Spotted Pyhton keeps biting

[Safari]

Hi
We have had a spotted python since it was a baby, it's now about 10 months old and maybe 80cm long. It always bites. I've always been really gentle with, fed it well, treated it well, it has a beautiful enclosure with a thermostat etc, it's just a biter. Tonight it really hurt, it was hard to get it off my thumb - then it had some strands of my skin hanging off its teeth. Is it possible that there are some than just cannot become tame?

 

[Tsuchinoko]

If its just striking/ tagging you then I would guess increased handling is the way to go, slowly it should become desensitised to interaction. As it becomes less fearful of you, it should strike less. This is assuming everything in its environment is good and nothing is causing it excess stress.

It sounds like its biting, latching on and constricting though - essentially it thinks you're food and its trying to eat you. I have less experience with this but I can tell you what I would do. Make sure you're feeding using tongs, you don't want it associating your hand with food. Wash your hands before handling, this will get rid of any smells that might be enticing and will trigger that feeding response. You could use a snake hook so your first point of contact isn't your hand, this might help the snake to differentiate between feeding time and handling time. Make sure you're feeding them enough and they are a good weight, I would guess a particularly hungry snake gets desperate and tries to eat whatever it can. Some people recommend feeding in a seperate enclosure/plastic tub so they don't associate their main enclosure with food - I personally don't think this is ideal but it may work for you, look into it and see what you think.

Beyond this, it seems each animal has their own 'personality', your snake might just be particularly gutsy or 'aggressive'. Snakes are non-domesticated animals, and although we're keeping them in captivity they're never going to be fully tame - every snake will bite under the right conditions, but we can do things to minimise the likelihood. Don't be discouraged, hope these things help

 

[Dustproof]

Latching on is usually feeding frenzy, try feeding it more until she is satisfied. Leave it alone for a couple of days after feeding. I use Listerine to get them to let go, dribble it so it goes into its mouth, and they will drop you quickly. To handle a bitie Python, wait until it is in its hide, then lift it off and pick it up. When they are in their hide, they are not defensive and easier to handle.