Defensive coastal

[Wolfgang5]

Hey guys,

I know these questions get asked a million times and I am sorry for the repeat.
I have a young yearling coastal python, approx 900mm long, I recently accquired from a young family.
I am assuming the previous owner was lacking in experience as he was being fed meals much too small for his size, 1 velvet rat every 2 weeks, and the enclosure he was living in had been broken due to a toddler jumping on top of it giving me the impression he may have been living in a stressful environment.
I know he was loved and cared for as best they knew so I don't think he was deliberately mistreated.
He is very defensive in all manner, if i put my hands near him in the cage and general handling.
Sometimes in the few times I have handled him, he will wrap his body around my wrist and stare at me in the strike position or the other times he will do absolutely anything he can to escape me including launching himself out of my hands.

Left alone, I don't believe he feels completely unsafe (aside from being touched) in his enclosure as he will come out of his hide whenever I look in, and will even stretch out to check me out if I open the door, he eats fine, and is regularly out in the open basking.
His enclosure temps are on point, plenty of hides, climbing etc.
He literally hates being touched.

I'm assuming the previous owners toddlers were rough handling him but I can't be sure.

My question is, given that he has decided he doesn't want to be handled and this is ok with me, will he calm down enough over time that I will be able to manage him without being struck at if I go near him when I enter his enclosure to clean?

I have no plans to give him up and will respect his wishes either way, but if he is so stressed out being handled that he would risk his life to "jump" out of my hands, I prefer not to handle him I just want to know if he be comfortable and calm as an adult or is there something I should be doing for him to make him happier?

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[Tony Jones]

Hi Wolfgang
Some of what you are describing is just a feeding response once you get him on the correct size food & feed him up a bit he may start to improve however accept for cleaning & feeding I would just leave him for a month or so without trying to handle him at all & see how he comes around after he is not in a constant feeding response

 

[Wolfgang5]

I had thought there was an issue with feeding and that he would be less "snappy" once he established a better feeding routine. The previous owner had described him as approx 2 years old and if that was true he is seriously tiny, so I assumed she had meant 1 year as this would be more in line with his size, if he was 2 yr old, underfeeding would be an obvious factor as I have a 20 month old diamond who is just over 1.6m.
I have had the coastal approx 6 weeks and after giving him a few larger meals, weaner rats 1 a week, over the first month, I attempted to handle him for the first time, he wasn't happy about it.
He has settled a lot over this time inside his enclosure which I took as a positive, but I know I don't experience with defensive little ones so I wanted to make sure I wasn't making him feel worse in handling him.

I will give him as much time as he needs to feel secure as long as I know I'm not pushing him in the wrong direction.

Thank you so much for the response, im sure this boy is going to need a lot of patience but I'm feeling slightly more confident.

 

[CF Constrictor]

Hi Wolfgang5
If he was previously underfed , that is probably why he is so small. As previously stated he should settle down once he realizes he's safe , just be patient with him and when you do get around to handling him , be as gentle as possible. Nice looking snake too. Good luck.

 

[Wolfgang5]

Hi Wolfgang5
If he was previously underfed , that is probably why he is so small. As previously stated he should settle down once he realizes he's safe , just be patient with him and when you do get around to handling him , be as gentle as possible. Nice looking snake too. Good luck.

Thank you so much CF,
As "savage" as he is, haha, he is a beautiful boy, its reassuring to know I'm on the right track, thanks again.

 

[CF Constrictor]

Also , i would try him on medium to large rats , he looks to me as though he could take one no problem.

 

[Wolfgang5]

Also , i would try him on medium to large rats , he looks to me as though he could take one no problem.

I offered him different size rats and let him choose the one he wanted. So far the biggest he has shown interest in or taken is a decent fat weaner rat, approx 100mm long.
As soon as he shows interest, i will up his size.
Thank you

 

[Herpetology]

If you want your snake to grow faster,

More frequent smaller feeds are better than infrequent larger feeds

Their bodies can digest smaller food items faster than larger food items


As for calming the snake down; I would keep handling to an absolute minimum and recheck his enclosure setup

Sounds like he’s feeling vulnerable and is being defensive as he fears u as his demise

 

[Wolfgang5]

If you want your snake to grow faster,

More frequent smaller feeds are better than infrequent larger feeds

Their bodies can digest smaller food items faster than larger food items


As for calming the snake down; I would keep handling to an absolute minimum and recheck his enclosure setup

Sounds like he’s feeling vulnerable and is being defensive as he fears u as his demise

I'm not really worried about his growth rate or size, more that he is healthy.

In the time I have had him, we have gone from hiding 24/7 to cruising around, basking in the open despite having both heated and cool hides, and on hanging out on his branches.
We try to leave him alone as much as possible but if I do look in on him, he will come out to investigate and if I open the door, he will stretch right out to check me out, only backing away if I approach him or invade his personal space.
I figured he just had a bad handling experience and doesn't trust being handled.

He seems to feel safe enough inside alone, and his temps are good so for the time being ill work on getting his meals up to scratch and in another month or so, maybe I'll reassess his handling, if not, and he is ok with it, he will just have to be a display snake.
My biggest concern was that I would cause him unnecessary stress and turn him into a "crazy monster" who would lash out at me if I opened the door, I think in time he will grow to feel more secure so I'm hoping we got that covered now.
Hopefully. Haha

 

[CF Constrictor]

I remember reading somwere that feeding larger prey every now and then is good for young pythons as it makes them streach the ligaments and exercise the muscles in their head . Helping them grow to proper proportion. Not sure if its true , but im sure it couldn't hurt .

 

[Wolfgang5]

My thoughts have always always been the common advice of around 1.5 times the thickness, as a regular meal, or the weight percentage, which i don't remember and I've never used as I don't have scales, however if I have the odd larger meal and they'll take it, they can have it, within reason of course.
I've never seen or heard of a wild animal refusing a meal if they could swallow it.

Personally I feel it's more about the ability to digest and the pythons overall weight, neither under or over.
But maybe I'm wrong?

 

[CF Constrictor]

You will be surprized how big a meal they can take. I usualy go for young adult rats between 1.5 to twice the the girth of the animal. My biggest snake eats large rabbits, usualy backwards for some reason.

 

[Wolfgang5]

What do you have?

 

[CF Constrictor]

The big boy is nearly 6 now , i have had him for about 5 years and he was advertised as a coastal x diamond , though he looks more like a typical coastal. My second i baught from a local breader about 4 years ago , his mum is a BIG coastal jag and his dad is a beautiful black and gold jungle x diamond . He is almost 5 . And my youngest is a beautiful little bredli about 2.5 years old.

 

[Wolfgang5]

Nice, we have an MD, a big lazy boy who won't move a scale unless its absolutely necessary, the little coastal, a 20 month old diamond and a Darwin.

 

[CF Constrictor]

Sounds like your inflicted with "morreliamania as well. They are great pets , my 2 eldest are very easy going and tolerate being surrounded and handled by children ( under supervision of course) no problem. The little bredli is still a bit shy , but never tries to bite. They definitely have personalities of their own , are not demanding and are so easy to care for properly.

 

[Wolfgang5]

Haha I'm definitely addicted, if it continues as it is, I may need an intervention.
Until my little coastal i have had nothing but puppy dog experiences with our pythons, in a way this little guy has been a great lesson for me and has stopped me from completely filling our house with enclosures.
Its a learning experience but I'm enjoying it.



Thanks heaps to everyone for the reassurance and advice....