timid male jungle

[maxiss]

hi guys, new to this forum and had a few questions to ask. I just bought my first snake, a 3 year old male jungle python. he is about one and a half meters long. he had a branch in his enclosure which he loves but i took it out and put it in the lounge for him to sit on when he is out being handled, as he was too hard to get out with it in with him. should i put it back or is he ok withou it? they are tree dwelling after all.

he is very timid, he doesnt mind being picked up or handled, but is very nervous, doesnt like being patted or stroked. and anything near his head and he takes off. i was holding him yesterday, when my girlfriend walked past, (he was at her eye level) he struck at her, but was just out of range.

she is now hesitant to handle the snake, and thinks jungles might be temperamental.

is this normal behavior for theses snakes? we brought him off a breeder and he hasnt been handled alot, will he get better with being touched as we get him out more? he seems to be very placid but timid.

any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated

thanks

 

[bongie555]

hey maxiss and welcome....mate i dont have a jungle yet, i will do come saturday but from what i gather they tend to be a bitey snake 'in general'. probably not the best first snake to buy but with patience and a little persistence he may come a round. jungles tend to be the 'prima donnas' of aussie snakes, all the nice bright colours and the attitude to go with it, it think the colours are mainly to warn predators to back off, hence the aggression.might have been better to get a bredli or something else or at least a hatchling at least the teeth would have been smaller.

 

[Jazza369]

yer jungle are very temperamental but say ur self lucky i have a jungle that i cant even hold with out being bite 100s of time and he is a yearing i have had him for about 1 year and held him at least 2 time a week and still not luck get him use to me he still bite and trys to kill me but not all jungle are like him

 

[pythons73]

Remember no snakes like to be handled,some will tolerate being handled.You also said he hasnt been handled alot,which could explain it.It is normal behavior for any snake,some snakes are just like that no matter how much thereve been handled in the past..

 

[DANIEL619]

yer dont touch his head because snakes are sensative around his head jungles can be aggresive:evil: