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Snake turned on me...

E

egermann04

New member
Well I've had humphrey since about may he's about a year old and he's been eating fine and was held just about everyday if not twice a day. We just moved on sunday and he got out on monday night. We soon found him in the closet in the corner and was showing definite signs of not wanting to be picked up and put back in his tank and i expected him to be P.0'd for a day or two but I just went to feed him and he wasn't having any of that. I went to pull him out of his cage and into his feeding box and he wouldn't even let me near him. He backed up into the corner of his tank and was waiting to strike. I know he's not in blue because he shed on saturday.....any ideas as to what to do with him or things i can do? I dont' wanna get rid of him but I wont keep him around if it's a struggle to feed him or clean his cage.
 
Welcome to the world of animals. He's still stressed from his escape. Give him a week to rest, relax and then you need to handle him, whether he strikes or not. He will more than likely settle down in time.
 
Step one: Don't be afraid of him. Even bites from adults don't really hurt much. By reacting with fear, you are reinforcing his behaviour by making the "scary thing" go away when he acts fierce... so he's just going to act more fierce.

Step B: Give him a settling in period. He's in a brand new place with new vibration sources, new smells, and also had escaped for a bit. Treat him like you would a new addition.... leave him alone for a week! He'll do just fine skipping a meal. Just make sure he has water and otherwise don't bother him at all.
 
Or you can do like me and pick him up anyway so he knows you aren't going to eat him. I tend to over handle my snakes more than most people on here and I have never had a problem with them.

I don't treat them like fragile pieces of glass - they are mine to care for and ENJOY. And I especially handle them more often when they are nippy. In my experience, a nippy snake that is held often tends to calm down.

(Except for this one Kingsnake years ago...)
 
It's really common for snakes that have been recaptured to be defensive for a little while. Don't worry, he'll settle down.
 
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