Scared of picking up my ferocious snake, Need help.

[dazza74]

i will come and pick your snake up if you come here and get my aggressive 7 foot female coastal out lol.
use a hook and let fluffy climb onto you ,it should work.
good luck

 

[Drazzy]

Our ferocious snake- Fluffy.

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/...fy-picture10822-danielle-and-fluffy-again.jpgHi, My fiancee Danielle and I have recently purchased out first reptile. ( Thanks Jas468 )A Juvi spotted python. He is not very old or big, I love repiles and handle them every chance I get, But Now that we own one I cant pick him up. I have handled him only a few times, each time Danielle has gotten him out of his home.
Everytime I try and pick him up I freeze and start sweating. I can't get close enough to pick him up. I have had no problem up until we got fluffy. I have held burmese, black headed, diamonds and a fair few others and have never had a rise in heart beat. I have not had a bad experience but now I have a mental block and my heat beats real fast.
I am a very logical thinker; I know he is not poisonous, I know his bite wont hurt, I know he is no threat what so ever, I know how to handle and not hurt them. But I just can't pick him up. I tried a few glasses of dutch courage to remove any inhabitions, But I still froze. I tried again tonight, I managed to touch him twice but still couldnt pick him up.

Hahahaha..

You lactating wet nurse; get a jungle python.

 

[shlanger]

Our ferocious snake- Fluffy.

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/...fy-picture10822-danielle-and-fluffy-again.jpg


Hi, My fiancee Danielle and I have recently purchased out first reptile. ( Thanks Jas468 )A Juvi spotted python. He is not very old or big, I love repiles and handle them every chance I get, But Now that we own one I cant pick him up. I have handled him only a few times, each time Danielle has gotten him out of his home.
Everytime I try and pick him up I freeze and start sweating. I can't get close enough to pick him up. I have had no problem up until we got fluffy. I have held burmese, black headed, diamonds and a fair few others and have never had a rise in heart beat. I have not had a bad experience but now I have a mental block and my heat beats real fast.
I am a very logical thinker; I know he is not poisonous, I know his bite wont hurt, I know he is no threat what so ever, I know how to handle and not hurt them. But I just can't pick him up. I tried a few glasses of dutch courage to remove any inhabitions, But I still froze. I tried again tonight, I managed to touch him twice but still couldnt pick him up.

I was hoping you may help and give me some pointers on how to overcome this irrational fear. Yes this is embarrasing for me to admit and ask, But where better to ask for real answears.

Thanks in advance Gary

I have Taipans, Mulgas, Adders and Tigers, so I know how you feel mate!!!!!!

 

[Hooglabah]

the way i got over picking up my scorpions was to just do it.... granted all that it accomplished is i can now move them out of thier encolsures quickly and i get stung a whole heap more.

as for snakes i know how you feel man i was the same with my cape york and jungle i got over the fear with the jungle but i ended up selling the cape york cuz i didnt force myself to handle him and let my fear rule me the only advice i can give and the same anybody here will give you is just do it like ripping off a band aid.

as an interesting side note i can reach in and pick up a very very very very very x10 agressive 8 ft+ darwin python with a head the size of my fist at work and put her in a bin while i clean the enclosure. but i cant handle the hatcho diamons and coastals wich are all bitey as well... how wierd is that.

 

[mysnakesau]

Eewww my I will NEVER lose my fear of those scorpians, spiders, bugs, you name it. They are make me shriek.

 

[redbellybite]

Before you get a little upity Redbelly, in a PM to me he said exactly what I said!!!

Perhaps you should Ready, AIM then fire, don't forget to AIM!!![/quote ....................Well my sincere APPOLOGIES ...in his posts he didnt say that he was scared to drop it ..he was saying he was scared to pick him up ..and why didnt you explain that he had PM'd you and explained better mmmmmm are we all mind readers on APS now as well as everything else...

 

[Grooove]

Sorry all for the delay in response,
I had a pm conversation with 4orce and explained that one of the things I fear is dropping and hurting him. I know it is weird that I can't pick him up, But I am not scared of being bitten, He did bite me once when I was trying to pick him up and it didn't hurt, So if I am not scared of being bitten why do I freeze? Like I said earlier I can pick up other snakes fine up until the day we got fluffy. Now I feel different around snakes.
I am allergic to bees and I assume that scorpions are similar venom. I had heaps less trouble picking up my first scorpion (flinders) last month. And scorps could have potentially hurt me. I even videoed it, But thats tooo embarrasing to post.
We had to feed fluffy last night, he was so nippy he even bit Dani, and so I havn't had another attempt at picking him up yet. I think I might try with a hook a few times first. I'll keep you all posted on my progess.

Cheers everyone all for your constructive info,

and to all else-- Grow up, saying Man up isnt constructive.

 

[Colin]

Good hook idea, But I need to overcome my fear, not work around it. Until now I have not been scared of anything (Except losing Danielle, and losing my pets) How can I overcome the fear of ......nothing....?

maybe swap the little spotted python for a gecko

 

[Grooove]

Thanks Colin. I have 3 Beardies.

 

[indyspotted]

Hi Grooove,
Dont be to stressed I went through the same thing with my first hatchie he was a spotted as well and a fairly snappy little bugger, even though I knew it wouldn't hurt my hands shook really bad and i sat on the couch like a stunned mulet!! I know the Herpers will strongly disagree with me but the way I got over it was a friends suggestion of wearing a really thin gardening glove, you can get super thin soft ones from bunnings called soft touch,

just put one on one hand and leave your other hand bare, start of with what a few others said, just stick your gloved hand in and let him come to you, and after a while if he dosnt come onto your hand try gently picking him up, then once you can get him out with the gloved hand a few times try without the glove, the glove should be a super light one not a big leather one etc.

Indy tagged me about 6 times before my flinch reaction faded and after using the glove for a few weeks I took it off completely and laughed when he struck at me. But i never got comftable with him completly, sadly he got out into the wall and I lost him,

My new hatchie is such a sweety, never even looks like striking and i let him scent my nose !! ( snake kisses rock!!) I would never have been able to do that with indy( Thanks 4orce )

Hope you get more comftable soon buddy and remember No fears are stupid but yours is solvable.

Ohh and Arbok dont feel bad about the spiders, they are EVIL DENIZENS OF SATAN and not pets!!!

 

[Lucifer_Boa]

Thanks!!

Sooo our boa laid a massive **** today in his water hole, and the snake other than feedings is somewhat neglected, I'll admit. It was the boyfriends' purchase, I dont really touch it or anything. So anyways, I was harpin the bf to clean the smelly nasty *****, and as a typical guy he was putting it off and also was intimidated, since we dont take Lucifer out much. Anyways I decided to do it all by myself after reading this thread!! I just put welding gloves on, opened lid, and was petting him. He kept moving his head away, trying to get away from me. So, I figured he was the scared one, and I went for it. hehe thanks for being such a scardy cat, whoever started this thread. I concured my fear in one night. hehe Took him out, put him in a little spare cage we got, and ooohhh I cleaned his tank good. ha Thanks again! And hahaha to the bf for being wimpy. :lol:

 

[herpkeeper]

Our ferocious snake- Fluffy.

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/...fy-picture10822-danielle-and-fluffy-again.jpg


Hi, My fiancee Danielle and I have recently purchased out first reptile. ( Thanks Jas468 )A Juvi spotted python. He is not very old or big, I love repiles and handle them every chance I get, But Now that we own one I cant pick him up. I have handled him only a few times, each time Danielle has gotten him out of his home.
Everytime I try and pick him up I freeze and start sweating. I can't get close enough to pick him up. I have had no problem up until we got fluffy. I have held burmese, black headed, diamonds and a fair few others and have never had a rise in heart beat. I have not had a bad experience but now I have a mental block and my heat beats real fast.
I am a very logical thinker; I know he is not poisonous, I know his bite wont hurt, I know he is no threat what so ever, I know how to handle and not hurt them. But I just can't pick him up. I tried a few glasses of dutch courage to remove any inhabitions, But I still froze. I tried again tonight, I managed to touch him twice but still couldnt pick him up.

I was hoping you may help and give me some pointers on how to overcome this irrational fear. Yes this is embarrasing for me to admit and ask, But where better to ask for real answears.

Thanks in advance Gary

sell it and buy a puppy or kitten

 

[liberty]

possibly a kitten lol

but seriously u can have a pet liek a reptile and expect not to get bitten, its part of owning one i guess

ull get used to it

 

[gpoleweski]

Why bumped by a random post? Anyhow, I'm going through the same thing mate, my first time of see if he wanted to come out, I FLINCHED HUGELY! And I'm so scared of hurting him now because sometimes he strikes at the glass after a feed and I just jump. It doesn't hurt but it does supries...I don't have a real hook, only a self made from a cothanger with a bit of rubber covering the sharp bit.

 

[Grooove]

Thanks all

All good guys. Now am getting better at picking him up, using the hook idea that so many gave me, its doing the job. Now he knows when hes coming out for a hold so its all good.
Thanks for all the help and advice to all who commented.
Gary.

 

[craigryan]

Well Done Gary.

 

[twinny]

I went through / am going through the same thing with my coastal. She is 6months old and very placid but it has been hard to get over the fear.

There seems to be a lot of people on this forum taking the "why have a snake blah blah" approach - well i would suggest it is because we too, are interested in snakes, and would like to have one.

I have graduated from gloves to bare hands now, and she has been fine. I must admit that my legs still seem to shake a bit when i put her away but i will get there.

You know, i was scared to go into labour too but it didn't stop me from having kids - and that has been the most interesting and rewarding experience of my life!

To those that say you shouldn't get a snake if you are a tiny bit frightened of handling it in the beginning, i say pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffftttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!

 

[ScaleLover]

Ha ha ha! :lol:

Sorry, I always crack up when I see someone say thay have a ferocious snake named Fluffy or Cuddles or some other cutesy name! But seriously.

My mate has a Spottie and it comes to you as soon as you open the enclosure. Most other juvies will too cause you are warm. K, I'm probably ganna get flamed for this, but put your hand near Fluffy and turn off the heat lamp. If you stay there long enough the snake will come to you. Do this enough and you will get over you're fear, I hope. Just make sure that your hand is resting on something, not hovering in the air. Snakes don't like shaking things hovering above them cause they think it's a bird or prey. Hope it helps! Good luck mate!

 

[jack]

no, thankyou lucifer_boa. lol...

 

[matt86]

The issue is, you can't find a rational answer to an irrational question... it's just the nature of the situation.

This is an irrational fear, brought about by something Groove is unaware of... so all the logical, rational answers in the world aren't going to help him overcome it.

Groove, it's something that unfortunately, you'll just have to work through in time. I had no issues with my first snake, but I've always been quite slow moving, almost hesitant, as a result of being cautious so I don't hurt my snakes. When I got my next couple of snakes, one was very cage defensive and bitey. I had the same kind of irrational sweats and fears as you are having... Makes no sense whatsoever, particularly as I had already owned and handled snakes. I just started with hook handling, and slowly introduced my hand to the hook handling... I still can't pick her up from the enclosure, due to cage defensiveness, but once out, I can pick her up off the ground, and hold her fine.

The people who tell you to 'man up' or 'get over it,' are doing so out of ignorance. They haven't dealt with this irrational fear, so their rational brains can't process it. That's not a criticism of them, just an explanation. And don't be ashamed, you'll get there