot spot is 91 and her cool side is about 78. Humidity is 90% (wet towel on top) She eats well, once a week, Rat fuzzy's right now. She is 91 grams, born on June 15th.

I give her 2 days after feeding days to handle her. When I go to pick her up she will hiss at me and try to lock onto my hand. I sometimes put a towel over her so I can get her by her body and pick her up. When I have her in my hands she is ok. She will only hiss if she gets spooked by a sudden movement, which I try not to do. She has struck at my hand before when I've tried to get her out of her cage.

I've seen Justin K cover an aggressive snake in his hands to try and call its bluff. Is this good to do? I haven't really done that with her. I just try to stay still and calm with her and let her explore some and then after 10 or so minutes I put her back so that she has a "positive" experience with me.

Any tips or input you have for getting her to stop hissing and striking would be appreciated. I would love for her to chill out so I can handle her with more confidence and let my kids hold her too (supervised of course).

Thanks!

[Mike41793]

A pic of her setup would help a ton.

EDIT: but right off the bat i'd recommend adding lots of crumpled up newspaper to her tank and "blacking out" the sides and back of it.

[mvptext1]

Here is a picture of her - she is being good here, next time I go to get her out I will get a picture of her in "strike mode" in her cage. [IMG][/IMG]

[MootWorm]

I think it's a het pied thing My little one is a witch lol. I've had her for about 4 months, she's still pretty nippy. The only thing you can really do is continue with the handling sessions. She's definitely calmed down some since blacking out her tub and giving 3 identical hides, plus tons of cover. My tub is pretty 'messy' compared to everyone else's setup, but it works so I'd definitely recommend it.

[mvptext1]

Thanks for all the advice, definitely will cover up the sides of the enclosure, I have the back covered. I just want to do what I can now to chill her out while she is still small. She's in a room that doesn't get much traffic so that should help too.

[Banana]

I'm glad you posted this as I was just worrying about the same thing.... I tried to pick up my baby boy today for the first time so I could his adjust his tank and he bit everything he could, including the lamp. I know he's stressed from his new surroundings but my last one was so docile from day 1 that I really wasn't expecting it. I really do hope they grow out of it. He stayed in the same position that yours is in and kept striking that I had to just put him down or he would have latched on. Here's hoping for calmer snakes... Good luck!

[brobertson]

Just wait the little guy out. As long as you have a good, secure setup with the right temperatures, he should calm down over time. When I got my first BP, he came out of the shipping box looking for blood, and was like that for a couple of weeks. I didn't really mess with him during that time, and then one day when I went in to clean his cage and I noticed he wasn't defensive at all. Since that day, he has been a joy to handle and work with. Just give him a bit of time to settle down and he most likely will.
Hope this helps!

[Mike41793]

Here is a picture of her - she is being good here, next time I go to get her out I will get a picture of her in "strike mode" in her cage. [IMG][/IMG]

No lol, a pic of her setup. As in cage.

[Drake Moonslayer]

From what I have seen each snake is different. Destruction and Despair, my 2 Het Albinos have been perfectly fine since I brought them home. Dream and Death, my Pastel Het Pied and Het Pied on the other hand Dream was the one balling up and Death was all about the hissing and striking. Delirium, my spider was just insane and looking for blood for the first 3 weeks, hissing and striking at anything and everything even her own tail. Give her about 2 weeks with no handeling except for watering, spot cleaning and feeding. She should just chill out. That is what I did with Delirium and now she is the coolest little snake to hold.

[brobertson]

Whoops, double posted! I agree with Mike, setup pics would help a lot.