hints and tips for taming an aggressive snake

[Calais_304]

Hi all,

the guy living with me has aquired himself a lovely little spotted python, about 40-50cm in lengh and about 25-30mm in diameter at his thickest part...he got it from a guy who he was doing a removal for and asked the owner what he planned on doing with the snake, the owner said he bought it for his son and his son doesn't like it anymore and said that my mate could have it (mate has his reptile licence luckly enough).

we left him be for 3 days and didn't feed him, then on the 4th day we gave him a pinkie...he loved it and then demended more lol so he was lucky and got another one, we then left him for another day and fed him last night (1 pinkie).

now we tried handleing him later that night we gave him the 2 pinkies, but he was very very aggressive so we left him for an hour or so then proceded to try again...but no luck.

tried again last night and still no luck...he's a very firery one lol..any suggestions or tricks of the trade to get this little one to be able to handle?

cheers all

[Anthony]

Good Score!

Just try leaving it for a week or 2, then feed it again.
Give a couple of days to pass it's food then try handle it again.
Make sure temps are right etc...
It is probable stressed from the move, and most likely neglected and not used to handling from previous owners.

I'm still new to this, so wait till you get some more advise, but this is usually the case

Anthony

[Ozzie Python]

leave the snake alone for 2 weeks, don't go near it unless it needs a water change, no handling at all. it needs time to settle in, sometimes they settle after a day or 2, but 2 weeks seems to be the general rule.

Secondly, after a feed any snake will be defensive, after a feed don't attempt to handle for 3 days to allow the snake to digest in peace, otherwise you may get a regurgitated mouse and an unhealthy snake.

If you keep getting bitten don't go back every hour, leave it for a day or 2 and then try handling again, it will only bite you so many times before it works out your not food.

There are some great husbandry books available i recommend your roomate has a look through some of the aps sponsors and does a bit of light reading, or check out the articles on southern cross reptiles, www.southernxreptiles.com

good luck.

[Paliadon]

Just as an idea. Try not to feed it prior to when you want to handle it. Either feed it and leave it alone or don't feed it and then handle it. It will be wise to avoid a routine when feeding/handling as this can lead to bad habits. I usually feed mine on days when I know I am not going to handle them, then handle them on days when they aren't getting fed. This way, they learn not to expect food whenever I am near the encosure.

Hope that helps. Anymore ideas guys?

[channi]

They can be quite aggressive especially when they are young so it may just be a case of firey young spotted. If this is the case do not be scared they don't hurt and handle him anyway for about 10 or 15 minutes every second day, make sure he is not hurt when handled and try and make it as stress free as possible and hopefully he will get used to it.

[Calais_304]

oh cool thanks for the replies all, very much appreiciated.

yea we think that the previous owners didn't take good care of him, as his enclosure was full of poop and there were a few regurgated pinkies in there, also the enclosure was filthy (glass) and he only had a bowl of dirty water..also think the kid may have been a good one for tapping on the glass as there was fingerprint marks everywhere!

anyway keep the advice rolling as i've always been scared of snakes but now i got one in the house i want to know as much about them as possible, and the correct ways of doing things....i love the little slitherer...he so cool!

[Calais_304]

also mate and i were talking last night and thought about putting him in a pillow case and just sitting him on our lap...basicially to feel the warmth of us and also slowly show it we mean no harm

would that work at all?

[jessb]

I'm not sure if I've misunderstood your post, but it looks like you have fed him 3 pinkies in two days. This seems pretty excessive. We have a Stimson's which is probably a little bit smaller than your mate's Spotted, and we will feed her two pinkies or one fuzzy per feed, then leave her about 7 or 8 days before her next feed. We wait for her to poo (about 3 days after her feed) before we start handling her again, then play with her for about 10-15 mins about 4 times a week. We left her completely alone for two weeks when we brought her home. Our 3yo daughter can handle her without a worry - she has never struck at us or even looked cranky.

I agree with the posts above - get some good reading material and keep looking on this and other herp sites for info. Leave the snake alone for two weeks, then limit handling to 3 min a couple of times per week, in a room away from bright lights/loud noises/lots of movement. Ensure that the snake is kept calm and stress-free when handling otherwise it will associate handling with negative experiences. Also, make sure it is not about to shed - they can be more sensitive to handling and are more likely to react when they are shedding (look for milky eyes)

For a 50cm snake, you could probably comfortably feed fuzzy mice or even bigger (?) rather than pinkies.

[Australis]

Dont handle it unless needed for cleaning for a few months.
( of course this isnt the fun option )

[Fennwick]

one thing i found helped with my spotted was to not be scared of being bitten. if youre worried and flinch then youre more likey to get bitten when flinching. just accept that you'll get bitten and it wont hurt and just get in and grab it.

[mrmikk]

As mentioned already, don't handle a snake after you have fed it, leave it alone completely. As it is a new snake, leave it alone anyway for a few weeks to settle in and get over the stress of a move. I have bought snakes, complete with their enclosure and even with that familiar enclosure the stress of a move still unsettles them.

When you do get around to handling after this, wash your hands thoroughly, minimise distractions and be slow with your movements, supporting all of the snake.

Let the snake get to know you rather than prioritising you getting to know the snake.

[LaZeDragoN]

I had a spotted that was the same.. he calmed down later and the burn was after he calmed down he escaped never to be seen again.. oh well
Maybe you could try feed him out of his enclosure.. since it was getting regular feeds maybe it just associated enclosure opening with feeding
Im no pro, believe me, but it works for me

[notechistiger]

Feed the snake once every 7-10 days, (2-3 pinkes, or 1-2 fuzzies, depending on size of mice/rats and snake). Before that, leave the snake alone for a week to two weeks, unless you need to change the water or change the substrate (when moving it to change the substrate, use a hook and put it into a different container that is covered and has a hide box).

Make sure the temperatures are right, between 28-33 degress celcius for a spotted, and use a thermostat. Do you use a heat light or a cord/matt? Also, when you first begin to handle it, do it in a room without a lot of movement, and keep everything you do slow. Don't worry about noise - snakes can't hear noise (or if they can, only really high pitched sounds).

Also, don't put it away when your handling just because you've reached a certain time limit. You pretty much want a snake that can be handled without stress at anytime for however long (not ten minutes every couple of days). If it's not stressed when your handling it, then keep handling it. However, at the first sign of stress (usually quick movements, darting head) put it away. However, don't get that confused with that a bite. A bite-y snake will bite if it gets stressed. However, if the snake is calm and still on your hand, and the bit you because it saw your hand move, then don't worry, it's probably not stressed.

Hope this helps,
~ notechistiger

[Eylandt]

notechistiger, you are right RE: Snaked having VERY limited hearing but what you must realise is that their "sound" is what we would relative to as vibrations. What I mean to say is that Snakes will not "hear you talk but they will most certainly "feel" you talk.

[notechistiger]

Snakes are curious things, aren't they? Somtimes it's hard to imagine how they perceive their world, between heat sensing pits, limited vision and "hearing" vibrations.