need some tips on aggressive snake

[roxyjess493]

hey guys I have a 5th mth old carpet python female
I haven't had her for to long
but she is pretty aggressive and snaps alot
and i really dont like it...is there away to improve on it or punish/timeout
or something
im not to sure this is my 1st snake
and i want to be able to handle her a fair bit

thank you
jessica

 

[mattyf]

when handling you cant make fast movements or hold them hard they are only babies. they have to get used to you

 

[mrs_davo]

A big tip is DON'T give up. Keep persisting. Its their only defence mechanism...We are after all al hell of a lot bigger than them.
Usually with constant handling they tend to quieten down - although there is the odd one or two that wont.
You might not like her snapping at you - but if you dont keep trying , then she will only get more aggressive.

As I said dont give up.

We have had many aggressive snakes - including older ones and hubby has managed to quieten them down successfully ( with the exeption of 1 or 2 jungles ). He even managed to get aggressvie 2 year old scrubby very quiet..

Persistence, persistence, persistence.........

 

[Kailden]

The key is repetition ... and expect to have a few small holes in your hand.

I have 2 jungle pythons and when I first got them they didn't like being handled. They went from being snappy and psycho to being the most docile, snuggling snakes I've ever known.

I gave them time to settle in their new homes, then gradually handled them for a very short amount and built up as they got used to me.

 

[J-A-X]

and i really dont like it...is there away to improve on it or punish/timeout
or something

send him to his naughty corner, ! !

seriously though,Its a baby and has 3 things on its mind,
can i get warm,
can i eat it,
can it eat me

if it gets a 'No' to the first two then it figures its somethings meal, and acts accordingly,

in short its scared witless, as Mattyl has said, make all movements real slow with only enough pressure to grab them if they try and do a runner, i have also found my babies are more nervous if i have a light shining behind me, all they can see is a big black 'thing' don't handle for a few days after feeding, and it could get nervy when its in the lead up to a shed, keep handling sessions short, you will feel him start to relax each time, if you feel he is agitated put him back BEFORE he bites, in time you will win.... well, Most of the time you will,

 

[TigerCoastal]

slow and steady... once your snake has settled and is feeding for you, start with 5 mins every second day, then daily, then slowly increase the ammount of time you handle for. I found if the snake struck at me if i just sat still and let me and them calm down and you put them back on a good note it was better to build my confidence, instead of the shock of the strike, back in enclosure, stress next time(me). If you are worried try a pair of pigskin gardening gloves, not to thick so that you can still feel the snake, untill your snake calms down and you feel comfortable. I did this with my first snake, a 2 y/o coastal, and now other than being a bit flighty when getting her out of her enclosure she is fine. Now i have to do the same thing with her new boy friend, but am confident enough to do it without the gloves.

 

[Fantazmic]

ive got this vision of giving a snake time out

'naughty snake you have to go and sit on the naughty chair until you can behave"

seriously though

the others are right...keep going...and and always handle decisively......my hubby and sons cannot get the snake out of her click clack because she has them totally bluffed. I just reach in and get her because i just do it without hesitation and i dont have any trouble.

I think it is important to have a routine so the snake knows what to expect...and dont mix feeding time with handling time.

Elizabeth

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

hey guys I have a 5th mth old carpet python female
I haven't had her for to long
but she is pretty aggressive and snaps alot
and i really dont like it...is there away to improve on it or punish/timeout
or something
im not to sure this is my 1st snake
and i want to be able to handle her a fair bit

thank you
jessica

hahaha punish physically or /timeout send it to its hide to think about what its done

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

or punish give it a slap

 

[daniel1234]

Tigercoastal, Spikeydelight and others are right, slow (not super slow) but confident.
I'll add that we held our new hatchies often, but briefly. Try to keep your hand out of veiw and range of the snake, use the other hand outside enclosure for a bit of distraction and pick snake up from behind (somewhere in the middle). When you are holding it, dont put your hands in front of snake and if it is really flighty dont face it toward you to much just yet.
I had a hatchy latch onto my finger and do the whole constriction thing the other day and I held it for a bit when it let go. Due to just a bad aim during feeding and a short pair of forcepts, did not try to bite me afterward, my darwins and childrens however were a different kettle of fish, they tagged you no matter how gentle you were. Extra feeds helped those guys.
I find a few extra feeds often helps settle them down, say every four days for a few weeks. Or maybe it needs larger ones?
What carpet have you got and what are you feeding it?

 

[Whisper2]

i got an olive python 4 months ago 2 months old and she was aggressive and striking at anything that went near her. she's my first snake and i was not very confident with her striking all the time. i use a snake hook to get her out of her enclosure and as soon as she is out she wouldnt strike at anything at all. so you could try a snake hook it worked for me

 

[JAS101]

How long is not to long ? under a month?
you might find the snake will become more tollarent with age , but be prepard for a grumpy snake its whole life .

 

[FAY]

Being a young snake you should only handle it while you are cleaning out it's cage.Like others have said, it would be scared and defensive.
It will probably settle down when it knows it has nothing to fear, but then again it may not.
This is the joys of keeping snakes, they are all different..
Punish it?? Are you serious??

 

[roxyjess493]

thanks guys she's is doing much better...i fund out she loves hair...
ive had her for 2 mths now...
oh i heard that some lady had a snake and we it done something it wasnt ment to she would cup its head
so it was in the dark and it worked...
was pretty much seeing if anyone else done that....

 

[user 16446]

You don't want to ever punish them for anything, not that you ever wanted to anyway.

In general, people forget pets are animals and are not 'programmed' with human laws of behaviour and acceptable practices. Do it just once and they may associate you with the unpleasant incident, and be cautious if not scared of you for ever after.

As Jaxrtfm said, they're after 3 things...

Incidentally, if it is your first or only snake, I can understand your frustration with it from raising my very first snake. If it's the only one you have, then you will be frustrated if you just want to love it and it just wants to bite you. Once you have several, you just seem to accept the ones which have aggressive personalities for what they are.