Grumpy Woma Python

[Spitefultongue]

Hey all, I was hoping to get some help with my Woma.

Cuddles is my second snake, my first is a super amazing Childrens Python who is the most lovable snake I have ever met. I bought Cuddles as an adult and he was pretty great to hold and seemed calm but since living with me he's been quite grumpy.

I've tried handling him regularly, handling him less frequently but it seems that after a few minutes he gets agitated and defensive, sometimes rearing and striking. I've tried getting him out of the tank slowly, letting him see i'm not a threat first, tried getting him out of the tank fast.

We've had his health checked, screened for Sunshine and triple checked his temps. One theory is that he's reacting to all the cat scents in the house? I always shut the cats out of the room if I take the snake out but maybe he's anxious because cats are often staring in at him and would still be able to smell them. The other is that he's escaped one and now his taste for semi-freedom is unquenchable - he is a very active snake so he's about to be upgraded to a fancy new 6ft tank. He is currently in one just over a meter, with cool/warm hides, UV, substrate to dig in etc. Otherwise he sheds perfectly, generally eats well but has become tricky to handle.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, all the Womas i've met have been chilled, placid snakes and he seemed that way when we got him, i'd love to get him back to that.

 

[user 41856]

The enclosure you have him in, is it Glass all round? I have a Childrens that was very bitey when I had him in a temporary tank that was all glass, now he is in a wooden enclosure, he is settling down slowly. He was OK in a Tub but the exposure had him a little nervous. I have cats too and trained them that they can walk around OK but no lap or coming close whilst I have a Snek out. They don't seem worried about Cat Scent at all, one of my cats has developed an unusual relationship with my 2m MD... it a bit weird but neither seems to be stressing about it. It could be that your Woma is used to one persons smell and is missing him, he should settle down with a bit of patience. You could try to see if he has any sore spots when you handle him, but otherwise, you might just need to be patient as he gets used to you. I make sure that I give them all a pat every day, just to let them remember me. When I get them out, I pat them so they know it is me.

 

[Spitefultongue]

The enclosure you have him in, is it Glass all round? I have a Childrens that was very bitey when I had him in a temporary tank that was all glass, now he is in a wooden enclosure, he is settling down slowly. He was OK in a Tub but the exposure had him a little nervous. I have cats too and trained them that they can walk around OK but no lap or coming close whilst I have a Snek out. They don't seem worried about Cat Scent at all, one of my cats has developed an unusual relationship with my 2m MD... it a bit weird but neither seems to be stressing about it. It could be that your Woma is used to one persons smell and is missing him, he should settle down with a bit of patience. You could try to see if he has any sore spots when you handle him, but otherwise, you might just need to be patient as he gets used to you. I make sure that I give them all a pat every day, just to let them remember me. When I get them out, I pat them so they know it is me.

I don't think he's sore, it might just be adapting to a new situation still. I've had him since October but i've tried to only handle him intermittently lately, I might try frequent super short pats. Its not a glass tank all around, its one of the standard melamine/glass ones and he has a couple hides he can curl up in. He's very focused on knocking the lock off the doors because he's managed once... only two days and he's going to be in a new luxury mansion tank so fingers crossed he likes stretching out in that. Good idea with the pats! Will try

 

[user 41856]

I don't think he's sore, it might just be adapting to a new situation still. I've had him since October but i've tried to only handle him intermittently lately, I might try frequent super short pats. Its not a glass tank all around, its one of the standard melamine/glass ones and he has a couple hides he can curl up in. He's very focused on knocking the lock off the doors because he's managed once... only two days and he's going to be in a new luxury mansion tank so fingers crossed he likes stretching out in that. Good idea with the pats! Will try

I decided mine needed to be trained, so I use a Hook to get her out, she bit at the hook but I continued to use it and she stopped biting at it after a while. I now feed her in a tub and put her back in her enclosure by hand. After doing this for a couple of months, she doesn't bite anymore, at least the last couple of times she hasn't tried to strike at me.

 

[pinefamily]

Try increasing the feed size or frequency. A hungry snake is an agitated snake.

 

[Tyloop]

A hungry snake is an agitated snake.

I agree you could also try Increasing the basking spot into the mid 30's