Aggressive Jungle.......Help?

[notechistiger]

Jungles are usually high strung and stress easily. They are generally best left alone with just weekly maintenance or feeding. Your jungle should grow out of it as it matures. I'd recommend a spotted/stimmie or a coastal if you want a python to handle

[Tobe404]

Edit: I don't know why it just posted twice. Mods feel free to delete this one if you like.

[Lisaajanee16]

hope your jungle calms down soon, my jungle is the biggest chiller, hes 18 mths old- i have him out 24/7 and he loves it.. never once since i had it has tried to bite me! ..hopefully yours will get better with age..
try putting a removable branch in your tank.. and next time hes on that take him out.. get him to come to you..rather then grabbing him (try at night time if hes roaming around on the branch) also, put something with your smell in there (probably not jocks though ) because it definitely WILL remember your smell - everytime someone else holds my jungle it stretches out almost his entire body to get back to me!
Goodluck with it anyway

[Nes88c]

Depending on the snake:

I own two juvie jungles. Both placid as. Can handle anytime I want. No worries.


Some tips:
- I am unsure of how long you have has the jungle, so bear in mind this info may be irrelevant.

- if you just got him, remember to let them settle, it's more likely stressed over the new smells, homes and scenery. It's better to keep them covered and away from high traffic areas of your home.

- when feeding. Yes use tongs, but also make sure that the food is warm. Your snake may be striking at your hand as it can smell dinner but as they only sense heat it's striking at the hot thing behind the cold thing (your hand) our body temps are a constant 36 deg Celsius so keep that in mind when feeding.

- handling, if your snake is cage defensive, try taking the lid off n letting him make his own way out, make sure to come from behind n scoop ( everyone stresses when someone tried to grab them from above) this might help with him being defensive. Many jungles are known for having this temperament but so just keep that in mind too. It will grow outa it!

Hope this helped.

[Nick-G]

My jungle bout 6mths old was pritty aggressive and flighty when I first got her, after holding her a fare few times not letting her go any further then my fore arm she now handles pritty well slowly getting better with each day. I found letting her slide up to almost my elbow then putting may hand infront of her not to close but against the arm she is on so she can go onto my other arm works well she might go into S shape when she sees your hand so just hold the position when she does and she should come to you. She is still a little anxious if you move to quickly but as everyone has said they do get better mine just wants to leep out of her tank as soon as I go to lift the lid off lol best way is to let them do there thing and try direct them insted of grabbing them caus they hate being grabbed from above! I learnt that the hard way lol

[Susannuh]

Depending on how long you've had him it could just be him getting used to the new environment. And like everyone else said handling always helps and just try not to be afraid while handling him. that's how we've calmed down some of the most irritable snakes.

[Snake_Whisperer]

handle it more often geting bitten by him hurts no more then flicking your finger

Terrible advice for the reasons pointed out below.

If he keeps on repeatedly hitting the container, chances are that he will damage his nose, lips and teeth, which can result in mouth canker (necrotising stomatisis). That is something you need to avoid. Cover the container so he can't see you all the time and feed him using long forceps, so the mouse is the target and not your hand. You can wrap a towel over you hand so if he bites, he is not going to hurt himself (or you). Hopefully, he will soon realise that biting a towel is not much fun and will concentrate more on the mouse. Keep your hand steady and move the mouse in front of him. Be patient.

Waterrat's advice here is the one to run with. Your animal is telling you it does not like the situation it is in, in the only way it can. The animal is not aggro, it is terrified. Have a good re-read of Michaels post above, and make the necessary changes in your husbandry. With time, and allowing your animal to put on some size, usually turns them around. At this stage in it's development, handling the animal will only compound your problems so leave it be, and handle only when necessary, IE: cleaning enclosure. This process may take years so for your animal's sake, be patient with it.

[Michael_G]

Hey Guys, Thanks for the responses!

Answers to majority of the questions are: I have had him for about a month, he is 6 months old, he is in a 30cm H x 20xcm W x 10cm D size container, inside is a paper towel cap for water and a toilet roll which he uses to curl up in. He's kept pretty much out of sight of everyone and I have the entire container covered excluding one end to give him some natural light but its facing a wall so he doesnt see anything. I am feeding him with forceps and even using a hook to handle him as he has had a go when i have picked him up by the tail ...

I guess is the container sufficient for his age, aggression & behaviour? He is currently on Hoppers at 1 a week so should I increase to 2 or upgrade to a larger mouse?

Apprecaite the feedback everyone! He's certainly living up to his nick name of 'Lil Lucifer' haha

Cheers

MG

[Waterrat]

It sounds all good. One think to keep in mind, approaching a snake (most animals) from above spells danger to them because that's how most predators approach prey. So, feeding it from above may cause some stress. They get use to it but I always prefer to feed snakes from their eye level or from bellow (arboreal species) but that requires an enclosure with sliding glass.
Good luck with it

cheers
M

[FAY]

I am an avid believer of leaving them alone except for cleaning. If you want something to handle continuously get a dog. Why people want to continuously handle a baby hatchie is totally beyond me.

[Waterrat]

I am an avid believer of leaving them alone except for cleaning. If you want something to handle continuously get a dog. Why people want to continuously handle a baby hatchie is totally beyond me.

Fay, it's the pet mentality or in some cases a macho status. Some reptile keepers think their pets need to be named, handled and pampered, others see it as cool to handle something potentially dangerous whilst (probably small percentage in the "hobby") some perceive their reptiles as wildlife in their care.
Whatever the case, in my view, reptiles should be treated with respect as much as with "love" and they should never be treated as toys. BTW, loving and understanding animals are two very different things, though not necessarily mutually exclusive.

[Skelhorn]

Each to their own. May difference responses above. As for my snakes-recently I have reduced how often I handle them. Sometimes I won't touch them for a whole week, but when I go to get them I put my hands straight in and pick them up. My Bredli (almost 7 foot) was not a happy boy when I got him, wouldn't let you put your hands anywhere near him in his tank. Now when I open it up I reach in and grab him (bare handed). I also (when i handle my pythons) handle them for usually 15 minutes....depending on what python sometimes even upto 30 minutes. They seemed chilled enough to just relax and soak up my body heat.
As said above each to their own!

[pythrulz]

Well yes most people say that jungle hatchies are aggressive mine have never been though Keeping Its tub In a quiet location with plenty of hides will help and If the jungle Is agresive lave It alone It will only get more stressed If you want to handle without being striked at, open the lid/door to Its encloser and let the snake come out of Its own accord let It do some exsploring untill Its comfortable and watch your snakes body langauge you will learn when It Is stressed or ready to strike out at you Its only there way of saying go away and leave me alone takes patients most people dont realise this If you where a 6 monubth old snake would you like a giant trying to reach In and grab you no so give them time

[Frozenmouse]

Some jungles get worse with age i have had some real nasty jungles and some very placid ones. Once they are out of the hatchling stage and still striking at everything that comes past then best to give up on trying to get cuddly with it and go pour out your cross species affection of a cat or a dog they seem to enjoy it more than snakes do.

[FAY]

If I need to get adults out of a tank that are a bit cage defensive, i let them come out to me, unless I cannot wait for them I hook them out. My young jungles are flighty but NOT snappy and have never tried to bite me. Best to get them out in the morning though..lol as soon as it is afternoon and dark they are ready and waiting for a feed, so watch out lol