Help!? Please.. Bredli Snake Handling Issues

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RubyG

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Hi all,

I've posted in this forum on and off over the years without getting a lot of love but I'm getting pretty desperate.

I have a 5 year old female Bredli Python, that I've had since 9 months of age.

Long story short she's always been a bit skittish but has had periods (months to a year) of being reasonably tame and easy to handle. Admittedly she's also had 2 periods of 6 months without being handled at all (2011 and 2013) when I had an accident, and then was overseas.

Over the past 3-4 months she has been completely skittish and psycho crazy. The last time I got her out, she was seemingly quite active in her enclosure (a very large "2 room" job) and so I got her out and she immediately kept trying to get away - the front half of her body arcing out all over the place and she snapped around to bite me and I dropped her. In the process she dislocated her bottom jaw and ended up taking off up the stairs, where I my partner and I had to catch her and wrestle her back into the enclosure. Ever since then I haven't been able to get her out without her snapping at us, and we just tried now by removing the basket she sits in and letting her move around the lounge a bit before attempting to pick her up. Once again she was completely jumpy and snappy and it was impossible to hold her and no length of time seemed to calm her down.

I don't know what to do! Any tips welcome,

Cheers,
Emily
 
Some snakes just preferred to be looked at rather than be held and it sounds like your girl falls into the former category. Bear in mind that the drop she experienced may have had an impact on her behavior which accounts for the snappiness within the enclosure now but the periods of not being handled will also have some measure of bearing.

I don't handle any of mine anywhere near as much as I used to however some things you can try but are not guaranteed to work are

  • Plenty of hides in the enclosure
  • Handle only when and if necessary
  • Have good settling periods after feeding / enclosure cleaning and handling
  • Open her enclosure and allow her to come out when she is ready. Don't force her out
  • Use a hook to pick her up.
  • Don't put her around your necks or handle her in a manner that might be seen as "unnatural" (Heck she is being held, that's bad enough:))
  • Don't get her out with people around
  • If she starts moving around or snapping, put her back gently.

You will never have a "tame" snake IMO, regardless of what others say. You may end up with a tolerant snake but always remember, handling snakes are for a persons amusement and benefit, not the animals.

Good luck
Stuart
 
i have had snakes for 40 years ...... and one thing for sure that i have learnt is ..... you cant tame snakes and if a snake doesnt want to be picked up - i dont pick it up. Snakes will become tolerant and let you handle them , and a month later they will react to it and bite you . mmmmm..... a bit like being married ....LOL.
I hardly ever handle my snakes , mainly because i like to look at them doing what they do naturally . My cages are scattered through the house and i love looking.
With all due respect mate ...... if you want a pet to cuddle up to you ...get a dog.
Another option is .... sell it and get something else.
 
Thanks both of you for your replies, these have confirmed some things I've suspected for a while now... particularly that I can't tame[/change] her.

I don't want cuddles, absolutely not a puppy person. I did want her to like me but it's been a while, and she doesn't seem to.
I do often just open the enclosure and see if she wants to come out, rarely she does, and most of the time when she does she curls up and hides somewhere. She has her moments when she's happy to be picked up, maybe I just need to read those and not force it.
I felt that I was neglecting her by not handling her but it just seems to freak her out more than not - so seems I just need to learn that that's what she's like.
To be honest I've thought of selling her, I did want a snake I could handle, I'm not sure anymore. I didn't know if anyone would buy a seemingly psychotic snake? But it's good to know there are people out there who just like to look. She does look fabulous getting around her enclosure.
I'll think on it more.

Thanks again.
 
In case anyone's interested, my snake shed around a week ago.. I got her out yesterday and had an absolutely fine handling/exploring session.
She seems to have a rather extended shedding cycle - she'd been getting darker, and I guess crabbier, for weeks. She also was in a good available position when I picked her up out of the enclosure.
I guess I've just got to be smart and pick my timing.
 
Shedding for a snake is like periods for women. Sometimes its a non issue, other times they can be batshit insane. Then once they are done they normally calm down a little. Each snake is very different though so just keep that in mind :)
 
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