cranky bredli

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Billy91

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Hi everyone I'm new to the hobby and I have recently acquired a bredli. It was hatched on the 26/2/14. My question is if anyone else out there has dealt with a very cranky snake and how too overcome it?. I'm asking because I've been bitten a dozen times in three handling sessions with my bredli in the last week. I just want too know whether or not this is normal behaviour for the species or not?

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If it was born on the 26/2/14 then it is only about 6 weeks old and therefore you have probably had it for only a week and already have had two handling sessions. Has it even eaten since you have had it? I would suggest that you let the snake settle in for a week and make sure it has had a couple of feeds before handling. Secondly young snakes are very defensive when something the size of a person is leaning over their click clack grabbing them and will strike out because they are so small and vulnerable. I would suggest that when it has settled and fed a couple of times that you possibly use a hook to get the snake out and let it crawl up onto your hand on its own terms. It will eventually with time learn that you are not trying to kill and eat it.

Good Luck
Andy
 
Biting is normal behaviour for hatchlings, but you can keep it to a minimum by reducing stress. They settle as they get older, and they get used to handling with time. If they haven't had time to get used to a new home, they're more likely to be defensive. Hatchlings like their privacy. Leave it for a week or two and try again.

Other users can probably give more advice about how they've dealt with it.
 
While you can get snakes which are placid right out of the egg, hatchies are often snappy until they reach size where they feel safe. When they're small they are prey to all sorts of predators.

Some people advise more handling to get them to calm down and while this is an option, in my experience, snakes which are prone to be placid will become so without much keeper interference. I've witnessed hatchies stop biting almost overnight once they've put some size on them. Handling it so much is stressing it out. Let it settle. Keep in mind you'll be handling it in short bursts when you get it out to clean the enclosure anyway.

Bredlis are known to have a fairly relaxed attitude, so once it feels safe and knows it's not in danger it may well calm down. But keep in mind snake's temperaments are down to the individual.
 
Yeah I have only had it for a week. I fed it on the 10/4/14. It took it's food no worries. I fed it a fuzzy mouse. I also have a six month old stimmie and it's so placid. I've never been bitten by it. Yeah I will get a hook that would no doubt make it easier too remove him from his click clack. Thanks for the advice.

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No such thing as a cranky Bredli.....Only a misunderstood Bredli

Once it feels secure and is given an opportunity to settle in it will most likely calm down...it is still very early days.
 
No such thing as a cranky Bredli.....Only a misunderstood Bredli

Once it feels secure and is given an opportunity to settle in it will most likely calm down...it is still very early days.

That's not only not true, it's unhelpful.

I own a crankly bredli who, despite my best efforts, has not gotten used to people. While I did not raise her from a hatchling, I have no reason to believe she was neglected or abused either.

That said, Billy, most bredli's are very agreeable animals. You'll probably have no problems with your new snake. With patience, you'll learn the difference between a stressed animal and a calm one, and you'll learn when to give it space.
 
That's interesting @Ramy, I originally thought the same about my adult female but she is now as calm as my other snakes,while she is in her enclosure that is but she loves laying along the log at the front of her house showing herself to the world. She is still rather flighty when taken out but has not bitten or struck for some time now but i only really handle her now when i have to & leave her in peace & just admire the beautiful creature that she is. I must say though that i do keep her VERY well fed so that she doesn't try to eat me when i do handle her.;)
 
Ramy, is yours confirmed female? I also have a very cranky bredli, she turned feral at about 4 years old, she wasnt mistreated, (i had her since she was a few months old) i figured it has something to do with reaching puberty/adulthood.
Ive read about a couple of other female bredli that had a similar personality change at the same age.
The moment she notices her door is about to open shes looking for blood, it makes changing water alot of fun!!! :p (once her water is changed she hovers over it for 2-3 days in 'lets kill the water bowl' mode)
shes about 8 now and getting crankier with each passing year (i gave up bothering her years ago)

That being said, her sister is absolutely awesome, and my male bredli is the one who gets handed to anyone who wants a good snake experience.
 
She was bought as female, but haven't bothered to have her re-probed as I have no intention of breeding pythons. I don't know if she turned angry or was always that way, but I know the keeper who got her to begin with and none of their other snakes have issues. If I touch her, she jumps back very quickly and goes straight into self-defense mode. Her enclosure is big enough that I can clean half at a time depending where she is, and she has a hide with a solid base so that when I want to be more thorough I can take her out without touching her. We co-exist happily enough.

I would like to try gently trying to handle her again, but I know several people have tried and failed. She has plenty of perches, does laps of the enclosure, and seems happy enough while left to her own devices. I don't think there's anything to gain from teaching her to cope with handling. Even if I did get to a point I could handle her I'd always feel like she doesn't like it, but is just waiting to be left alone again.

EDIT: I have another bredli that used to belong to my sister, and she's an absolute saint. There is plenty of variation in the species.
 
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when I got my male bredli that hatched same time last year it was cranky, in the first week he'd fed so I wanted to start handling, when id reach into the click clack he would look angry and strike if I got closer, I grabbed the click clack and tipped him slowly onto my hand he started coiling around my fingers and didn't mind it. I thought he even acted relaxed and inquisitive tongue flicking etc, I,d do this most days for months and it got to point he liked me too much id have to uncoil and push him off of my hand to go back in the click clack . Once he went into a enclosure it was a similar thing, come up from underneath and slowly put pressure on the belly somewhere on the front quarter of the snake to encourage him off the usual branch and he would usually hop on and come out into the sun or watnot. But you have to be able to read theyr mood like when they really don't want to be bothered or just fed etc and if you respect that it keeps handling to be a positive memory and makes handling easy. since then iv passed the snake onto a neighbour that hasn't continued with this, the snake always strikes at your hand pretty much a pain to handle. This neighbour would put a riggers glove on to pull him out whenever a friend came over for show and tell . and Even if snakes are simple instinct driven as allot of people on here believe, they will only do things willingly what works for them in they'r lives. So teach them your the Guy that gives food , water , warmth , the chance to go out in the sun for a bask, do that consistently and you,l have a pretty good chance anyway. Im not a expert it was only my second snake just thought some part of the story might be helpful or interesting
 
I started using a hook with mine now and he seems to be settling in a lot better. I just have gone slow and steady and I seem to be slowly achieving something.

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A lot of snakes are not comfortable with the feel of human skin. Using pillow slips over your hands can allow you to extract normally snappy snakes from their enclosure with a lot less aggro. With time and patience this can lead to you shedding one pillow slip and having the snake crawl over the bare skin of your hand without behaving defensively. This has often proven an effective technique with snappy adult snakes. There may always be the exception to the rule but in terms of percentage success, it is certainly worth trying.


Blue

 
Most if not all Bredli's are a lot better to handle as youngsters if they have some climbing material as they are naturally "VERY" arborial l have bred many clutches over the years some as big as 43 eggs and over a reasonable period of time have noticed this perching thing, personally l use 10 mm dowel in tall 20 litre tubs and if on the odd time they are defensive "leave them be"....go with the flow... solar 17 ~B~
 
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