Hi everyone,
I recently acquired a 5 year old albino darwin carpet python and have had her for a week. I have a children’s python but she’s only little, and as such I am still getting use to the larger snake life.
When I went to meet the darwin, she was beautifully tempered and handled excellently. Previous owner said he had no issues.
Now we have her at our place, she’s gone extremely defensive and stays in her hide all day. I think the hiding has to do with the fact that the previous owner had nothing for her to climb on, and only had a heat matt, so she stayed in her hide on the ground all day. We have since rectified this with a heat lamp and plenty of climbing avenues.
I have started handling but when I go to get her out, she’s defensive and strikes. I try to touch her to let her know i’m there but she jumps and i approach slowly but she’s immediately on defense.
She eventually lets me get her out and when she’s out she is generally okay, but if you touch her anywhere along her body she jumps and strikes out and hisses.
I understand it’s only been a week but i’d love to get some advice. I am stuck between continuing to handle her as I have read that persistence is key, or otherwise just leaving her and letting her calm down. I understand from her point of view that’s she’s been in this empty enclosure with only a hide and a heat matt for 5 years and has now been moved into a new house and we’ve added a bunch of new hiding/climbing spots and covered the glass with greenery.
Let me know what you guys think, any advice would be appreciated.
I recently acquired a 5 year old albino darwin carpet python and have had her for a week. I have a children’s python but she’s only little, and as such I am still getting use to the larger snake life.
When I went to meet the darwin, she was beautifully tempered and handled excellently. Previous owner said he had no issues.
Now we have her at our place, she’s gone extremely defensive and stays in her hide all day. I think the hiding has to do with the fact that the previous owner had nothing for her to climb on, and only had a heat matt, so she stayed in her hide on the ground all day. We have since rectified this with a heat lamp and plenty of climbing avenues.
I have started handling but when I go to get her out, she’s defensive and strikes. I try to touch her to let her know i’m there but she jumps and i approach slowly but she’s immediately on defense.
She eventually lets me get her out and when she’s out she is generally okay, but if you touch her anywhere along her body she jumps and strikes out and hisses.
I understand it’s only been a week but i’d love to get some advice. I am stuck between continuing to handle her as I have read that persistence is key, or otherwise just leaving her and letting her calm down. I understand from her point of view that’s she’s been in this empty enclosure with only a hide and a heat matt for 5 years and has now been moved into a new house and we’ve added a bunch of new hiding/climbing spots and covered the glass with greenery.
Let me know what you guys think, any advice would be appreciated.
