"snapping" solutions anyone...? please help!

[4theSNAKElady]

One of my 2005 babies (Percy) came out of the egg a "snapper", and 6 months later (he hatched first week of Sept.) I am still clueless as to how to break him of this bad habit. i have only been able to hold him without getting struck at a few times. Mostly its when someone approaches the cage, he strikes continually, and the rest of the time he's just really stressed out...(breathes heavily, puffs up a little, tense). He's having trouble relaxing when I pick him up, and it seems like I have tried everything. I don't pick him up hardly at all or bother him, only to feed and clean his cage. His brother(Gambit) whom I also kept from the same clutch is the complete opposite - friendly,curious, easily handled. Cage environment is fine, with temps, humidity, etc. optimal. i just can't figure this guy out......

[rabernet]

I've got one snapper - but she doesn't sound nearly as bad as your guy. I just try to have short five or ten minute handling sessions with her, and when I see her neck start to curl back into the "S", I try to encourage her to explore instead with her neck strait, by "walking" her from hand to hand. I figure if she's strait, she can't strike like she can when the neck is back in a "S".


With calm handling, I'm hoping that she'll learn to trust that no harm will come to her when I'm handling her.

[frankykeno]

Have you tried the newspaper trick with Percy? Maybe even move him out of the general snake room if you can to the quiet of a big closet or bedroom? It took us months to settle a couple of adult females we got...one was in a tight ball and refusing to eat, the other was highly aggressive. Both are fine now but it was slow, small steps of handling...very quiet environment with almost no stimulation...dark, warm, quiet. We allowed no one but us to even approach these two females so they only had to learn to deal with two humans.


With the aggressive one (and she was an almost 2000 gram female at this time) we just stayed firm, extremely calm, wore gloves and just dealt with her. We tried to make sure the removal from her tub (her most aggressive time) went smoothly and no matter how much she struggled and tried to bite...she only went back into her tub when she grew calm, even if that lasted all of 2 seconds. Eventually I guess she got it that coming in and out of the tub was not a time that bad stuff had to happen. Whenever she was out of her tub at first we only stood near by it with her...never took her away from her "home"...sometimes handling lasted 1 minute...but it gradually got better and she gradually just stopped the problems. Funny now she can be handled by children with no problems and I never thought I'd see that day, even in a best case scenario.

She also struck at anything approaching her tub, was so defensive she couldn't even relax enough to use a hide but would simply exhaust herself patrolling her tub....the scrunched up newpaper really helped that issue within a week. We also didn't move quickly around her or her tub, other than when we handled her...then it was best to grab fast LOL (the only time I hesitated...she nailed me right through the dang gloves).

Brannagh was a challenge, but I adore that snake! She taught me more about patience, respect and snake handling in a few short months than I might have learned in a year of handling more calm natured BP's.


~~Jo~~

[4theSNAKElady]

Thanks guys....I think that the only thing that may cure this little biter is time and patience. Frankykeno, I'm glad he's just a baby...I would hate to think of the bites he'd deliver if he was a 2000 gram female!!! I do have handling gloves, but I try not to use them unless absolutely neccessary.

[frankykeno]

Actually even when Brannagh fully connected she never tried to do damage. The damage was from us silly humans pulling back suddenly and dragging her teeth. She tried to bite a lot granted...she actually connected very rarely and never left any real damage. I've said it before...I've been bit worse by my own kids LOL. Much of the work with Brann the Brat was just trying not to drop her as she torqued her body around in our grip. Hard to find that right grip...enough to hold her firm without feeling we were harming her. It got easier each time and she just finally got it through her snake brain that we weren't turning her loose till she calmed down.


Just stick with your little bp. Some don't like much handling but at least if he'll accept enough to allow for stress free husbandry then that's a nice step (or slither) forward. That's all we ever really expected from Brannagh, yet once she stopped actively trying to bite us...she just didn't have an attitude about much anything else anymore. She still retains her aggressive feed response but that's a good thing!

[4theSNAKElady]

Yeah, Percy (biter in question) had a rough start in life I watched the little bugger poke his head out of the shell, and when he was completely out of the egg, I had to pick him up to transfer him from th incubator to his "baby box". He snapped at me twice when I opended the top of the incubator! That was in Sept. (2nd to be exact) He never took a meal, and after his 8th week of no eating, i finally had to start forcefeeding, cause he started loosing weight. I had to forcefeed him his next five or six meals, and then he finally started eating on his own. i handled him only to take him out for feeding and cleaning, and now that he eats well, and has been gaining weight, I try to handle him once or twice a week for about 10 mins. He does feel comfortable in his cage though, as he enjoys climbing the branches and sleeping in the hides. I watch him...at a distance so I know he is doing well in his cage. it is only when someone gets close that the heavy breathing starts, then the snapping, and the nervous "qiuck tongue flicker".....

[snakebitten69]

lol i got my male ball out last night to check on him becouse he was in shed. and he showed his true colors! i grabed him just topull him out to look @ him and he got in the s mode really quick and started to thrash around so i put him back he got on top of him log in s mode. and just gave me the look! i have a good feeling if i would have not put him back he would have lashed out @ me! i have never seen this side of him!




we have a male peruvain boa that we named striker he will strike @ you if u even look in his cage! he has gotten alote better and dont seem to strike as much! when we first got him they told us he has bitten 5 people and thay would not hold him! needless to say he has not bitten use yet! once he is out of his 'home' he is a gentleman. and has never struck @ us!