I am not food

[loneil]

I have a little two year old jungle who has always been snappy. Lately she has taken to biting and constricting me. My others are all placid and nothing like her. Mind you, she is my favourite. She doesnt hesitate, strikes and immediately constricts. She will eventually give up trying to swallow my hand and will let go with her teeth but any effort to untangle her body will result in another bite if not careful. She doesnt get fed in her tank. She is fed quails and rats. She actually takes ages to strike her prey. Strikes and constricts slowly. But when she strikes and constricts me, totally different, she is fast. She much prefers to eat me, no hesitation there. At this stage her bites are bloody but not very painful. That will change as she grows. I would like to get her out of this, any tips???

 

[Shotta]

how big are the quails and rats? sounds like a feeding response bite, also how long have you had it for?.
you could use a hook to get gim out and put a pillow case over your hands and rest the snake on that over time he should calm down but then again there are some nutters lol hope this helps

 

[HarleyD]

I'd agree with nilesh, if your giving it big fist size meals it's more than likely just taggin' your hands due to heat signature but MUCH harder due to your over all mass as a human. Maybe you've been a little too generous with your feedings ? As i have seen the odd snake here and there get a little bit ''entitled'' accordingly and develop that sort of behaviour.
Brian from snake bytes actually done a wicked test on feeding box's vs feeding in the terrarium, Turned out the specimens fed outside of their terrariums got incredibly snappy and entitled. And the others were super docile. ..Anyways food for thought! =)

HD.

 

[KristianG]

Is it possible she does this because whenever you remove her from her enclosure that she is going to get fed? I always feed my snakes in their enclosure so they don't develop this habit

 

[loneil]

To reply to all. She is usually hard to feed. Takes ages to strike. Just responds to my hand fast. In fact, she is more interested in my hand than the prey. The prey is warm too, so it isnt that her prey is colder than my hand. She has settled a great deal. When I got her she couldn't be held without biting continously. I handle her a couple of minutes a day usually. Personally I'm not sure there is a difference; one school of thought is that they bite if you feed them in the tank because they associate your hand coming in the tank with feeding. The other, they bite if you get them out to feed. I think it depends on the nature of that individual. They all differ.

 

[RedFox]

How big is the snake and how big is the prey? Sound like a feeding response. Maybe consider upping the prey size/amount.

 

[NicG]

Some snakes are just like that. All of my Diamond Pythons are ridiculously placid, except for one that is nearly always in feeding mode. It's not an appetite thing because he'll keep eating to the point at which he has to regurgitate food. It's completely obviously when he's 'in the zone' because I can feel how tense his body is when he's holding onto my hand, and from then, it's only a matter of time before he decides to bite and wrap the rest of his body.

 

[loneil]

She is definitely getting fed well. I tend to give larger sized prey anyway. If I feed her anything larger she will regurgitate. If fed more frequently I will have issues with obesity. She is already well padded. She is extremely active, only ever in a hide after feeding. She patrols the tank, as my son puts it. She is very tense and very muscular in comparrision to my others. The others are placid and slow. She is very alert and fast. She comes looking if I open the tank from where ever she is hiding to have a bite. It doesnt bother me that much but I'd rather she didnt. I do like her unpredictable nature. Today I am sporting more punctures and bruising from her. I am hoping it is an age thing and she will settle.