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Elvie Hates Us.

Evol_girl

Evol_girl

New member
Ok... I'm being a little dramatic - and this thread is probably mostly to just B*!th and Moan - but seriously...

Our snake hates us! She's a baby, so I'm giving her a little leniency here knowing that all babies are a little less likely to enjoy their owners... But I read all these threads about peoples snake babies that will crawl over to their hands, that are interested in what they are doing - peeking out to say hi... And Elvie?!? I think she honestly sits in her tank (so hidden that I'm lucky if I catch a glimpse of her EVER) and seethes about her owners. Plotting our demise no doubt. I wish I would've researched that part before buying our first corn! I had everything done and down to a science before picking her out - everything environmentally anyway. I wish I would've done a BIT MORE research on behavior!

We take her out every day (besides feeding and shedding times) for at least 10 minutes even with her hate. I just have this idea that maybe, even if she's never the type of snake to LOVE us, she might at least become indifferent... But as it is - every single time we go in to get her its a chase around the tank, removing the hides she darts into, digging in to the substrate she burrows under... She coils and strikes only very rarely - so it doesn't really have the feel like we are torturing her or terrifying her, which would probably make me stop attempting to get her to like us at all. But it just seems like she would rather gouge out her own snakie eye balls than be around humans.

When I finally get her out and hold her, she's not twitching or biting or hissing... She's not HAPPY, she still would obviously rather get away than be where she is, but she 'puts up' with it until we are done. Then, Wash - Lather - Repeat the next day.

I absolutely love her, which might be adding to the problem. I devote WAY more time and energy into her happiness and comfort and am probably just disappointed when she still loathes me afterwards. But come on!!

Does anyone else have just a anti-human snake? Has anyone had one like this as a baby that grows up and becomes a WEE BIT more social?!?
 
Thanks Nanci! I've actually read that - and yeah, it does help a little because I know other people have haters too... But... It seems like after a month or two of gentle, calm handling they all end up being "sweethearts"! So either everyone is lying and just saying that because they don't want to admit their snake is still a hater - or Elvie is a very late bloomer!

Its been a couple months now and I've literally seen no difference in her hate towards us! I don't know how old she is to be honest - she's about 18g so still very young. But is there a rough time frame where I can try to hope for her to settle down!?? The "One to two months and they'll be better" has come and gone!

Heck, I'll be happy if I'm told 2 years - I just want to be reassured that SOMEONE out there had a hater that was a hater for an extended period of time and still seemed to come out ok :)
 
There is hope! I've had this little Caramel girl for almost a year now. I've tried handling her like you too, she HATES me I swear. But last week when I got her out to feed her she started to seem OK with me holding her. I'm so happy cause she's so pretty and I just want to hold her and love her. Maybe soon she wont try to bite me
 
I think the best thing to do is just stay consistent. She is probably still in the, "everything is going to eat me" phase. I've worked with a lot of timid/flighty animals and the only thing you can do is be very patient and wait for them to come around. I'm sorry, that probably isn't very helpful lol
 
:) Naw, not exactly 'helpful', but maybe reassuring :)

I do like the fact that when someone mentions they have a hater a ton of people chime in saying they either have had a hater, or currently have one. Its nice to have people to share in misery with :)

I just really get jealous when more often then not I just hear of the "sweethearts" that LOVE to come and visit! haha. In my mind Elvie is a sweetheart - but in reality... whoa. Not so much!
 
Evol_girl said:
I do like the fact that when someone mentions they have a hater a ton of people chime in saying they either have had a hater, or currently have one. Its nice to have people to share in misery with :)

I just really get jealous when more often then not I just hear of the "sweethearts" that LOVE to come and visit! haha. In my mind Elvie is a sweetheart - but in reality... whoa. Not so much!
Click to expand...

I feel your pain. I went to a lot of trouble to get my Mango. Fell IN LOVE with her picture. In person, she's a scaredy snake who hates being handled and tries really hard to escape whenever I hold her. When she finally settles down, it's with an air of, "Okaaaaay. I can't escape so let's just get this over with."

Will she ever calm down and be a holdable pet snake? I hope so. On the bright side, she's our most active snake and is always out and about and visible. I just gotta accept her the way she is, but I do hope she changes.
 
Evol_girl said:
I wish I would've done a BIT MORE research on behavior!
Click to expand...

I do not to mean thsi as criticism...but I find...with picking any young animal....... you should not pick.
Sit there and wait
The puppy kitten rabbit hen that is most curious about you will come over to you and pick you.

Sounds stupid..now if i would ever start with second snake ... i would probably hold my hand near the clutch and see which slither is most intersted inn my hand
 
desiredbard said:
I do not to mean thsi as criticism...but I find...with picking any young animal....... you should not pick.
Sit there and wait
The puppy kitten rabbit hen that is most curious about you will come over to you and pick you.

Sounds stupid..now if i would ever start with second snake ... i would probably hold my hand near the clutch and see which slither is most intersted inn my hand
Click to expand...

I actually did this... She was in there with about 8 of her siblings and I (we, she is *technically* my daughters) took 2 days and 2 separate visits to reach a decision... We picked her because she was the most calm. In retrospect it probably wasn't "calmness" that we were seeing but more a complete lack of interest and/or ability to get away from us! She was a MUCH different snake out of her shoe box tub then when we got her home. And we waited a long time (over a week I think) to take her out after her first day home!

There was a '09 blizzard there that I personally fell in love with... But my daughter really wanted a baby - and it is our first reptile, so I had the idea in my head it was like a kitty or a puppy (which we have tons of experience with) in the sense that if you get it as a baby it will be more likely to bond with you and be friendly towards you... Again with the "I wish I would've done a BIT more research on the whole baby vs. adult thing!)
 
None of my babies come up to my hand. I try not to take it personal. I just make it a habit of getting them out as quickly as possible and they seem to calm down. A few are squirmy, a few like to curl up in my hand and then peak out after a bit. The only evil one is the okeetee with her latest trick of pooping on me each time I try to handle her as if to tell me that's how she feels about being picked up.
 
solo1979 said:
The only evil one is the okeetee with her latest trick of pooping on me each time I try to handle her as if to tell me that's how she feels about being picked up.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but I have to laugh at this!! What a little stinker, no pun intended! I'll say this about Elvie - she eats & sheds like a champ, absolutely no issues at all, and I've NEVER been pooped on... :). I guess it could be worse ;)
 
I have 50ish snakes. There was only one who was incorrigibly un"tame"able. And it was quite a relief to boot his snakey little tail out of here!! So, although their personalities vary widely, it is most likely that your snake will one day, when no longer afraid, become a snake that at least tolerates handling, if she doesn't downright like it. Fortunately, you can always have more than one! I have some that have made it known that they would really rather not be out. I respect that. There are plenty more that seem to enjoy it.
 
i regularly handle mine apart from feeding (48 hour rule), and initially she would rattle her tail (still does sometimes) and actually strike, tho dosnt hurt, bless her lol,

however, when I go to handle mine, i just simple lift her hide up, and slowly, but confidently with my fingers together slowly go toward her to scoop up, and gently nudge her, so its not a sudden grab, and she turns tastes me, and moves bout, then i just grab her, and although mine is quick i jus let her glide thru my fingers, handling away from her take so everything she tastes is new and she gets use to it

i hear some people just run their hand thru the subtrate so they get use to ur scent as such, or even leave in a glove u wore (for a few minutes, not a sweaty one) and leave it in over night

but persevere and she will become tame,

also notice when she is more active, eg, if more active say 4pm in afternoon, handle her then, so not to dsiturb her during her resting
 
A list I made of things I've tried:
1. Turn off the heater a half hour or so before handling snake.
2. I've also noticed that nail polish makes reptiles curious. If you are a woman this is an easy one to try out.
3.Try using a different soap or scent. One of my snakes is all over me when I use a cherry blossom lotion.
4. Use a harmless object to scoop the snake. A plastic whisk worked wonders with me for my hatelings. The trick is to be patient and turn slowly.
5. Give the snake hides made out of closed containers with a hole cut out of the lid and the edges smoothed down. This way you can simply pick up the hide with the snake and half the battle is already won.
Any feedback from these tricks will be appreciated. My snakes have gotten so placid I no longer need them, but I'd still like to know if they work with other folks. Good luck.
 
I like that you mention hand lotion/soap scents, Dreamsnake. Our lavender boy absolutely hates lavender scented hand wash, and doesn't like being held whenever I've used it. He doesn't mind regular hand sanitizer though, and is much calmer if I've used that before coming near him.
 
Snakes will never bond with you, but they will be easier to 'tame' when handled a lot from when they are small. I have an adult male that was a hater, turned calm when it was about a year old and became a hater again later in life because he was not located at the place where I was living for about a year and I only got to handle him when paying to visit to feed him. The person living in the house with him (my sister) hardly ever paid attention to him in between my visits. Now he is calming down a bit but I guess he won't get as calm as in his best year, lol.
 
is that the heater inside your home or the heating for the tank?

because if it is for the tank then I wouldnt advise doing this either

you just have to keep trying for 10-15 minutes everyday apart from when he is fed (leave for 48) hours and while they are in shedding

Dreamsnake said:
A list I made of things I've tried:
1. Turn off the heater a half hour or so before handling snake.
QUOTE]
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for all the ideas!! I am not a big nail-polish wearer, but I think I'll give that a try as well as some scented soaps, etc. Why not?!? If I can even just get her to the point where she is MILDLY curious about my hand instead of loathing the idea of my skin near her I'll be a happy camper :)

I'll let you know how some of the techniques work out. Most everything else we already do. I try not to grab her when she's unaware of it so as not to piss her off even more, but I do try to be kinda quick about it instead of putzing around and giving her time to hate the idea more and more. I typically TRY and cup her, but she seems to rather slither around my fingers so I hold her close and just do the "stair" thing with my hands (hand over hand) as she slithers around. I also attempt to take her out every day (minus feeding days and when shes in blue) for at least 10 minutes... SO it seems like I'm doing just about everything I can - and it looks like other people have had success transforming a hater, so - here's to hoping!!
 
CentricMalteser said:
is that the heater inside your home or the heating for the tank?

because if it is for the tank then I wouldnt advise doing this either

you just have to keep trying for 10-15 minutes everyday apart from when he is fed (leave for 48) hours and while they are in shedding



What is the reason for saying that turning off the tank heater for an hour before handling is bad? If you are following protocol for not handling for at least two days after feeding, there is nothing wrong with doing that all. In fact every one of dreamsnakes ideas were really good suggestions.
Click to expand...
 
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