Snake aggression/handling

[Patrick86]

Hey guys,
great forum and sorry if I'm posting a similar post to any previous.

I just purchased my first snake.
I got myself a bredli.
Said to be just over a year old,
she can be quite aggressive when handling,
once she is out of her enclosure and explores she's fine, as soon as her attention is back on me she gets in the stike pose and gets twitchy if i go to touch her again.

Can this behaviour be cured with regular handling?
I have read on this site that snakes are all different. Some placid breeds can have a biters too and so on.
I have reared other reptiles (beardies) and I feel I may have missed on the bonding? Is this true?

shes a beautiful snake and I'd love to handle her more.


Would she be ready for breeding?
I feel a hatchling may rekindle my liking for snakes and dilute the fear of being bitten by my girl I have now.


Cheers guys.
Any feedback would help right now.

 

[CrystalMoon]

I dont think snakes are aggressive, they can be defensive. Especially when in a new environment. I always feel it is good practice to gauge each reptile on their own merit and handle accordingly. If your new reptile is showing defensive behavior, perhaps you could let it settle in for a couple of weeks before full on handling. Only clean enclosure and handle Python according to it's needs, I generally let my new additions settle in and have a few feeds before I try and have an extended hold of it. Personally I dont feel Pythons bond with us, some tolerate us and being handled more so than others(trust me I really wanted to believe they did lol) At 12 months I would doubt she is ready for breeding, this depends more on weight(condition)of the Python... usually around 2-3 years(I am no expert though)

 

[Darlyn]

How long have you actually had it?

 

[chris.w]

Hi Patrick, firstly I would say is don't feed your snake in its enclosure, as it will soon learn that when the door is open it means feed time and will be ready to bite what ever moves ( most likely your hand ), secondly a hungry snake will be looking for some thing to bite, I feed mine about 10-14 days, you have to learn to read the body language, snakes bit when they feel threatened so you have to handle it enough for it to realise your not a threat, I give all of my snakes some attention every morning before work and again when I get home and let them out for a play every second night, don't just hold your snake and let it run through you fingers, pat it and stroke it like you would a cat, let it know your there and not afraid of it and let it know you mean it no harm, in six months you will have a very easy to handle snake.

 

[Riffherper]

I'm unsure from your wording if this is just cage defensiveness or general biteyness during handling. I've always fed all my snakes in their enclosures without any issues. As a matter of routine however a snake hook is invaluable even for tame snakes. Stick it in then lift and grab. It tells the snake it's time for handling and gets over the 'surprise' of new movement in the cage. In terms of general biteyness it may or may not improve with handling. It may or may not improve with age. Really it comes down to the personality of the snake. Increased handling certainly won't hurt your chances of calming her down. As others have said if you have only just purchased it give it time. It has just been moved from everything it knows ( smells and cage etc ) and may just feel a bit vulnerable.

 

[chris.w]

To add to my last post, have a look for video of a horse being broken in ( I know it's not a snake ) but the procedure is similar, you flick a sack around a young horse to get it use to being touched by something scary and eventually they realise it will just stand there and not flinch because it's just a sack, every time you go past your snake enclosure give it bit of a rub up and a pat ( gently ) and it too will learn you mean it no harm and eventually it will just lay there while you rub your hand down it.

- - - Updated - - -

I don't really understand the term cage defensive, probably because none of my snakes are, one male Bredli I purchased around June last year was very much on the attack, the seller brought it down in a large tub along with a snake hook, all it wanted to do was have a piece of him, striking over a meter across the room, it bit me once the first week I had it home but not since and is now just as friendly as my other snakes,

 

[Riffherper]

Cage defensive means they are defensive whilst in their cage. They may well handle fine once out of the cage however don't like people coming into their territory where they feel most secure.

 

[JAS101]

if it was me id leave the snake alone to settle in ,as there will be plenty of handling opportunity times down the road . id grab your self a sturdy hook and use the hook to get the snake out of the enclosure [ after the snake has settle in ] you haven't mentioned what the snake is eating [ food size ] as hunger can make for a cranky snake