Handling snappy coastal carpets

[lynchette85]

Hi guys!

We have recently bought a breeding pair of coastal carpet pythons (Zeus and Hera), approximately 6yr old.. Their previous owner sold them as he no longer has time for them, as a result they havent been handled alot for a long time and have become snappy..

We have a 3yr old coastal/inland x (Angel), who we raised from a hatchling and has the most beautiful nature, never even attempted to bite, so we do have relevant experience just not with something quite so big trying to bite us!

So my question is.. does anyone know the best approach when it comes to calming our new additions/getting them used to handling again, without making them more apprehensive? I thought maybe getting them out for short periods of time to begin with, and gradually build this up over time? Someone also suggested putting something with my scent on it in the enclosure, but wasnt sure if this may aggravate them? (they are in seperate enclosures).. Also if/when they decide to bite is it best to put them back right away as they have had enough, or continue handling to show lack of fear/who is boss lol?

Sorry about all the questions, and any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.. thanks

 

[JAS101]

if it was me id just leave them be , some snakes just dont tolerate being handled .

 

[joeplant57]

if it was me id just leave them be , some snakes just dont tolerate being handled .

I am new to the world of Pythons but surely just giving up is the easy way out, what about when you need the snake out of the enclosure for what ever reason, surely getting it used to being handled would be the most sensiblest thing, or there again would it???? Like I said I'm new but I personally would get it used to being handled. What's a few tags between friends lol..Cheers Joe

 

[Chris1]

if theyre snappy at 6 years old, theyre probably going to stay unpredictable at best,...
i got a 5 year old diamond a few years ago who was too weak to bite at first, but as she grew stronger and healthier she started to bite,...
ive spent heaps of time with her, and she has improved considerably, but some days i regret not taking that extra second to read her mood before sticking my hands in, lol,....lucky she often just ends up with a mouthful of sleeve,....

that being said, it really depends on their personalities,..i have a 2 female bredli clutchmates that up until last week lived together, were fed identically, handled identically (identically being very little),...etc.
1 is sweet as, the other will take chunks whenever it sees an opportunity.

might be worth a try,...if it doesnt work ur friendly one wont miss out on extra attention!

 

[pythrulz]

Theres not much you can do with 6 year old pythons even though coastals are amonst the most placid species maybe let them settle down then try habdling for short times no doubt they where never handled when they where younger

 

[lynchette85]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I do understand that due to their age there is probably not alot I can do.. I guess I will let them settle in a bit and try the gradual handling and see how they go.. if they dont settle I will leave them be other than what is necessary for cleaning etc.. I dont want to stress them out.. We intend to breed them next season, is their temperment genetic and likely to be passed on to their babies, or more an individual handling/upbringing result, given that they are usually a placid breed? Thanks again

 

[dylan-rocks]

i find with my big coastal, im only able to handle her when shes in the mood... lol she has mood swings

 

[JAS101]

I am new to the world of Pythons but surely just giving up is the easy way out, what about when you need the snake out of the enclosure for what ever reason, surely getting it used to being handled would be the most sensiblest thing, or there again would it???? Like I said I'm new but I personally would get it used to being handled. What's a few tags between friends lol..Cheers Joe

at 6 years old i doubt your going to change there attitude to being handled , as other have said . but u go for it and be sure to post pics of ya bites
so yup i would leave them be for a while [ after all u said u had recently brought them ] .

 

[statonb]

my 3 year old coastal was nippy all i did has handler her for 5 minutes a day for the first week and slow increased the handling time each week and now he is the most placid python ever,hasnt struck me yet and its been 2 years.

 

[Darlyn]

If you havent had them long maybe they are still settling in. I would place some personal clothing in there
to get them used to your scent. I would also ensure hand washing between handling your 3 year old.
Open their enclosures and let them decide if they want to come out. Other than that (as others have said)
maybe they don't want to be handled.

 

[Wookie]

We intend to breed them next season, is their temperment genetic and likely to be passed on to their babies, or more an individual handling/upbringing result, given that they are usually a placid breed?

In short, no.

 

[Raddy318]

buy yourself a very heavy duty snake hook. comes in handy

 

[Joemal]

at 6 years old i doubt your going to change there attitude to being handled , as other have said . but u go for it and be sure to post pics of ya bites
so yup i would leave them be for a while [ after all u said u had recently brought them ] .

Yep just dive right in there and wrestle them out .No big deal if you "take one for the team" just remember to keep the camera handy and make sure there is blood .You will never live it down on here by posting near misses lol

 

[pythoncrazy]

Hi guys!

We have recently bought a breeding pair of coastal carpet pythons (Zeus and Hera), approximately 6yr old.. Their previous owner sold them as he no longer has time for them, as a result they havent been handled alot for a long time and have become snappy..

We have a 3yr old coastal/inland x (Angel), who we raised from a hatchling and has the most beautiful nature, never even attempted to bite, so we do have relevant experience just not with something quite so big trying to bite us!

So my question is.. does anyone know the best approach when it comes to calming our new additions/getting them used to handling again, without making them more apprehensive? I thought maybe getting them out for short periods of time to begin with, and gradually build this up over time? Someone also suggested putting something with my scent on it in the enclosure, but wasnt sure if this may aggravate them? (they are in seperate enclosures).. Also if/when they decide to bite is it best to put them back right away as they have had enough, or continue handling to show lack of fear/who is boss lol?

Sorry about all the questions, and any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.. thanks

First of all I would leave them for awhile to settle in and once you think they have leave your scent in there enclosure. Once you have done this for a week or so try and get them out with a hook. I am not saying that this is going to work 100% but what have you got to loose? People say ('' Well there 6+ yrs now so they won't change") Well snakes can live to 20+ yrs so really they are only young. All I am saying is try everything you can, nothing can be wrong you try! So give it your all.

Good luck hope it works out for you.

 

[lynchette85]

Joemal: Yep just dive right in there and wrestle them out .No big deal if you "take one for the team" just remember to keep the camera handy and make sure there is blood .You will never live it down on here by posting near misses lol

the big boy already bit me the first time we had them out... full set of teeth marks in my arm, and plenty of blood lol.. I will have to post a pic soon

If you havent had them long maybe they are still settling in. I would place some personal clothing in there
to get them used to your scent. I would also ensure hand washing between handling your 3 year old.
Open their enclosures and let them decide if they want to come out. Other than that (as others have said)
maybe they don't want to be handled.

We have only had them for a couple of weeks, and I will try the clothing idea, and already hand washing in between, dont want to risk passing anything between them, thanks for your advice

First of all I would leave them for awhile to settle in and once you think they have leave your scent in there enclosure. Once you have done this for a week or so try and get them out with a hook. I am not saying that this is going to work 100% but what have you got to loose? People say ('' Well there 6+ yrs now so they won't change") Well snakes can live to 20+ yrs so really they are only young. All I am saying is try everything you can, nothing can be wrong you try! So give it your all.

Good luck hope it works out for you.

I agree, may as well at least try what I can before I give up on them!! Thanks

 

[Chris1]

We intend to breed them next season, is their temperment genetic and likely to be passed on to their babies,

ive read that people breed fro temperament, but im not sure how much of that i believe,...i have 2 female bredli who are clutchmates, lived togehter their whole lives (up untill last week), got teh same amount and type of attention, food etc...1 is so sweet, the other is a complete and utter ________(fill in infractable word here)

 

[crocodile_dan]

personality is heritable amongst animals varying to some degree between taxa, there are several articles that support the heritability of personality variation in reptiles. (my UQ library account is now disabled as I have graduated so I can't get specific details but google scholar search will effectively give the same results)

Does this mean ALL the hatchlings from this clutch will be snappy buggers? No. As stated before there is variation in inheritance. On top of this variation you can also factor in plasticity in personality/temperament, meaning you can influence the personality by environmental factors and interaction.

 

[lynchette85]

Yes I'm a firm believer that, while genetics obviously create a foundation, environment and upbringing are the more influential factors when it comes to behavioural development.. But then we have to remember that each animal is an individual and may be "bad mannered" (lol) regardless.. Just wasn't sure how much this applied to pythons.. Thanks for your input

 

[sagara_cp_2006]

I have 2 spotted pythons, one I have had since she was a baby (she is now 5 years old). My second one I recently purchased as 15 months old. She had not been held much and was very snappy at first. I still use a snake hook to get her out, however once I get her out of her enclosure she is generally quite good to handle. To get her used to being handled I would get her outat least 10 - 15 minutes every day over 2-3 weeks and then made it longer periods of time (20-30 minutes) per day. After the first couple of weeks I made it every 2-3 days and have gradually made it longer periods of time.

Hope this helps you a little.

 

[statonb]

I have 2 spotted pythons, one I have had since she was a baby (she is now 5 years old). My second one I recently purchased as 15 months old. She had not been held much and was very snappy at first. I still use a snake hook to get her out, however once I get her out of her enclosure she is generally quite good to handle. To get her used to being handled I would get her outat least 10 - 15 minutes every day over 2-3 weeks and then made it longer periods of time (20-30 minutes) per day. After the first couple of weeks I made it every 2-3 days and have gradually made it longer periods of time.

i did the exact thing and calmed mine down