Aggressive/snappy stimsons python - only when in click clack

[Hanney]

Hi,

My 8 month old stimsons strikes the click clack if i go near it or open the lid.

Once i get he/she out with a hook they are fine! He is an angel once out of the click clack! Really relaxed and no sign of wanting to strike. I've had to use a hook because he attacks my hand and i always pull back so i dont want to hurt him!

What should i do?

He is in a sistema approx 30 x 20cm click clack. He is around 45 cms.

Do you think its because he is bored and protective of his little home? Is it too small?

Or could it be because i'm feeding in the container and always expects food?

I'm worried if i feed out of the container then he will get crazy about wanting food all the time! Loves food! At least its just in the container that he acts all snappy at the moment.

Any advice would be great.

 

[Sigman21]

how long have you had him for??

 

[jamesbecker]

a lot of snakes are cage defensive .. nothing to worry about and you cant really do anything about it, it may grow out of it over time.

 

[Daryl_H]

i look at cage defence with small snakes as your always comeing down on them like a preditor would i like to use front opening tanks once the are big enough and only feed from one door and pick up fro play time from the other doon it works well for me

 

[redbellybite]

I have a young spotted ,that use to maul me like a pitbull,every chance she got to the point she wasnt just biting and pulling back ,she was chewing and drawing blood everytime... persistence is your answer ..no one really can tell you 100% that he will stop it ..but usually they do settle down and get calm ....my girl still bites me here and there ,but not as much as she did in her younger months ..she is roughly 11months old now ...and I can open her tub up with out her aiming and firing at me

 

[pythrulz]

I have a 8 month old hypo coastal does the same thing strikes the top of his clik clak trying to bite me most of them calm down with hadling takes patients as already said most of them are cage defensive also had another coastal same age that always used to get in the clasic cobra strike pose shes the perfect snake now they grow out of it

 

[syeph8]

i have personally had had great success with conditioning against cage defensive behaviour. not saying it would work in all snakes (in fact i am sure it would not work 100% of the time) but it has had a massive effect on 100% of mine. some still bite if you come from directly above and some still bite when shedding or when hungry, but in general i can now get them out without the use of a hook without getting bitten.
this may have also happened naturally whilst i was doing this, as opposed to what i was doing having any effect. but either way, i suggest giving it a try whilst doing your best not to stress out your snake.

 

[ezekiel86]

cage defensive ...thinking it is feeding time..
you dont let to get pulled out of bed on a sunday morning when u dont wont to hahaha

 

[zeke]

i've named my spotted python lucifer purely coz of that haha but they grow out of i with more handling as hes caming down..... well giving up after about 5 bites everytime i hold him anyway