Olive python nuzzle bites

[Starbuck]

Hey brains trust, just wondering if anyone else has had this experience with their olive python, and whether it stops as they get older.
He's about a year and a bit old, cage defensive but otherwise a good handler, quite placid and mostly calm, has his days though.
Lately when he's being handled, he'll be calmly exploring, then start tongue flicking a spot on my arm, then nuzzle it, then slowly open his jaws and bite down.
Most of the time I've got enough time to get my arm out the way. It's not an aggressive response, it's almost like he's confused about whether my arm is food or not, and decides he'll give it a go.
This has been directly after a shower too so there's been no odd smells on me.

 

[alexbee]

My bredli does the same - its my least favourite snake and he is 7 years old

 

[LilithLeChat]

My 4 year old female Bredli did it to me on the first day after I got her. She was 3.5 then and never handled, so I assumed that’s why. She was quite calm and inquisitive until the moment she struck and latched on my knockles and wrapped around my wrist, and wouldn’t let go.
With her I thought it’s because the only time her enclosure was opened, it was to be fed but it looks like there might be other reasons for such behaviour?

 

[Barry]

My experience was similar with a female T+albino , nudged , tongue flicked, then gently mouthed my thumb, thought it was very cute until the blood was running down my wrist, didn’t feel pain or get the shock response to a strike, just gentle pressure, we sat like that for half hour b4 she worked out she couldn’t eat my thumb . Solution to problem I can’t help you with, but remembering now is funny as,thank you.

 

[GBWhite]

I've got a big Olive that was given to me as a hatchling just on 17 years ago and is now bordering on 4 metres. She's always been a very easy snake to handle but in the last 6 months she has done this twice. The first time to my wife when she was just cruising around her arms and for no apparent reason latched onto her hand. No strike, no aggression just opened her mouth and latched on. Then about a month ago she did almost the exact things when my son was holding her but this time nailed him just below his left elbow.

 

[nick_75]

Hi Starbuck,

It's a standard food response and there is nothing you can do. It happens because you are warm blooded and have an interesting sent which triggers a food response. Be thankful that is an exploratory bite and not a full blown predatory strike and bite. My brother had a large olive python who displayed this behaviour from hatchling to adult age. We tended to cover our whole arms with something to make our sent less interesting when handling but that didn't always work.

It is something you have to deal with, I hope you can avoid the bite for as long as possible as it is not a fun experience. I received a few bites from my brother's olive through the years, olives are powerful animals but like Australian pythons they have relatively small teeth. You will bleed a lot but have no lasting damage.

Continue with your vigilance when handling and you should be fine.

Cheers,
Nick

 

[dragonlover1]

We have about a dozen pythons and this has happened twice in the last 6 years or so. No aggression just a slow chomp down, once was a stimmy biting another stimmy. Once again I have no answer,it just happened ?????