handling my python

[Claire]

so i expect this has been done to death... but just a little bit of helpful advice would be appreciated??

my 4 month old stimmie is a bit of an aggresive ******... especially when i try to pick him up

once hes actually in my hand he settles really well, then il handle him for 5minutes tops then put him away for the day

he doesnt look like hes due to shed and i leave him well alone for at least 24 hours after being fed.

so my question is this: what is the most efficient and least stressful way to pick up a baby python???

thanks in advance

 

[cloudy]

depends on the snake but i find if you let him know you are there first, i touch my little diamond on the head with the thin end of a wooden spoon and that gets her attention then she is right to go. sometimes i just touch her with my hand and then grab her but she is getting a bit jumpy and tends to bite, maybe because i feed her in the enclosure.

 

[Snakelove]

Hatchlings are tend to be more aggresive and protective since their size probably don't intimidate anyone or anything so they rely on biting at anything that approaches! leave your snake for more than 24 hours after feeding, its best to leave it for 2 to 3 days. and the best way is pick it up from the side just touch it gently and let it know you're there to mean no harm and if he doesn't want to get picked up then use a hook or just leave it alone for a couple more days. hope i helped!

 

[Claire]

thanks =)

ive tried a little bit of desensitisation (although im not sure how effective this would be on a reptile???) by using the feeding tongs and gently lifting his belly a few centimeters then letting the rest of his tail slide over the top, but as i say, what kind of comprehension do snakes have of understanding the difference between friend of foe??? :?

 

[Claire]

Hatchlings are tend to be more aggresive and protective since their size probably don't intimidate anyone or anything so they rely on biting at anything that approaches! leave your snake for more than 24 hours after feeding, its best to leave it for 2 to 3 days. and the best way is pick it up from the side just touch it gently and let it know you're there to mean no harm and if he doesn't want to get picked up then use a hook or just leave it alone for a couple more days. hope i helped!

thanks for that advice

i did think that... i mean what wild animal as small as he is wouldnt poop itself at the sight of a big scary hand looming overhead - i cant blame him really for getting defensive

just hoping he grows out of it then i guess...

 

[Snakelove]

thanks for that advice

i did think that... i mean what wild animal as small as he is wouldnt poop itself at the sight of a big scary hand looming overhead - i cant blame him really for getting defensive

just hoping he grows out of it then i guess...

lol yeah hopefully he does grow out of it.I'm getting a new woma python in about 4 days and hoping it's gonna be a placid one. =P

 

[Dar1stheory]

When my stimsons was little and still snappy, (and I was soft and wussy with my first snake), I used to always take the opportunity to pick him up while he was inside a toilet roll hide, and then let him come out on his own terms, and he quickly got used to being handled from there...

My coastal juvenile has serious attitude issues, very difficult to pick up with hands without him striking, but using a hook, and then placing him on the free hand with his head facing away is very easy...

If you swallow a few teaspoons of "harden up" before attempting to pick him up with bare hands, I found that by (reasonably) quickly and confidently scooping up the mid section while the head is facing away you can usually get away with picking him up. I assume that by getting them up in the air and more concerned with where the ground just went, they become less occupied with biting me!

 

[Claire]

i like the toilet roll idea... the only time ive managed to pick him up without a fuss he was half way out of his enclosure and i just sort of slipped my hand inbetween him and the wall without him really seeing and without getting close to his face - which seems to be the most stressful for him

lol and will make sure i have a cup of concrete next time

 

[Lovemydragons]

Yeah my little bredli boy was so snappy, use to strike at me all the time through his click clack and I thought he was going to be a little **** forever. But I spent time sitting next to his click clack and then with just the lid open. He soon got used to me being there. So then I used a small hook to touch him and get him used to that and letting him smell it. Now picking him up with the hook is easy, and I then move him onto my hand. I still can't move too fast with him cos he spooks but he's heaps better than he was, and he's still little, so we should be right by the time he gets bigger!

 

[Chris1]

my jungles were really really snappy fro a while, i found the best method was to open the cage, and put a cupped hand straight over them, (or lift their hide and put a cupped hand over them). that way tehyre in ur hand before they have a chance to stress.

it is obviously working cos i rarely get bitten these days, they no longer hammer me 50 times once theyre out either, they just have a sniff and look around now, tehy look relaxed in their enclosures and even ate hanging off the clothes stand outdoors for me yesterday.

 

[Rainbow-Serpent]

I find that even my spastic jungle calms down once he has been out for a little while.

I use a hook (or if you don't have a hook, a coat-hanger does the trick), to get him out, then set him down in your hand.

When my jungle was a hatchie he'd bite after he had been out for a while, but now he's almost a year old and settles.

Just keep holding him and he should get used to it.

 

[Curly56]

When my stimsons was little and still snappy, (and I was soft and wussy with my first snake), I used to always take the opportunity to pick him up while he was inside a toilet roll hide, and then let him come out on his own terms, and he quickly got used to being handled from there...

My coastal juvenile has serious attitude issues, very difficult to pick up with hands without him striking, but using a hook, and then placing him on the free hand with his head facing away is very easy...

If you swallow a few teaspoons of "harden up" before attempting to pick him up with bare hands, I found that by (reasonably) quickly and confidently scooping up the mid section while the head is facing away you can usually get away with picking him up. I assume that by getting them up in the air and more concerned with where the ground just went, they become less occupied with biting me!

I can relate to all of this. I found that buying a full grown jungle really showed "what a woos I was" and now its so easy to just pick up our stimsoms hatchie. A coat hanger bent up into a temporary snake hook worked well for me in the earlier woosy stage.
Good luck.

 

[Touchstone]

Im finding all this very useful - I have just brought home my first snake (Kayak)
A 2yo Childrens python - Ive had him two days so its early days yet I know. To get him 'used' to me I sit with my hand in the enclosure watching his/her reactions while Kayak sits in Im gonna strike mode watching me. Yup and Kayak has tagged me, which is good cos now I know there is no problem there.
I think Im more worried about hurting kayak than I am of kayak hurting me.

 

[Jarden]

also trying to get him out with the feeding tongs wouldn't be the greatest idea because as you know snakes rely on scent and the snake would most probably be able to smell rat or mice scent on the tongs and put him into feeding mode which will end up with being bit as jordan suggested use a coat hanger or hook

 

[Claire]

appreciated

this arvo when i got home from work his eyes are definately looking a bit opaque so will avoid trying to handle him till the shed is well and truly over - in regards to this, i thought moving the water bowl to the warmer end of the enclosure might increase the humidity slightly?? should i also be misting it though??

anyway he got much better... he initially pooped himself when touched but was quite calm with my hand being close to him and only actually lashed out once or twice...

will definately give the coat hanger theory a go when hes all finished shedding and what not.

 

[JAS101]

rather then moving his water bowl into the hot/warm area , id just put another small water bowl in the hot area until he sheds [ i do this with all of my snakes] as small water bowls are cheap .