mistaken identity

[Wench]

My 8 month spotted for the past week has been mistaking my FINGERS as food.
i'll get him outta the click clack, hes usually fine but lately he'll be fine for say 2 minutes then start nuzzling my hand then open his mouth slowly and try to eat any part of my hand he can latch himself onto. a minute ago he got my finger and wrapped himself around it and refused to let go hehe.
hes already eaten 2 pinky rats this week so he shldn't still be hungry, i wash my hands with antibacterial stuff before i hold him every time so the smell of my hands hasn't changed in the past week
this is the 3rd time hes done it though when i try to hold him.
thing is though, someone else held him on friday and he didn't do it to her so im thinking its something im doing..i just dont know what.


baby snake bites are bloody itchy though..grr

 

[Jewly]

awww that's so cute.

Wish my new little bredli would do that instead of looking like he wants to violently attack me every time I try and go near him.

 

[mckellar007]

sounds like my water, shes gotten really good over the past months, but all of a sudden my fingers look like a 3 course meal. starts to swallow them then realises she cant, gives up and tries the next one.

 

[euphorion]

hes just a freak. get it? justa? jasta? soz, had to say it. no ideas over here though soz

 

[Wench]

lol thanks shoo
i dunno *** his problem is.
funny thing is that even when i move his head away, he'll do it again and again till i hook him off my hand and put him down.
hes evil.
im not scared of him or nething nemore, so its not that.. i just dont fancy having to pry him off my hands everytime i hold him lol. and today wasn't even a "get him used to be being held" hold.
it was a "he did a poop and i have to clean out his tub" hold. i even feed him in a different container now too.
mckellar: any reason u think your water is doing that?
should i maybe feed him more?? coz hes biting and constricting, not just snapping at me... as far as i think hes already eating plenty.

 

[Chris89]

If you were feeding him in the click clack that he lives in, he might be associating everything entering the click clack as food. Now that you've started feeding him in a seperate container he might change.

 

[Wench]

ive been feeding him in a different container for a few feeds now and hes only just started tryin to eat me this week.
ah well hes not striking at me so it doesn't bother me so much..just...slowly nuzzling then eating me.
eh got me stumped.
maybe i just taste good

 

[wokka]

Perhaps by feeding him in a seperate container you have conditioned him to think every time you take him out of the cage its feed time. There is no need to feed in a seperate container!

 

[Wench]

lol b4 i was feeding him in the same container he would snap at me everytime i went in there
i cant win!!!
he was so good for like 2 weeks ahhaa...not one bite and he was so calm.
...grr

 

[Chris89]

Is he coming up for a shed? I know that my MD who is generally placid gets snappy when he's in the shedding cycle.

 

[andyscott]

I was having the same trouble with 2 of my Woma Hatchlings. Constantly tasting every finger. Work out one finger isnt food and move to the next.

What Ive found is that they dont like the taste of the F10 hand wipes (much like a refresher tow).
After Ive wiped my hands with them, my Womas seem to lick and sniff and turn away.

 

[Wench]

if i use them tho he wont turn around and get nasty at me and strike or nethin if i use something that he doesn't like???

 

[andyscott]

if i use them tho he wont turn around and get nasty at me and strike or nethin if i use something that he doesn't like???

No it wont make them aggressive.
We all have our own smell, much like any other animal. When a hatchling is showing a food responce to your hand, Its just smelling your natural sent and thinking I will try that.
(Im not saying you stink) LMAO.

All the F10 wipes do, is cover your sent and remove the hatchlings food responce to your hand.
It seems to be working for me, so far.

Another why of looking at it is, if you handle its food, your sent is on what it eats.
So when you handle it , it smells you and goes yummy.
Thats more than likely why it didnt taste your friend.

 

[Wench]

actually that would...probably explain a lot. lol
i didn't even think of that
i grab the pinky outta the lil bag and wiggle it infront of him then drop it down with my hands.. used to use tongs but....the pinky tails kept falling off lol so i found it easier just to use my hands
if i use tongs from now on will he forget my scent as related to food so to speak?

 

[andyscott]

In time he may dis-associate your sent with food but who has time for that?
For example, you start feeding them pinky mice, then move up to rats. They will never forget that the smell of a mouse is food.

If you dont want to get the wipes, change your brand of soap. You just need to change your sent a little. Also when handling its next feed, try not to get your sent on it.

The best thing about this is, that you have a very healthy little python, If it has the confidence to feed on you. Its doing great :lol:

 

[Wench]

lol, it'd be great if he didn't feed on me though
whats funny is how when he starts to bite me ill pull him away.. he stops for a second then does it again and again no matter how much i pull him away.
hes never turned down a feed and would appear he'd love to be fed everyday if he could lol.
hes eating 2 pinky rats a week at the moment (they aren't huge pinky rats b4 neone says its too much)

i dont mind using the wipes, suits me fine coz i wash my hands b4 anyway. will he still be able to smell me thru the wipes though or will it change my hand smell enough that he will not relate it back to the original scent?
i know im asking a lot of questions, i just dont like him tryin to eat me when i handle him, its annoying and i dont wanna hurt him by having to pull him off my fingers all the time.

 

[andyscott]

i dont mind using the wipes, suits me fine coz i wash my hands b4 anyway. will he still be able to smell me thru the wipes though or will it change my hand smell enough that he will not relate it back to the original scent?
i know im asking a lot of questions, i just dont like him tryin to eat me when i handle him, its annoying and i dont wanna hurt him by having to pull him off my fingers all the time.[/quote]

I understand how anoying it can be, as I said I was going through it with 2 Womas, and they are, feed me, feed me, feed me.
There is a few other ways to go, that may be better than the wipes.
There is also a F10 hand gel, use one pump, wipe it all over your hands til it dries. Then wash it off after handling. Detol makes something similar.
Both are safe to use and will mask your sent, Give it a try, it should stop the tasting.
Cheers Andy.