Burmese python taming tips

[bcr229]

I handled him in the evening because loud noises scare him. He struck at my face while i was holding him before because he didnt like my talking lol. So i handled him after my kids were in bed. I fed him friday an adult large mouse. But when i opened the lid to handle him he shot out of his hide. Hes never done that, seemed to be looking for food still. So i booped him with the snake hook and then hooked him and picked him up.

Snakes really don't hear very well whether the noise is loud or not. If he struck at your face while you were talking, it's likely because your mouth was open and he thought Godzilla (you) were about to take a bite out of him.

I took in juvi burm a few years back that was extremely defensive because of physical abuse. She did the baby-nipping thing at her prior owner and the owner, instead of laughing off the nip and being gentle with the baby, would grab it by the tail, hold it at arm's length, and bounce it up and down so the burm couldn't climb up her own body to the owner's hand while the owner used her other hand to spot clean or change water in the tank. This did not end well for the owner when the snake got too big for that to be effective. It took months before she could be touched without her turning on you, and she was fast and hit hard with her bites by the time we got her.

As a defense mechanism many snake species like to climb, and baby burms are among them. One of the easiest ways to get your baby burm to settle is to hold it over your head. Just make sure it's far enough away from things like ceiling fans, cabinets, tall furniture, curtain rods, etc. that it doesn't try to move from your hand.

If you can manage to get the snake into a bag, another trick is to put the bag on your lap and sit quietly while you read, work on your computer, fool with your phone, watch tv, etc. This teaches the snake to associate your scent with being in a warm and secure place.

Finally, watch the lighting in the room and where your shadow falls. I've noticed my burm, retics, and boas are a lot more likely to strike out when I am strongly backlit, especially if I have on a black shirt. I changed up the lighting in my reptile room a while back so it has multiple diffused lights and a lot of the striking out stopped immediately.