HELP! My new spotted HATES me!

[Lewy]

awww really? ok Lewy. I really do want to make sure im doing the right thing by her and it does seem the majority of people have said to put her into a click clack. I will take her out the big tank this afternoon, feed her (A more appropiate meal then she has been getting!) and put her into a smaller tank again. But does that mean she will never be able to use the big tank? couldnt I keep upgrading the container size until she is comfortable free in the actual tank? otherwise Im going to have space for a few more click clacks in that big tank lol

Yes you can!! But a 40 litter will be a good size for another year but if she dose settle down realy well then sure up grade her tank size

As with food you can always feed her 2 of the smaller pray items as I believe that 2 small mice is better than one big one as the snake gets twice the goodness

Cheers Lewy

 

[sarah_m]

I know that some people cover the outside of the tank/click clack with paper so she cant see out and yuou cant see in for a week or so. Then you remove paper from 1 side and see if she copes with that ok, gradually removing it over time so she can adjust .

 

[slim6y]

Who knows if this has been said or not.... But here goes...

1) Congrats on getting a spotted - they're awesome awesome awesome (did I say awesome) snakes...

2) If you wish to use your large enclosure you can do what I did... I bought a 20L click clack (I think) and put that click clack in the larger tank (mine is 4 ft long and 2 ft high). That way she was in a click clack, but also in the tank - so when it came time for adventure days, opened the click clack and into the tank she went - then back to her click clack later.

Obviously many things have been said in this thread....

But personality test? I don't know if they're any good - i think i did one once, and it said I'd be a fantastic lamp post.... It's so not true... I'm not that tall.

Alternatively, I have a spotted that also wants to kill me... she's busy plotting it right now. If I go near her you can see it in her eyes.... She's finding my weak points (just lucky i don't have any).

One day she escaped and I caught her looking at the kitchen knives...

She'll do it one day... but right now she's just a 5 year old spotted with an anger problem. i doubt she'll ever change.

My other spotted doesn't even strike at her food let alone me... She licks me, kisses me... I'm worried she's going to lick me to death one day....

 

[ShepQLD]

lmao thanks slim, Ill hide the kitchen knives incase of escape

 

[Colin]

I rung the pet shop and they said to bring her in and they would do a personality test on her

my god, an adult spotted doesnt even need an enclosure that big let alone a hatchy.

pmsl :lol: but.. but.. the spotteds personality test said it liked large enclosures candlelight dinners and slithers on the beach :lol:

 

[Serpentor]

she goes into a strike pose even if i just walk past her tank.

Is her tank situated in an area with heavy house traffic? do you walk past it often during the day? If so, put it somewhere that you have to deliberately go to in order to see it. The more movement this snake senses, the more it will freak out

even though she is in a much better place then a little plastic tub!

Better? Plastic tubs can be far superior than big enclosures. How big is the snake compared to the enclosure? if the space is too big for it, this is very likely the reason it's freaking out. For a 7 month old spotted, even a 10L container is probably too big. I would go a 7L sistema tub, try it out with just a newspaper substrate, simple hide that is small enough for it to squeeze against on the inside, and a water bowl. If your snake is freaking out this much on the 4th day, it's likely too stressed to feed, so having a stress free snake is much more important than a flashy enclosure which isn't doing the job.

I do understand that she is not a toy, I dont intend to 'play' with her but i dont want her to be attacking me when I open the door to clean up after her or to take her out to feed her etc.

Got news for you, if you want her to stop striking at you, you're gonna have to start handling her often. 'playing' with her per se. She has to slowly get used to human contact, and human proximity. If all you are opening up her enclosure for is to feed her and clean her, then of course she is going to strike. She either expects food, or contact that she isn't used to.

 

[dickyknee]

Personality test ....makes you wonder where this hobby is heading when "some" pet shops are so stupid .

 

[Serpentor]

oh, and in regards to personality test? What a load of rubbish. Snakes are the embodiment of pure instinct; if it's stressful, strike...if it smells like food, strike. That's it. There's no other reason for it. It does not 'hate' you or anybody. It is either scared or hungry.

This snake has just had its situation drastically changed, so of course it is stressed. The best thing you can do is put it in ideal conditions, such as is described in my post above, and leave it alone for a week or two. Don't even look at it more than once a day, and when you do, make sure the snake doesn't know you are there

 

[ShepQLD]

ok I am well and truely convinced now. I will put her in a smaller container and I will also make her a new SMALLER tank lol. Obviously bigger is not better in the case of a snake. I completly agree with you in regards to the personality test serp, I couldnt believe when they said that. I think its a combination of stress and hunger since they also told me to be feeding her one pinkie every ten days. She is seven months old! Poor little girl must be starving as well as stressed out. Im going to feed her again this afternoon and then put her in a smaller tank and leave her alone for at least a week.

 

[discomat]

I'd say he is still just wary of that albino drop bear getting around. prob still got him spooked.....

 

[amy5189]

my 18 month old spotted is two foot long and in a 30L tub. He is very happy and healthy, friendly etc.
Also my 7 month old Spotted from Lewy on this site is eating 2 fuzzy mice per feed or a bigger mouse depending on how big your snake is.
but a pinky mouse every 10 days is not enough i would say

 

[Serpentor]

ok I am well and truely convinced now. I will put her in a smaller container and I will also make her a new SMALLER tank lol. Obviously bigger is not better in the case of a snake. I completly agree with you in regards to the personality test serp, I couldnt believe when they said that. I think its a combination of stress and hunger since they also told me to be feeding her one pinkie every ten days. She is seven months old! Poor little girl must be starving as well as stressed out. Im going to feed her again this afternoon and then put her in a smaller tank and leave her alone for at least a week.

Excellent!

It's great to see someone cares about their snake enough to take advice and utilise it!

Keep us updated. After the first two weeks in ideal situations, any striking can be put down to stress of human proximity, and not 'settling in' stress. This is when the fun begins, because you have to suck it up and take a couple of strikes, handling once a day or two days. I've found that even with our most vicious Spotteds, when I took the time each day to handle them and let them get used to coiling around hands and arms, they were big softies after about 2-3 weeks. Surprisingly enough, my baby olive responded even quicker from handling.

in regards to feeding, I would feed once a week at this age. 10 days would be ok, but I find is better for snakes heading to adulthood and adults. Also, if you don't want her to strike when you get her from her enclosure, put her in her own 'feeding tub' before you give her any food, so she doesn't associate the tub opening with getting fed. how big is she compared to a pinky? If she can handle fuzzies, I would get her onto them soon. As long as the food item isn't more than twice the size of your girl at her fattest point, she'll be fine.

 

[ShepQLD]

she is roughly 60cm long. Im sure she should be getting more then what they have been giving her. I gave her my first feed three days ago and she wolfed it down, but when I looked at the lump in her belly my insticts told me she probably should have had at least two pinkies, it was a very small lump compared to her length. On her records it showed she was given one pinkie two days in a row for her last feed but the manager told me they had made a mistake and I should wait longer before feeding her again. Personally i think whoever fed her had more sense then the manager after researching feeds and the advice i have been given on here. So I will give her another pinkie this afternoon to top her up. She has got quite a small head but a long body, the pinkies look a little bigger then her head, I have a photo of her in the smaller tank I have, I will attach it so you can see what i mean.

 

[pythons73]

Once she settles and feeds constantly try handling for 5-10minutes every few days,BUT not for 2-3 days after a feed.Remember snakes DONT like to be handled,they just tolerate it.I also hope you have a couple hides in the cage,one up each end.As already suggested maybe feed she a bigger food item and only feed her every 7-10 days,So your feeding her pinky mice or rats,wouldnt she be able to eat a fuzzy mice at this stage,correct me if im wrong as ive never had any Antaresias,but being roughly 60cm im certain she could eat bigger than a pinky mice if thats what she is currently eating,best of luck and i hope she settles for you,just be patient,it can take some time,it could only take a few weeks...

 

[Serpentor]

I reckon she should be on fuzzies at least. It is better to feed with something that has a bit of hair, and though it's hard to judge her size by that pic (maybe put something near her for size comparison) I reckon she can definitely take something bigger.

 

[Serpentor]

in response to pythons73, I agree, but I don't think she's 60cm by looking at that pic. a 60cm spotted should be on at least adult mice.

 

[ShepQLD]

ok this pic was taken about ten minutes after I got her home, there is now hides everywhere and the actual inside of that big tank looks alot different now to what it does in this pic, but keep in mind that the actual tank is 1200 x 1200 (approx) and you cant see all of her body (sorry) its the closest I can get at this stage to a photo trying to show how big she is, hope this helps :S by the way, I did change her little tank to having the same substrate as the big tank with a hide in it also.

 

[JAS101]

lol its ok I dont need much encouragement really, right now I am looking up frogs as I built a tank years ago but failed at every attempt to get hold of any frogs!! (wasnt looking in the right places!) Im also researching bulding an outdoor bluey enclosure and Ive fallen in love with a python Ive just seen on a thread on here lol. but Ive sworn to myself no more snakes till I am confident handling Eve.... then again Ive also just read a huge thread saying that you CAN keep two snakes together as long as they are the same species and the same size so another spotted could be joining my family at some stage as well lmao

frogs aye , i have 4 green tree frogs lol .. im an addict.

 

[Serpentor]

Thanks Shep, that photo is a bit more helpful. You thinking of getting any other snakes? cause I'd be inclined to say that the enclosure would be too big for it, even when it hits adulthood

Nice and tall, perfect for a GTP or something

By the looks of her size, she can take either fuzzy rats, or small adult mice.

 

[ShepQLD]

My thinking is that this weekend I am going to convert a 5 ft aquarium that will hold her smaller tank and keep her heated while i put a divider in the middle of the exsisting tank which will mean I will be able to have one on the bottom and one on the top. Im going to change it so it has two sets of sliding doors top and bottom and all sorts, might take me awhile but the end result will be a tank that can house two snakes. I was thinking of perhaps getting a male spotted with views to breeding at some stage in the distant future although there are a few other breeds I have seen that I love the look of. At the risk of looking stupid... what is a GTP? lol Im just about to look it up, I cant remember the name of the one I saw that really jumped out of me. Im starting to think that snakes are a bit like tattoo's in the fact that its really hard to stop at one! lol
As for Eve, I have fed her another pinkie this afternoon (she had one three days ago) and put her back in her smaller tank AND covered the side which faces outwards. she didnt actualy strike at me when I got her out with the hook although she did 'strike a pose' if you know what I mean lol but didnt follow through with the threat. I will give her some space, some time and alot of patience and in the meantime create a more suitable habitat for her... and her future friend lol