just a few days ago one of my big girls launched herself straight up out of her tub at my face when i pulled her drawer open to check to see if she had shed yet. funny thing is, she is the one snake i trust the most--the one i give people who have never touched a snake before to hold! she was freshly shed and feeling not too pleased about missing her meal the week before due to being in blue...she was fed promptly after i jumped back in shock and recollected myself. it really is amazing how far they can launch themselves upward and outward.

i have a few hissers (which i think is cute) and a few strikers but not biters. a few of the babies i hatched this past year were fiesty little boogers at first but they have mostly calmed down. one of them did decide to attempt to gnaw my finger off recently but again--it was feeding day and she knew it, so what can ya do. she eats every time without fail so i'll take a few chomps here and there (at least until the little 300 gram beast gets up around 2000+ grams--then i might change my mind ).

i did have one girl though that was an absolute piece of work. i honestly think though that it was just ME that she didn't like. she was the only snake her previous owner ever had and she was totally fine with him. the instant he handed her to me she started hissing and striking and she never stopped! i had to get her out with a hook and my quick reflexes saved me many, many times from getting bitten. after i let her settle i tried to handle her some to calm her but it just seemed to be more stress for her than it was worth. she stopped eating, i got her eating again by giving her a gerbil, then she ate here and there, all the while just hating every moment of my existance. i even covered the front of her drawer so she didn't have to see me walk by because even that seemed to make her mad. after about a year trying everything possible i decided that maybe it would be better for her to go live with someone else, because if it was just me in particular that she didn't like it wasn't fair for her to have to live with me! that and i think her being stressed/angry/whatever was causing her to eat poorly. anyhow, i gave her to an experienced breeder that lives a few hours away--i figured if anyone could figure her out or know what to do with her it would be him.