Have you ever just not bonded with a snake?

[hazzaram]

I have two bp's that I adore. They're sweet and tame and I look forward to interacting with them. I open up the door to their room and my little yellowbelly girl sticks her head out to see what the noise is, and it's adorable. I can handle both of them with no problem and enjoy it.

A few months ago I got a baby Brazilian Rainbow Boa. She's absolutely gorgeous but I don't really interact with her. I change her water, feed her and clean her enclosure and that's it. I never go in to just hold her. She's so small and she's a little fiesty, though she's never bitten me. I think she sort of scares me a bit, to be honest, whereas I'm totally comfortable with my ball's.

I'm torn between keeping her and selling her to just get another ball python. I don't know what to do.

[frostysBP]

Brb are very rewarding snakes to own...most snake babys are feisty...I! You have never been tagged honest just let her hit you and you realize it nothing to be concerned about.ive taken hits from my adult balls and that not bad at all..I think once you get the first one out of the way it will change your mindset...just keep working with her and she will get better.

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[BCS]

I know how you feel. I have a few feisty BPs that I have an issue bonding with. It's not that I am afraid of them, just I have other snakes that are in happier spirits that are easier for me to bond with. I have a boa who I do not bond with at all. He is very feisty and I too want to sell him for it but my husband likes his so I can't.

[hazzaram]

Brb are very rewarding snakes to own...most snake babys are feisty...I! You have never been tagged honest just let her hit you and you realize it nothing to be concerned about.ive taken hits from my adult balls and that not bad at all..I think once you get the first one out of the way it will change your mindset...just keep working with her and she will get better.

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I just went in there to visit her and when I went to pick her up, she coiled defensively and hissed and I couldn't pick her up lol. I'm a wuss.

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[hazzaram]

I know how you feel. I have a few feisty BPs that I have an issue bonding with. It's not that I am afraid of them, just I have other snakes that are in happier spirits that are easier for me to bond with. I have a boa who I do not bond with at all. He is very feisty and I too want to sell him for it but my husband likes his so I can't.

Aww that's too bad. I was very lucky with my bps. Even as baby's they were both super tame. I picked them for that, though. I'm not breeding so I look for tameness in snakes. The brb I got because she was so beautiful lol. I couldn't resist.

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[MarkS]

Most snakes will get better with age and handling, some won't. I have several snakes that would like to bond with me every chance they get with typically bloody results if they're successful. They make very nice display animals.

I'd say give her a chance to get some size on her, she may grow on you with a little more maturity. But, if you really don't feel anything for her then it's okay to try to rehome her, sometimes it just doesn't work out and that's okay too.

[frostysBP]

When you go in grab a paper towel roll rub her on her head and at the same time pick her up from behind with the other hand...when you get her out just sit on the ground and let her start exploring around and hand over hand...see if that works...good luck to you both.

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[JoshSloane]

Honestly I know how you feel. If you can find some of my older posts in the giant pythons section, I had MAJOR issues with a dwarf retic that I picked up. He would tag me half a dozen times before I could even get him out of the enclosure. Even while in my hands he would still lunge at my face and basically any exposed skin. Needless to say we did not bond at all for the first couple months.

I spent time every day holding him and working with him. Even with a glove my hands turned into a bloody mess. Looked like connect the dots from all the bites. Slowly but surely he started to calm down here and there. A month ago I had the first handling session where he struck but didn't bite. Two weeks ago he was able to come out of his enclosure without so much as a strike or a hiss.

I think he will always be a snake that's edgy, but he is 100x better than when I first got him. Point is, if you truly want to bond with an animal it is going to take time on your behalf. There is no shame in saying that a certain snake isn't for you, and selling her. We all have our limits to what makes us comfortable, and you shouldn't have to live with any animal that makes you feel uneasy. But if you want to continue to keep her, and enjoy her, you will need to spend time every day handling her for a while

I have found that a large percentage of BRB babies are super snappy, but most grow out of it with regular handling, and become wonderful adult snakes that are a joy to handle and keep. My advice would be to start keeping a handling log for her. Handle her every day for 10-15 min, and take some brief notes after as to your interaction and how it went. Do this every day for a month, minus after feeding times and during shed of course. I would bet that after 30 days looking back on it, you will see that she is trending much better towards being a better behaved snake.

[bcr229]

Last year my BRB female gave me 25 bouncing babies. Two of them were "yolk babies" and these are the only two that didn't take a defensive swipe at me, IMO because they were too weak. The rest later settled down but I had to handle every one of them for just a few minutes every day except for right after feeding day.

Note that they're not being mean or aggressive, to them you are a great big Godzilla predator about to gobble them up, and they are scared. So pick up your BRB, hold it gently for a short time, and if it nips... so what? It's a baby. Put it back only when it's stopped nipping and it will soon learn that biting doesn't make you go away. Right now you're teaching it that nippy/pissy behavior means you leave, which is what it wants. It's doing a good job training you.

That said... my daughter has two common garters and I really want to take the little so-and-so's outside and turn them loose to live happily among all of their other common garter buddies. All three of us would be happier.

[JoshSloane]

Agree with the above. You can totally do this. A bite from a baby BRB is nothing. Serrated teeth from a retic are MUCH worse.