Got my first Tic

[JoshSloane]

Wow thanks Gio! It's been a pretty harrowing experience, but we are making strides. It was frustrating to want a retic so badly, but for him to be so hard to handle.

I truly hope that one day he will be a no issue snake. I've come to take this on as a long term challenge.

Between my powerlifting, rugby, karate and a hateful retic, my hands are torn, bruised and bitten to an almost unrecognizable state, much to my girlfriends chagrin.

But it's all worth it in the end!

[stretcharmy]

Thankfully I don't think I'm going to have a hard time of it at all. Took her out today for a bit twice with no nips each time. Tried to get some photos but they didn't turn out to well, I'll try and get some in better lighting tomorrow.

[reptileexperts]

I have only had a couple of tics that were absolutely satanic right out of the bag when they first arrived. One is aptly named Satan simply because he has been for the better part of most his life (the last 3 years). Only these past few months has it really clicked that the hook is the source of his anger. Perhaps he sees it as a lack of trust and respect on my part, but I have learned with him that hook training and using a hook has kept his aggression going. Now I use my hand, and he rarely strikes, and has only landed a bite once since he was a baby.

My other biter is a goldenchild HOGS, he would have tore you up repeatedly when we first got him from NERD. Absolutely beastly aggression. But finally this last week, after being in his new vision for a couple weeks, he's no longer aggressive once out of the cage, and quite handleable.

Moral of the story is this: Yes, some snakes can be horrific to work with (across all species, not limited to retics), but you need to find out what makes them angry and fix that. If and only if they retain their aggression after settling down. Remember, he likely wants to be left alone when young. If he bites and you put him back, you are rewarding this bad behavior and he gets what he wants. Hate to have to say it, but remember, when he lands a bite stay strong and keep pulling him out DO NOT put him back after a bite or it will encourage that behavior and lead to bigger issues down the road.

Good luck

[JoshSloane]

I have only had a couple of tics that were absolutely satanic right out of the bag when they first arrived. One is aptly named Satan simply because he has been for the better part of most his life (the last 3 years). Only these past few months has it really clicked that the hook is the source of his anger. Perhaps he sees it as a lack of trust and respect on my part, but I have learned with him that hook training and using a hook has kept his aggression going. Now I use my hand, and he rarely strikes, and has only landed a bite once since he was a baby.

My other biter is a goldenchild HOGS, he would have tore you up repeatedly when we first got him from NERD. Absolutely beastly aggression. But finally this last week, after being in his new vision for a couple weeks, he's no longer aggressive once out of the cage, and quite handleable.

Moral of the story is this: Yes, some snakes can be horrific to work with (across all species, not limited to retics), but you need to find out what makes them angry and fix that. If and only if they retain their aggression after settling down. Remember, he likely wants to be left alone when young. If he bites and you put him back, you are rewarding this bad behavior and he gets what he wants. Hate to have to say it, but remember, when he lands a bite stay strong and keep pulling him out DO NOT put him back after a bite or it will encourage that behavior and lead to bigger issues down the road.

Good luck

My experiences definitely agree with you there. My retic hated the hook, and I actually was worried he was going to hurt himself from striking at it so hard. Now I just slowly put my hand in, lightly brush him with my hand. Now instead of tagging me a few times he just starts to slither away from me. I can just pick him up and pull him out without much of an ordeal. He still strikes if you get too close to his face too fast, but its much more toned down than a few months ago. It feels like a war of attrition between us, the more he bites, the longer I keep him out. I only put him back when he has calmed down for a significant while. Somehow I feel like we have started to gain some understanding between us, if only a little. I also switched him to shredded aspen instead of paper towel. I think this might have helped a bit to make him feel more secure in the tank.

[EarMice]

I have only had a couple of tics that were absolutely satanic right out of the bag when they first arrived. One is aptly named Satan simply because he has been for the better part of most his life (the last 3 years). Only these past few months has it really clicked that the hook is the source of his anger. Perhaps he sees it as a lack of trust and respect on my part, but I have learned with him that hook training and using a hook has kept his aggression going. Now I use my hand, and he rarely strikes, and has only landed a bite once since he was a baby.

Retics are so fascinating. Do you do the same movements you would do with a hook with your hands instead or do you have a different approach?

[stretcharmy]

Well, it's been two weeks and Helena has calmed down completely. I'm pretty happy with her. I was a little concerned last week because she didn't eat, but this week she took a small rat fuzzy/pup. She didn't take it very aggressively either. She just reached up and took it and then slowly began to wind herself on it. It wasn't the type of feeding response I was expecting. Not that I'm complaining, I'll take the ginger feeding vs jumping across the room and ripping the forceps from my hands. I weighed her pre feeding and she's at 175 grams.

We have been handling her a lot. 3 of the 4 of us like snakes, the one daughter is terrified because she got tagged once, she will pet them but not hold them. So she has been spending a few hours out a day. She particularly likes chilling on my hand and watching TV.

[frostysBP]

my goldenchild has the laziest feeding response in the world.. all I have to do is show her the rat and lay it on the ground. my s/d on the other hand flys out of the tub to get anything that looks like food.

[Havok73]

Interesting thread. I just added two additional SD and SD cross hatchlings. One was just scared nippy and calmed down within days. But my other I could easily see it was pure aggression. Hell she actually would attempt to crawl towards me jut to strike. Hopefully with some alone time and then some regular handling she will come around. First one I ever had with so much aggression. But I think she's starting to get it now. One of my other girls was super nervous and nipped at times but now she's probably my calmest out if the family.

[Tash]

I have a fascination with retics. I just love their patterns and those eyes! I go back and forth about getting one all the time because I question if I'd be able to handle it when it's full grown. I have a habit of falling in love with angry animals that just love to bite me. So my luck I'd get a biter that will only grow up as a potential hazard to me. This thread reconfirmed that I should probably just stick to my smaller ball pythons and boas. Besides, as of now I have no one around to help me out with a big snake. I'll just have to live vicariously through everyone's posts and pictures. Lol

[stretcharmy]

Good point Tash, I wouldn't have gotten one if I didn't have help. But thankfully my wife likes snakes as does my daughter so we have plenty of hands if need be. I spent a lot of time searching and reading on retics first. My OCD is a good thing when it comes to husbandry I think. ;-)

I have found that like other things on the internet you have to check your sources. I have seen plenty of bad advice about feeding these guys. Anything from basically force feeding to practically starvation. I feed, and drink(mostly) responsibly.