New Jag's a Nut Case!

I recently bought a 2 year old Jungle Jag who has settled into his new house. I got him out today for the first time and hoooollllyyy s$&t! This guys a nut! Up down left right, he was going a million miles an hour. Very jumpy and high strung. My other jungle is a sook so (after a few touch and go months) so any tips on calming him down? I've never seen a snake act this intense before. The breeder I got him off said he handles great and even gets him out by hand so I guess just time? Quite intimidating actually. Any and all help is as always greatly appreciated.

That's called neuro.

From what I've read, I don't think so. He doesn't have any signs of anything like that, just really fast and kind of "stressed" movements. Like his running for his life.

I'm no expert but I have a little experience as I took care of my ex's nervous (as in would thrash around and poo everywhere if you tried to pick him up, and constantly be trying to run away - FAST) jungle python for over a year. After a year he's like a different snake. Very calm. He's head shy but that's pretty normal in snakes; he's relaxed, slow moving etc.

I know what you mean by the fast/stressed movements (I know nothing about neuro though so I'm writing this assuming it's not neuro). Since he's two and generally past the bitey hatchie age, you have a better chance if he's just not used to being handled rather than he's just a flighty snake - but I believe almost all animals can become tolerant of you (if not "tame") so even if he's just flighty, depending on the time you put in he has every chance of becoming more confident around people. Basically with me, it was time and patience This snake was a yearling at the time.

First I got him used to being handled for short periods at a time, and gave him ample warning - I used to take out his hide with him in it, and transferred him to a branch from his enclosure because there was a better chance of him staying on the branch than on me. I always moved very slowly, making sure to support his whole body. Never got near his face/head or tail. I'd handle him for a few minutes every couple of days, then built it up to every day. Once every so often when he was being calm, I'd give him a very light stroke on his back; at first that was enough to make him run for his life but it's surprising how quickly they get used to it once they know they're not going to be eaten! From there I went to quick pats on his neck, stomach etc and if I'd continued working with him I'm 100% sure he wouldn't be head shy today.

So anyway in about a year, he went from desperately trying to avoid human arms to happily coming out and chilling on you. I remember when we upped his food size to medium rats, he suddenly became very confident and started hanging out in his enclosure instead of always hiding, and suddenly I could trust him to not make a run for it if I put him down on the couch/bed. I don't know what that was about but it was a massive, instant change.

Good luck with him! I know it's frustrating to interact with an animal that just wants to get the hell away from you, but when you see the results it's really rewarding

Thanks a lot for the feedback, I guess like most I'll just give him time. I'll see if he feeds in a few days. I thought my other Jungle was a handful! Haha she's a sook in comparison! Thanks again I really appreciate it.

You said you recently got him, how long did you give him to settle in? My guess but with out any further background detail - If you have a python that was tubbed at a breeder and you bring him home plonk him in a large display and then a couple of days later you are pulling him out. I guess he is flipped out by the whole thing. I would suggest patience is the key it could take months, but start by just sitting by the enclosure everyday for a while, then onto open cage sitting with no touching. at each stage you should see behaviour changes, he should become accustomed to you being there and that you do not present a threat. A python stores up experiences and relies on them to make flight or hide or bite decisions. The more positive experiences you give him in your presence the more he should settle. Like I said the key is to be patient and wait for the guy to let you know he feels alright around you, before you move onto new experiences with the little guy.

Jags come with an inherant problem. As pretty as they are, they also have a dark side. It is a genetic fault, inherited and impossible to separate from the Jag pretty reduced pattern gene. The pattern reduction and the neurological problem go hand in hand and theres nothing you or anyone can do about it.
You don't actually describe what the animal is doing in other then very basic layman terms, so its tough to say wether its just snappy from fear, or a full blown neuro episode.
The problem with jags though is that if your one is stressing from being handled then that could tip it over into becoming (at the worst case) very affected by the neurological disorder to the point where you will watch your animal move in a way that if you have any empathy towards your pet, will make you feel sorry for the poor thing.
You wouldn't be the first to buy a jag and be disapointed. Its quite widely accepted that stress can bring on the retard episodes, so when your dealing with a snake that may simply be bitey ........do you really beleive that handling the animal is in its best interests?
If you look closely at your snakes midbody when you handle it you may see it breathe deeply and rapidly.....this is fear and stress caused by handling by a human. Generally, a snake can be tamed down with good keeping and regular handling, but normal snakes don't come with neurological problems. If it is highly strung, and a jag................could be best to not handle it at all.

Again thanks for the feedback guys, I'll definitely try sitting next to the tank and everything else suggested. Just on the whole handling thing, he settled in after a full week, just like my other jungle, so I figured 'lets see how it goes' if I knew he would react the way he did, do you think I would have bothered? Without being fluent in Python language how else would I have known? Like I said before he doesn't show any signs of neuro, from what I've researched, so as far as I was aware I thought I had just another beautiful Python to love. As for describing his symptoms, without getting a dictionary, he was super fast. Like he wanted to sprint off but didn't know where to go? He wasn't barrel rolling but kind of twisting a little? All he wanted to do was get the hell out'a dodge. He wasn't interested in biting, he had plenty of chances to, in fact he has never struck at me, not on the one occasion I held him, not even when I change his water. I guess this handsome devil is now my 'special' Python haha. Thanks again everyone, I take on board every little thing you guys tell me.

Put it in the freezer for a few days and that should cool it down.... most jags stem from Jungle lineage and most of you would know jungles are more of a display snake... Some will calm down though

From your description this is nothing to do with neuro, and the actions of a snake that really disliked being handled.
Very jumpy, highly strung and thrashing about are not signs of neuro at all. Twisting, contorting, not being able to right themselves and moving in slow awkward patterns are signs of neuro.

Folks need to get off the jag bashing bandwagon and give the op either constructive help or keep it zipped.

If your commenting on my post arevenant, there was no description of anything either way in the original posting.
If explaining that handling an animal that hates been handled could bring on further issues, is jag bashing and non helpful, then you have simple comprehension problems.

Today you can purchase perfectly good and healthy pure bred stock that doesn't carry the neuro problem and is just as reduced in pattern as any jag. Considering that the amount you spend on buying a defective animal that when bred, you lose 50% of the clutch not carrying the rpm gene and then however many more go in the freezer because they are unsellable due to chronic neuro leaving what??? maybe 4-5 at most that show little or no problem YET..... compared to pure bred lines that look just as good or better and when bred you get a full clutch of healthy animals....you do the math.

Gotta love a person that tells others what they NEED to do. Lol!

I entirely was not making a comment aimed at you in any way [MENTION=4778]cement[/MENTION].
Your information was very helpful to the OP and I agree with what you've just said.
My comment was directed at a few other shortly worded entirely UNhelpful comments.
Now, why don't you hop down of that pretty little high horse of yours now eh?

Ok Thank you.
This site is moderated though, so theres no need for anyone else to take it upon themselves to do their job, and with your final unnecesary comment, your throwing the first stone. And now again with your last little comment to me. There has been nothing in this thread that can come off as "jag bashing" so how about you wake up to yourself.
You don't know me, and to me, all you are is a heap of pixels on my laptop screen, but if you are by chance an immature, spiteful little bloke/girl with something to prove........then I understand. Enjoy your weekend, thanks for the laughs!!!

Hey don't bash jags! Put them in the freezer instead, it's much more humane. Im joking please dont put you're weird snakes in the freezer!

How long have you had him though, I didn't handle my (adult) for a month after I got him.

Might just take a while longer to settle in before you can start handling, maybe contact the person you bought him from and ask their advice?

And some photos would be great, I love seeing peoples new snakes.

cement said:

Ok Thank you.
This site is moderated though, so theres no need for anyone else to take it upon themselves to do their job, and with your final unnecesary comment, your throwing the first stone. And now again with your last little comment to me. There has been nothing in this thread that can come off as "jag bashing" so how about you wake up to yourself.
You don't know me, and to me, all you are is a heap of pixels on my laptop screen, but if you are by chance an immature, spiteful little bloke/girl with something to prove........then I understand. Enjoy your weekend, thanks for the laughs!!!

Click to expand...

I'll just leave this here for you to read again re; "nothing in this thread that can come off as jag bashing"...

Luke_G said:

Put it in the freezer for a few days and that should cool it down....

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I've no need to "wake up to myself" nor am I "an immature, spiteful little bloke/girl with something to prove."
What I am is someone who enjoys articulated discussion rather than inflammatory statements being posted which do nothing to help the topic at hand.
You've completely misconstrued my original statement as a personal attack, and my second response was so stated in regards to your own defensive whip due - again - to your own misunderstanding of my first statement.
This site is moderated well, though I think at times self awareness and self censorship should be practiced by members to allow for freer discourse.
Hope you enjoyed your weekend also

Thank you for quoting my comment, but can you quote the whole lot next time, not what you see as offensive. Cheers

Luke_G said:

Put it in the freezer for a few days and that should cool it down.... most jags stem from Jungle lineage and most of you would know jungles are more of a display snake... Some will calm down though

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Doesn't really change the statement any...
Also the rest of your statement is a great fallacy; most jungles aren't more of a display snake, though some can be considered more temperamental than the snappy few of other breeds, this is a general misnoma.
I've owned 20+ over the years and all have been perfectly fine to handle from the day they hatched.
Most jags these days are so muddied with other genes, that to say the dominant traits stem from jungle(even though jungle is the origin of the jag gene) is being ignorant to what breeders are doing these days...

No it doesn't. It just shows the full quote. Thank you

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There you go.