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am i just a coward?

chiemi_chan

chiemi_chan

New member
i've had avery, my baby anery, for a little over a week now. when i first held him in the store, he was very calm. i tried to handle him the day after bringing him home, and he bit me. after receiving (much appreciated) advice from you all, i left him alone to adjust to his new home. he fed sucessfully this past weekend. now, i would like to attempt to hold him again!

how can i best gain his trust? do i need to break him in- that is to say, should i start off with just putting my hand near him and work my way up to holding? or should i just get in there and pick him up?

here's my other problem. after being bitten last week, i feel apprehensive about trying to pick him up. i know that his bite will not harm me, nor will it cause any pain; however, i still feel freaked out. it is not that i'm scared of snakes. if i was, i would not have chosen one as a pet. i've handled my friends' corn snakes and ball pythons on a regular basis without fear. but for some reason, my little guy is tripping me out. i guess what i'm asking is, can anybody else sympathize with my situation? if so, how did you get over your nervousness?

thanks in advance!
 
I think it's less stressful for you and the snake to just pick him/her up as quickly as possible. If you have to chase him around the tank, the snake will just get that more stressed.
 
what ive noticed is that they dont like being pinched. If possible try and scoop him up rather than grab him.(this may be hard) also they dont like it if you try to pick them up right in front of their face. try and go from behind their head. When you pick him up, expect him to freak out and squirm all over the place, its perfectly normal, just keep holding on. One last thing is that animals can sense fear( because we let of some sort of scent) so just relax, nothing really bad is going to happen.

Some people suggest holding him inside of his enclosure for a bit, then work your way out of the tank, just so they feel more comfortable
 
chiemi_chan said:
how can i best gain his trust? do i need to break him in- that is to say, should i start off with just putting my hand near him and work my way up to holding? or should i just get in there and pick him up?
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I just reach in and scoop them up. If they're stretched out, I try to pick them up closer to the head, but anywhere in the middle third seems fine. I prefer lifting the hide and picking them up in a bundle. I don't try to disguise my intentions, just reach in. I like to let them crawl through my fingers from hand to hand. They think they are making progress, but they aren't actually getting anywhere. Sooner or later they realize they've passed that same knuckle a few times and slow down. :) One hint I'd like to stress: Don't back down! If it rattles its tail or strikes at you, don't pull back. You don't want your snake to learn that it can intimidate you or it will keep trying to do so. The sooner it figures out that you're not going anywhere, no matter how huffy it gets, the more relaxed you'll both be. The more confident you are in handling it, the more confident it will become that being handled is safe.
 
i had the same thing happen when I brought Terra home. She bit me the day after i brought her home while i was changing her water and i was apprehensive about holding her it even made me nervous to hold my BP but after a week and two days(the 2 days were to digest her first meal with me) i picked her up and started handling her she struggled a bit and struck once but calmed down and went about weaving through my fingers...she's even better now that I've had her over 2 months she still wont stay still for more then a couple seconds but she's a lot calmer now.

So just pick him up from his tank and start holding him and maybe do what Derek54 said hold him inside his tank for a bit before you hold him elsewhere.
 
The advice everyone else has given is very good, all I can really add is that it usually take some time for both you and the snake to get used to each other.

I've been bit so many times that it doesn't bother me as much as it did the first time I was bitten. I do get nervous sometimes still though, especially with the bigger snakes because they bite harder. What I find works best is:

1) Washing my hands just before handling my rowdier snakes to make sure I don't smell like food or like an enemy (if I've been petting the cat or dog)

2) No hesitation. Even if I am feeling abit uncertain of the snakes mood, I don't hesitate once my hand is inside the cage - I just pick them up and get it over with.

3) If you do get bit again, don't put the snake back right away. This will only teach him/her that if it bites you, you will leave it alone. Keep holding the snake until it clams down - only then should you put it back. Positive reinforcement of a sorts.

Eventually, the snake will calm down and will begin to trust you. It may even learn to recognize you and willingly come to you when you open the cage - some of my older ones do for me, they crawl right out of their cage/hide and into my hand so I can pick them up. Patience plays a big part of it though, because it can take time - any where from a few weeks, to a few months, to a few years depending on the snake, it's age, and how often you handle it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Jenn
 
My thoughts:

- wear gloves, a light pair of cotton gloves. ( this issue is discussed on here more than once... some people agree, some people don't. Me personally, I would rather wear gloves than chance ripping the snake's teeth out if it startles me enough that I jerk away )

- I let the snake come out of its container on it's own. I don't reach in a pick up lil ones. I find that when you reach in, it scares them. If they come out on their own will, and slide onto your hand, then hold them gentley about midbody. If you grab too close to the head, they can get aggitated, same with the tail.
 
What I do with my hatchling colubrids when they are real young is just pick them up without hesitation. If you pause, even for a second, that will give them a chance to think about tagging you. It will not hurt, so don't worry, but you must pick it up if you don't want it to bite later on. :)
 
As it has already been said...just reach in and pick him up. Hatchlings are generally a bit more "flightly" when picked up, but they soon get over it.
 
jaxom1957 said:
I just reach in and scoop them up. If they're stretched out, I try to pick them up closer to the head, but anywhere in the middle third seems fine. I prefer lifting the hide and picking them up in a bundle. I don't try to disguise my intentions, just reach in.
Click to expand...
If my 'wild girl' is cruzing her viv, she's more defensive and goes spastic when I try to pick her up. When they're under their hides there's a good chance they are snoozing and can be in your hand before they realize what's happening.
 
dwyn127 said:
If my 'wild girl' is cruzing her viv, she's more defensive and goes spastic when I try to pick her up. When they're under their hides there's a good chance they are snoozing and can be in your hand before they realize what's happening.
Click to expand...
They all seem to go spastic at first, don't they? If they think going spastic will stop you from trying to pick them up, they'll keep doing it. If you pick them up anyway, they eventually quit reacting that way.
 
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