HELP! How long to wait before feeding/handling my new pet? (we are newbies)

[markandsada]

Hello Everyone,

My daughter and I picked up our first pet snake yesterday - a carpet python named Jasper who hatched in August last year.

We visited him a few times while he was in the shop and handled him, although the owner was the one who always took him out of his click clack.

It took us about an hour to get him home and when we did he was understandably a bit snappy after the trip and kind of on edge. This morning he seems ok though, he was just sleeping when I left for work but I was wondering how long we should wait before attempting to feed or handle him?

It's been about 2 weeks since his last feed which was an adult mouse.

Any advice you could give us newbies would be awesome. We will upload some photos of little Jasper soon.

 

[saximus]

Give it a couple of weeks to settle into its new home before trying to handle or feed it. Just make sure it has heat and fresh water and try to keep it somewhere dark or at least with little human traffic so it feels safe

 

[harley0402]

yeah as said, leave him be for a couple of weeks with no handling, just give him fresh water and clean any poops. After a couple of weeks offer him a feed and if he takes it, let him digest for a couple of days and then start handling.

 

[shellfisch]

I would leave him be for at least a week. Even two. Absolute minimal handling except to clean and give fresh water.
Make sure he is not in a heavy traffic area of the house, resist the urge to peek at him etc.
Wait until he has 2-3 feeds (one after the other, no refusals) first before you introduce any short handling periods.
All this patience will pay off, when he eats regularly for you.

This may be helpful to read also -

Frequently Asked Questions - Aussie Pythons & Snakes

 

[markandsada]

Thanks very much for all the advice!

We are going away for a few nights tomorrow so we'll make sure to leave Jasper with some fresh water and some heat and will try to give him a feed when we get back. Will let you know how it all goes... Hopefully he eats a few good meals and then we can start handling him and let him get to know us a bit better.

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

Every snake is different and needs to be handled appropriately. Most snakes i have bought have eaten straight away and handled fine straight away. Just depends how your snake behaves, if she is really snappy and unhappy, give him some time . Or if she refuses a feed. If not go for it, give him a cuddle I know how exciting it is..

 

[markandsada]

Thanks for all the advice, we went away for a few days and when we got home we decided to try giving Jasper a feed. He ate two mice and everything went well. Looking forward to handling him in a couple of days!

 

[Jay84]

I am the same as Just Plain Nuts. As soon as i get a new snake home i will offer it food. 9 times out of 10 they will eat straight away. This has even been the case with animals i have imported from QLD to Melbourne! I personally think this is a good idea to get them going straight away.

I also can not help but handle them lol..... you just have to guage the snakes behaviour. If they are thrashing around and nervous, let them settle. If not, i hold them.