Really need help

[mwu30]

I bought a black and gold jungle python today from a breeder, but I found this python is very aggressive, there is no way to handle it, can't even close to it. He is like trying to bite u all the time, what can to do to get close to it?

 

[longqi]

It is NOT aggressive
It is either defensive or hungry

How old is it?
What size is it?
What is it housed in?
What are the temps etc?
Is it striking with open mouth but not trying to latch on?
Is it biting and holding on?

If you answer those questions we can offer relevant advice

 

[mwu30]

It's 10 moths old
It's 50cm length
it's in a regular normal sized container
the temp is 26~30
It is biting but doesn't hold on,
thanks for that

 

[sd1981]

If you've only just purchased it, I'd say to give it a week or so to settle into its new home before trying to handle it or offer it food. It sounds like its stressed and is acting in a defensive manner (biting and letting go).

 

[mwu30]

Yeah this is also the only thing I can do, just wait until he settle down

 

[Woma_Wild]

Do as suggested above - let him settle in but I'd say call the breeder and have a chat with him to ensure that you are doing things correctly for your python. Find out when he is due for a feed and leave him be until then. And don't handle him for a few days after a feed.
Some young ones can be a little snappy but tend to grow out of it.

good luck with your new baby and don't stress.

 

[longqi]

It's 10 moths old
It's 50cm length
it's in a regular normal sized container
the temp is 26~30
It is biting but doesn't hold on,
thanks for that

ok so its not a hatchling
normal sized container actually tells us nothing
is there a place for it to climb?
is there a place for it to hide?

it has probably never been handled before so its scared
not holding on means its scared
it wants you to leave it alone
so let it settle in for a week or so as already suggested
preferably get a feed into it and let it it poo before you try again

jungles can be a bit tricky
right now it is frightened
what you need to do is get it to trust you
trying to grab it when its scared only makes things worse

most snakes of any species can be tamed
but some can never be tamed
GENTLE handling is the trick to getting them to trust you

one way that works well for me is this method
get a light cloth like a pillow case or tea towel
cover your hand with this loose cloth
slide your hand gently under the snake
lift it gently out of the box
dont try to grip the snake
just support it
sometimes the snake will curl up and just sit there
those ones are easy now
dont try to touch it
let it just sit there and understand that you are no danger
when its ready it will start looking around [this may happen the first time or after 10 times; every snake is different]
then it will explore the new surroundings
you are its tree and so long as you dont present any danger it will slowly learn to trust you

sometimes they want to get away
if it wants to get away put it back in the box
with these ones a pillow case works better
pick it up gently
turn pillowcase inside out with snake inside
sit pillowcase in your lap
watch tv or play computer for a while
let it get used to your smell and the fact that you are no danger
eventually it will poke its head out and check you out [first time or maybe 10th time]

 

[mwu30]

Thank u very much longqi, But why its not a hatchling?
I have the thing to hide and the thing to climb and water bowl for him.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks : )

 

[disintegratus]

Sorry to hijack a little, but Longqi, would you suggest anything being done differently for a snake that does seem actively aggressive, as in deliberately seeking out bare flesh then latching on every time?

 

[longqi]

mwu
hatchling would be used to describe a young snake only a few weeks old
at 10 months yours would be past the hatchling stage

disintergratus
there are really only 2 types of bites from morelias
[there is one other type but it is probably not applicable in these cases]

Defence bites are tagging with an open mouth to say 'please leave me alone'

Hunger bites are when they bite, latch on, and wrap
If it is latching on it is hungry

Bang some extra food into for a few feeds and it should be fine

Other bite is rare tricky and sneaky
Snake sniffs around then slowly opens its mouth and bites
Then chews for a few seconds and lets go

In every case I have seen this happen juvenile snakes of another species had just been handled
Heard of this bite 3 times in carpets but several times from womas bhps and waters

 

[Pythoninfinite]

The info provided so far is useful, however, there seems to be a lot of first-time keepers going for Jungle Pythons these days. This is probably the least suitable Carpet to select if you want a "handler," some will be fine, but many are snappy and remain so for all their lives. In my opinion, Jungle Carpets are a look & admire snake, with rare exceptions. I would never recommend a Jungle to someone who wants a "pet" they can handle reliably.

Yes they are beautiful, and they are easy to keep, but they come with a genetic legacy - many of them just don't like people very much at all.

Jamie

 

[smileysnake]

Pythoninfinite, very well said, i had this issue aswell,i wanted a jungle as my first snake because they are great looking snakes.However when i chose a breeder to buy off he told me straight up NO i will not sell you a jungle as your first snake,5 questions asked and answered so i agreed to a bredli,i am so happy i listened to him,(luke at Shiresnakes), even now almost 18 months later i still would not be confident with a jungle.....i have a hypo bredli who is 8 months old and is still snappy,work in progress,and now i have a hypo bredli jag, have had him 3 weeks now and he is already settling down..now i dont want to get shot for this but would it make sense to say if a breeder does'nt have time to handle hatchlings this will give you a snappy snake, who will just take longer to calm down i bought my hypo when he was almost 6 months old so no handling for 6 months,and was told by breeder he feeds his hatchlings every 2-3 days, does this make a snappy snake ?..sorry for the ramble...

 

[andynic07]

mwu
hatchling would be used to describe a young snake only a few weeks old
at 10 months yours would be past the hatchling stage

disintergratus
there are really only 2 types of bites from morelias
[there is one other type but it is probably not applicable in these cases]

Defence bites are tagging with an open mouth to say 'please leave me alone'

Hunger bites are when they bite, latch on, and wrap
If it is latching on it is hungry

Bang some extra food into for a few feeds and it should be fine

Other bite is rare tricky and sneaky
Snake sniffs around then slowly opens its mouth and bites
Then chews for a few seconds and lets go

In every case I have seen this happen juvenile snakes of another species had just been handled
Heard of this bite 3 times in carpets but several times from womas bhps and waters

Just a quick question about the third type of bite, my woma has done that one and I put it down to hunger are you saying it is not hunger as such but more just because there was a nice smell?

 

[longqi]

Just a quick question about the third type of bite, my woma has done that one and I put it down to hunger are you saying it is not hunger as such but more just because there was a nice smell?

I am not sure what to call that bite
Because they dont wrap and usually let go after a short time it is not really a feeding bite??
But because it is associated with the scent of possible prey it is a feeding response of a slightly different kind??

 

[disintegratus]

That's annoying. It's my younger olive that does it, he gets fed at least weekly (which is more often than all the other ones, he's near on 6 foot now), usually enough to make him look like he's swallowed a basketball. there's no way he's hungry, I think maybe he just likes the taste of blood. it doesn't seem to matter what I've been handling, I even tried wiping my arms down with alcohol wipes immediately before handling him. Hmmm, maybe it's not the blood, maybe he became an alcoholic.

 

[Umbral]

I'm confused about that type of bite too. My woma who had not bitten me before or since decided to bevy slowly open her mouth, turn her head side ways and latch on. It was almost comical, there was no aggression and wasn't a food strike. I just thought she may have been unsure what my finger was and carefully latched on out of curiosity.

 

[RedFox]

Slightly off topic but...My adult woma doesn't mind trying of the sneaky bite. He will buroow his face into me and then very, very slowly start to open his mouth. He hasn't actually gotten me yet with it as like I said it is extremely slow and very obvious.

It normally happens a few minutes into handling and used to freak me out. He is fine as soon as I move his head away will happily spend half an hour or so cruizing around with no sign of biting. I have no idea why he does it.

He is also a 'cuddler' and will happily constrict my hand for 10 or so minutes before letting go. When he does this he never shows any sign of biting and normally sits on my lap afterwards. Big question marks on that. I swear I could write a book on all the strange things he does. Whereas my others all seem to have normal snake behaviour.

Now on topic, OP I recently started handling one of my new little snakes around 9month old, I think. She is a little psycho but I have had good results using Longqi's pillow case method.

I hook her out and let her climb into the pillow case herself then sit it on my lap, while I'm on my lap top.

 

[mwu30]

Thanks guys really helped me

 

[RedFox]

Forgot to add give it a week and a feed a few days before you start handling.

 

[kamandakill]

I am not sure what to call that bite
Because they dont wrap and usually let go after a short time it is not really a feeding bite??
But because it is associated with the scent of possible prey it is a feeding response of a slightly different kind??

My south west carpet has "fed" with this type of bite many times. I use the "" because often when she's come at the prey with this approach she doesn't end up eating it but just chews it for awhile, let's it go and wanders off. Does anybody else's snake do this? She just noses up to it, sniffs it a little, licks it, sometimes slides over/around it for awhile then slowly opens her mouth and takes a bite, has a few chews and lets it go again. She will do this once/twice/three times then either wander off completely disinterested or slowly take it (VERY slowly) like she doesn't really want it. Is this normal? This is the only snake I've ever had so i have nothing to compare her to