Need help with very agressive snakes

[Pythons Rule]

thanx guys yeah I'll go by a hook tomorrow, but they are also agressive when out of the enclosure. I was thinking of making an excersize branch for outside or inside the house so they got something to climb on. would this calm them down a notch.

I'd like to build an outside enclosure for the big girl but I don't think my husband will aprove which sucks.

hmm I'll just stick to cooling the room with aircon and using the hook with someone here to help me out.

cheers for all your help

 

[DA_GRIZ]

i dunno if this would help at all or not, but my dads mates son got a very snappy coastal off a friend once so he use to take it out the back and put it on the grass and just let it slide through his hands, and now its dog tame.

 

[birdNherps]

Hi i had a very aggressive carpet and she was a guts i would have to get her out and hook handle her till she calmed down and got the message that there was no food on offer. i feed my snakes in their tank cause there is no way i'm am going to have my hand mistaken for food even my most friendliest snakes will strike at me through the tank if i go near them at night, so the nasty snakes get feed by tongs so they dont get my sent on the food and get fed at night, over time they know that if i go into the tank in the day time its not to feed them.
i guess the best tip is to try to find what is scaring the snakes as a bite is a defence act if you can take away the thret then maybe they will settle. maybe they are ill or their sleep is being interupted to much or they have mites. but i dont think breeding has anything to do with the mood swing
but then again some snakes are just nasty

 

[Pythons Rule]

The reason I said breeding was the case for medusa's mood change was cause before I bred her she was just abit flighty but didn't bite me all the time I could open the enclosure and clean her cage without her getting defensive. I could take her out and handle her and stroke her etc and she was ok with that. but as soon as she started showing signs of almost going to drop the eggs she was more and more agressive which is understandable, she layed them and I took them off of her and she's has been the same since then very agressive towards me. I can't open the enclosure with out her lunging at me, cant walk past and stand near the enclosure and even when she is out of it she's tenses up and strangles the life out of my arms. she raised right up nearly eye to eye a few months back and in a threatening stance as if she was going to bit me on the face. I really do think it was caused from last breeding season once I took her eggs. she has never been the same. its not mite's, she's perfectly well took her to the vets few weeks back, she sleeps all the time.

when she's on the grass she is agressive when I go to pick her up to take her back in side.

 

[matt86]

Hey,

There seem to be a lot of mixed opinions out there in the hobby...
Some people will talk about 'aggressive' snakes, and others will tell you that there is no such thing as an aggressive snake; that they are simply reacting to environmental triggers, and that it is defensive.

My first snake was a coastal. I got him at 6 months old, and have had him ever since. He has never bitten / never even struck, despite all of the nerves and uncertainty that goes with owning your first snake!

Next I got a pair of Darwin Carpets, about 8 months old at the time. The male is the most placid snake I've ever seen (has never bitten/struck just like the coastal, but seems extremely comfortable with handling) and the female is a terror! In the enclosure, out of the enclosure, on the floor, in the hand... a terror! She has improved dramatically with size and handling. She still coils in preparation for strike when I go near the enclosure... You almost have to fool her into forgetting she's being handled... With hook handling, a lot of patience, and gradual introduction to free handling, she is at the point where I can handle her out of the enclosure... but I don't even think about it inside the enclosure... and she's very jumpy when first touched by the hook.

I also have a six year old pair of Darwins... The male is about 5 kilo (he's on a bit of a diet also) and is an impressive sight! He has such a placid temperament, and the female is fairly similair, just a bit flighty.

The challenge is... when they're small, you can cop a bunch of bites and chalk it up to 'conditioning.' When they are the size you're dealing with... it's preferable to avoid those bites! They might have to become 'look don't touch' specimens if they don't snap out of it... and JMO, but I think an enclosure of Medusa's size is too small for her size... I think she should be in something at least 1800 x 600 x 600... Again, just my opinion.

 

[Pythons Rule]

I will be building her and outside bird averie in a year's time I cant have her in something any bigger wile in the house I'm in at the moment due to no room and she is able to move freely around the enclosure she's in. the biggies will be upgraded when I move.

update I have been dealing with them accordingly medusa is not so cage deffensive, she seems to calm down during gravidness and wants to be stroked, gets more defensive latter stages of breeding (just about to drop) very defensive with her eggs which is normal. calms down about May/June every year when I start cooling. I have labled them "LOOK BUT DONT TOUCH" animals. Arkillis he's just a monster and not much I can do seeing he is 8 years and never been handled before I hought him. Kronos I am handling him more and more he's just a lil stiff and unsure. same as Calypso. thanx for all your advise previously.

 

[Troyster]

You could possibly try carefully opening the enclosure while she is queit and placing a pillow case or something similar over the top of her and leaving her covered for a while.Then once she appears to have calmed down a bit try to remove her from her enclosure.
Im offering this advice with the theory of if she cant see you she MAY not fire up as much as if she can see you which raises the stress levels?
Who knows though i guess its an option and trial and error.