Gaining confidence with new bp

[davetyler08]

I have read a lot on their positions i have changed his water a few times and I have noticed the s shape on him but no strike on him. I was a mechanic for a long time and my hands have had some abuse (spanner rash, hitting with hammer,burns of welder) the normal day at work haha.
I'm not to bothered about pain and I know its in my head,
my staffy can do more damage playing.
I put my hand in and touch him and he flight off to the other side of the viv.
I have read on how to take thing slow as we are going to be together for a long time.

[dakski]

I have read a lot on their positions i have changed his water a few times and I have noticed the s shape on him but no strike on him. I was a mechanic for a long time and my hands have had some abuse (spanner rash, hitting with hammer,burns of welder) the normal day at work haha.
I'm not to bothered about pain and I know its in my head,
my staffy can do more damage playing.
I put my hand in and touch him and he flight off to the other side of the viv.
I have read on how to take thing slow as we are going to be together for a long time.

Remember, snakes can smell fear.

JUST KIDDING.

Seriously, you've been through way worse. BP's are more inclined to ball up than strike anyway, and it doesn't really hurt. It's the speed of the strike that's scary.

I've had about 15 snakes in my lifetime and been bitten by two. A baby BP that was my fault (scared him), and a juvenile boa, also my fault (food response prior to hook training). The strikes scared me way more than either bite hurt.

If you are afraid of getting bit, do the following.

1. Take your BP out when you do cage maintenance. That will avoid either a food confusion bite or a defensive bite while you are rummaging around your BP's cage.

2. Feed with tongs and at night with the lights dim or out. This will avoid your BP associating your hand with food and also he/she will expect to be handled with the lights on and fed with the lights off. This works for all my snakes really well.

3. If you want, although I've only done with my boas and my Carpet Python, you can hook train. If you are not sure what this is or how to do it, just ask.

Good luck, enjoy your BP, and try to not to worry too much. Focus on bonding with him/her rather than worrying about a bite.

Also, remember, snakes don't hold a grudge, and only bite because they are either hungry or scared. So, if you do get nailed, which sounds unlikely at this point, remember, that doesn't mean it's going to be a pattern.

Finally, many BP's get startled by their own shadow. My 8 year old BP, Shayna, will bump into my arm and coil back scared half to death. She has never struck at me, but does this often. Don't worry if your BP bumps into something and jerks back, etc. This is pretty normal for them as they are fairly shy creatures.