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Very feisty little one

M

mommynansley

New member
Well, my newest addition has proven to be a very feisty little booger. I have had him for almost 2 months now, and at first he wasn't quite so feisty. Recently, his behavior has been getting worse. He is always burrowed down into his bedding, and I rarely ever see him out wondering around. When I do pick him up to get him some "handling" time, the first thing that he does is poop all over the place. The last time I picked him up, he pooped, then turned around an struck me on the hand. He is just a little guy... Probably 14 inches long at the most. He is a beautiful Amel Motley, and I think I have decided his name will be "Mel" for smelly... 2 months should be enough time for him to be settled into his new home, right? I know that it takes work to tame them when you have a feisty little one, and the biting I can totally handle, but the poo thing is just annoying and obviously smelly!:( I've gotten to the point that I pick him up with a rag, and wait until he has finished his poo episodes before I will handle him with my bare hands. Any advice out there on how long this will last? BTW, he is eating very well, so he isn't so stressed out that he isn't eating.
 
I don't know, my milksnake Inez musked every single time I handled her from the day I got her until maybe a few months ago. So for a year and a half. I'd get her out, rush to the sink, run her under the faucet, dry her off, then she wouldn't musk again till the next time I handled her. Now that she's an adult, she doesn't do it so much. I actually can't remember the last time.
 
Both of my new Kings would expel poo on me when I picked them up the first few times. Now they are ok. My little MBX is quite fiesty, but I think he is just scared. I added more hides and more coverage to his viv and he is getting a little better.

He doesn't appear to like being held while I am walking but if I sit down and let him explore on his own, then he is better in my hands.

How much cover other then the aspen does your little one have? How often do you handle him?
 
He has quite a few hides. I have a hollowed log hide on the warm side of the tank, as well as halved coconut shell hide on the cooler side. He has his 2 water dishes... one on each side that he can also hide under.
He seems to prefer to dig down under the bedding under the hollowed log to hide. There are a few logs perched up on the sides to climb on, but if he ever does climb, it is on top of his light. The temps are just right so, he can't be too cold... And like I said, he has starting pooing more, and has recently struck me on the hand. He just seems to be getting worse rather than any better. I hold him everyday, with the exception of last night, as I didn't get home until 9:30 at night, and had left at 7:00 that morning. The odd thing is, I also have a juvenile female iguana that I acquired about the same time, and she was very very feisty. Now, I can walk around the house with her, pick her up without too much fight, and even get her to lay on my stomach and close her eyes and relax by petting her head. She is improving, and he is getting worse...:shrugs:
 
Do you have other snakes, so you can just give him a break for a while? I have six babies right now, and only one that likes to come out, and one that is out in the open all the time, so he gets to come out also, but I just leave the other four alone pretty much. Two are super-hatelings- they just get handled on feeding days for now...

I've read here recently the theory that warmer temps make babies more feisty- maybe you could keep his warm side more in the 82-84 range and see if that makes a difference.

How often are you feeding?

Really, it all comes down to one thing- he is afraid of you. He doesn't hate you. When he no longer sees you as a threat, he will settle down. The problem is, what is the key to him learning you will cause him no harm???
 
Exactly. I do have one other Amel Motley male that is about 9 months old. He has done great since the day I got him. Other than the run-in with the cat that I posted about a week or so ago, he does great! Since the run-in, he has been in the "hospital ward" as I like to call it, on shredded newspaper to get his mouth to heal. He has a great scab on it now, and looks to be healing very well. I feed both of them once a week. They eat 2 pinkies each. I didn't want to just leave him alone, as I thought that wouldn't help him get use to me. So, now I guess my question is... Do I leave him alone, or keep trying to handle him so that he gets use to me? Now I'm confused!!!:confused:
 
I agree with Nanci. I think I would let him settle in for a few days and not handle daily.

This little guy might just be stressed from being handled so often.

Give it a try and see if this helps.
 
mommynansley said:
Exactly. I do have one other Amel Motley male that is about 9 months old. He has done great since the day I got him. Other than the run-in with the cat that I posted about a week or so ago, he does great! Since the run-in, he has been in the "hospital ward" as I like to call it, on shredded newspaper to get his mouth to heal. He has a great scab on it now, and looks to be healing very well. I feed both of them once a week. They eat 2 pinkies each. I didn't want to just leave him alone, as I thought that wouldn't help him get use to me. So, now I guess my question is... Do I leave him alone, or keep trying to handle him so that he gets use to me? Now I'm confused!!!:confused:
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I think, if he was calm before, he will likely remain calm, or return to that state quickly, if you don't handle him other than whatever you're doing to treat the wound.

When my hatchling Jasper regurged, I totally stopped handling him except for treatment and feeding for about three weeks. He was my friendliest baby before that, and picked up right where he left off when I began handling him again, even though he gets one less day of handling now since I have gone super-conservative and give the babies all three days to digest instead of two.
 
He isn't the one with the wound. My other snake, Lenny, was the one that has done great since day 1 and has the mouth wound and is in the "hospital ward." Sorry if I confused you. This baby, Mel, has been pretty feisty since I got him about 2 months ago. He is just getting more feisty as time goes on rather than calming down. I don't get to handle him every day, but I have been trying to. So, there has been days that he hasn't been handled. He is eating fine, and has never regurged. He just doesn't like to be handled...
 
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