Flighty Jungle Python

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Cory Watson

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Hey guys, I recently acquired quite a large jungle python, I have owned a few large pythons before however this boy is very flighty and a little defensive when I try to get him out to handle him, my question is has any one got any tips or tricks that will help me calm him down without getting him out of his enclosure because every time I try he bolts around and with him being so large it’s very hard to control him, my guess is he hasn’t been handled very often if at all before I got him any help would be much appreciated!
 
classic jungle behaviour

Unfortunately it is, I have owned a couple of jungles before but they weren’t anywhere near this bad I could at least get them out of their enclosure and they’d calm down after a few minutes but this guy just goes like a steam train as soon as I get near him
 
Your best bet is to just keep handling him until he settles down, and if he stays that way then there is nothing that you can really do about it. You can try waiting until he gets tired, or handling him at times when he is still warming up (and therefore has less energy to expend) to get him used to handling then, but apart from that there isn't much you can do.
 
Your best bet is to just keep handling him until he settles down, and if he stays that way then there is nothing that you can really do about it. You can try waiting until he gets tired, or handling him at times when he is still warming up (and therefore has less energy to expend) to get him used to handling then, but apart from that there isn't much you can do.
That’s what I’ve been trying, only problem is I physically cannot get him out of his enclosure so I’ve been trying to get him used to human touch as much as possible with him still in there
 
and in the process you are stressing him out, by invading his home, no wonder hes biting you :p
 
I have a 4 year old bredli female that was never handled until we got her, and to make things worse, for couple of months after we got her, had to treat her for mites which just proved to her that humans are horrible. She was very cage defensive and managed to bite a few times. Of course, that meant that cleaning up was a pure nightmare.

I started by opening the doors just a crack and just staying behind the glass talking to her. I know that she couldn’t hear, but she could see and smell me and feel the vibrations. Then I started leaving items that had my smell on them in her enclosure (like small face towels I kept next to my skin) for her to get used to my smell being a constant. Next I started warming up the hook with my hands, let her sniff it and then stroke along her body with it. At first she’d freak out but eventually she stopped reacting to it. Finally, I started stroking her back with my hand while her head was too far to strike quickly, and that caused her to flail wildly and try to bite.

After six months of this, she accepts me stroking her back for several minutes without reacting, and I’ve started to pick up her body and slightly lift it to see if she’ll freak out again. She’s accepted that as well, but I don’t think she’s anywhere near ready for me to fully handle her as she’s still very protective of her head and neck.

The only way I can clean her enclosure in peace is to use a hook to coax her into a tub I place in her enclosure, close the lid and take it out, then put the tub back in when I’m done and let her out. I’ve also been feeding her inside the tub (which I put inside her enclosure ) so she is willing to go in.

I’m not sure if she’ll ever get over her fear of humans enough to be handled, but I’ll keep on trying.
 
I’m glad to say my jungle isn’t anywhere near that bad, I’ve managed to be able to get him out the past few days and while he is still a pain in the ass to get out, once he is out he’s just very flighty but doesn’t try to strike at me anymore, he seems to be adapting very quickly to being handled which is a huge bonus considering his size
 
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