Bite Shy

[Meyou4042]

Ok - as I mentioned previously my Hog/Nic struck me a few days ago when I attempted to take him out of his feeding bin. Totally my fault for not paying attention and trying to rush things along.

With that said, and the fact that the bite was more startling than painful, how do I handle future strike attempts? Do I "assert" my dominance, or do I not handle him and give him space? I know that handling is the only way for him to become adjusted to me, and vise versa. Yet I do not want to stress him out any more than necessary to gain his trust.

I do not hold any of my snakes for 36-48 hours after a feeding. My little ball is a darling baby, the larger ball is very hand shy....I can feel his body tense and he is very flinchy. I want to earn their trust, but yet do not want to be bullied by them or be afraid of my Hog/Nic either! The small strike I received did not hurt, but my bigger concern would be a strike and coil!

Any advice welcomed!

[Starbuck]

something i like to do is wear a thin pair of leather gardening gloves, that way i am less "afraid" of getting bit so i don't react as much if they strike. It is important not to put them back right away if they bite you, because that reinforces the association between biting and acting defensive to being left alone. I try to make the process as non threatening as possible with my more nervous snakes; I use a snake hook to get them out, then i set them on the bed for a few seconds so they can take stock of their surroundings and figure out that nothing is trying to kill them. Then i pick them up from underneath, supporting their entire body, and handle for however long i wanted to.

[Meyou4042]

Starbuck,

Thank you! That is a great idea! I do need to get a snake hook - I need to use that for moving him from one container to his tank after eating. I do NOT want to be afraid of him, and do not want him to think if he strikes I will leave him alone. I think my biggest fear is getting bit in the face. I can handle getting bit just about anywhere else, but not in the face. I have not held him since Tuesday when he ate, but intend on picking him up this evening. For both our sakes, I need to push through my fear, and make sure he understands that I am not out to hurt him!

[Starbuck]

Search this forum for how to use snake hooks for 'hook training'. Using the hook to.move him aroumd feeding time kind of defeats the purpose, as he will learn to associate hooking with being fed. I would much rather be bitten defensively over a feeding response. Feed in thw enclosure, and only hook the snake for handling, never for feesing.
With nervous or defensive snakes, I have found that my anxiety only serves.to heighten the snakes. I will also sometimes have another pera on there watching me, as it keeps me from making foolish mistakes, and I don't want to look like an idiot in front of my friend so my confidence is boosted, and I am more aware of what I'm doing becauseni can explain each step to my friend.

[Meyou4042]

I would prefer not to use the hook at all really, only if necessary. I never ever feed them in their "home" tank. I always move them to another location for feeding - usually a large rubber maid tub. Looks like I will have to move him to a container with a lid so that I do not have to wait and watch him until it is safe to move him again.

[thinkbig317]

Why move them to another tank at feeding time??

[SSSSnakes]

Ok - as I mentioned previously my Hog/Nic struck me a few days ago when I attempted to take him out of his feeding bin.

The small strike I received did not hurt, but my bigger concern would be a strike and coil!
Any advice welcomed!

I would prefer not to use the hook at all really, only if necessary. I never ever feed them in their "home" tank. I always move them to another location for feeding - usually a large rubber maid tub. Looks like I will have to move him to a container with a lid so that I do not have to wait and watch him until it is safe to move him again.


#1 Why are you feeding him in another container? That is a good way to get bit. Feed him in his enclosure and then you do not have to move him.

#2 Snake will only strike and coil if they are hungry, your snake just ate. They strike and release when they are aggravated by something, like someone trying to move them after they ate.

#3 Using a snake hook is a professional and fast way to move a snake with less stress for the snake.

[Meyou4042]

I never feed in the same tank! I have always thought that was a huge rule with snakes. My theory is that if they are fed in their "home" tank, every time you open the cage they think it's feeding time. By moving them to another location I hope it would change that perception....Am I Crazy???

[SSSSnakes]

I never feed in the same tank! I have always thought that was a huge rule with snakes. My theory is that if they are fed in their "home" tank, every time you open the cage they think it's feeding time. By moving them to another location I hope it would change that perception....Am I Crazy???

You not crazy, just miss informed. Ask any breeder or professional keeper and they will tell you feeding in a snake's enclosure does not make the snake more aggressive. Snake get into feeding modes, and if the snake is well fed, he is not looking for food all the time. Most people get bit when they go into the snakes enclosure, because they scare the snake. You can tell by the bite, it's fast and then released as apposed to a bite followed by coiling, which would be a feeding response. That is why using a snake stick is better, because you can pick the snake off the ground without using your hand and once the snake is in the air they are less likely to bite.

[dbank999]

I never feed in the same tank! I have always thought that was a huge rule with snakes. My theory is that if they are fed in their "home" tank, every time you open the cage they think it's feeding time. By moving them to another location I hope it would change that perception....Am I Crazy???

You have to open the cage to move them to be fed no? So the association of opening the cage with being fed, or food, could still be arguably present.

If you feed in the enclosure, there is no stress of moving the snake after feeding, and if you do use a snake hook to train for removal, then once the snake is lifted out of the enclosure, it should be quite aware that its not going to get fed (if you do not seperate for feeding). This should reduce the chance of a feeding response bite.

I think snakebytes(?) with BHB reptiles did a study on the effects of feeding in cage and removing to feed. And the result, if I remember correctly, was that after a certain time period and feedings, the snake that was removed for feedings ended up being more attitudy. (This was just one case though)

I feed both my ball and carpet python in their enclosures and while I don't use a hook for my ball most of the time (a mountain lion could come and sit on his head and I think he'd still be oblivious to any threat) I do use one for my carpet since he has a slight attitude problem sometimes. Once out though he is a typical nosey calm carpet.

[Meyou4042]

WOW!!! I am SO glad that I joined this forum! You all are a wealth of information!! Big hugs to you!!

I admit feeding in the enclosure will make life much easier! I will start trying that and the hook and see how it goes! : - )

[sharthun]

WOW!!! I am SO glad that I joined this forum! You all are a wealth of information!! Big hugs to you!!

I admit feeding in the enclosure will make life much easier! I will start trying that and the hook and see how it goes! : - )


Awesome! You and your snakes will be happier!:D

[TheFrogman]

I don't feed any of my snakes in the same enclosure, I don't want them to associate my hand coming in with feeding time. I also use a hook when they are sleeping just to wake him up because I don't want to startle him, so I just will move them with the hook until he awakens, this way they don't associate being startled with my hand either.

Think about how you feel when you are woke up abruptly.

After he eats I place they temp keeper inside his main enclosure and let they come out when he's ready, then I remove the small keeper...no stress on the animal.

[CosmicOwl]

Oddly, I'm not really afraid of getting bitten. I'm more afraid that if I do get bitten, I'll flinch and smack the enclosure or hurt my animal. I wouldn't worry about it too much, though. Feed the snake in it's enclosure and use tongs or big tweezers to hold the prey item. When you handle it, just be calm and relaxed. A snake hook is probably a good idea as well. It's a good way of picking the snake up without scaring them with your hands.

[Meyou4042]

Cosmic,

The only reason I am a little shy about it is because Reggie is the largest snake I have ever had, and he bit me Tuesday...more like a love tap, but it is still startling! Those little buggers are FAST! I blinked and missed it!

Thank you for all of the info!

[bigsnakegirl785]

I don't feed any of my snakes in the same enclosure, I don't want them to associate my hand coming in with feeding time. I also use a hook when they are sleeping just to wake him up because I don't want to startle him, so I just will move them with the hook until he awakens, this way they don't associate being startled with my hand either.

Think about how you feel when you are woke up abruptly.

After he eats I place they temp keeper inside his main enclosure and let they come out when he's ready, then I remove the small keeper...no stress on the animal.

I feed my snakes in their enclosure. They never see my hands during feeding time, so there's no way they'd associate my hands with feeding time.

After being such a problem eater for a long time, my ball python has turned into a ravenous beast the past week or two. I gave him a medium rat the last feeding and when I came to check on him to see if he ate it, he immediately came out of his hide in a striking position. After a few moments, he saw it was me and rested his head on the bedding. Every day since then, when I came to check on him he acted like he was being starved and he took his next rat in record time: after only a week. He was only 1275 grams 3 or 4 weeks ago. He's now 1470 grams! My boa constrictor struck at me many times with a few bites while I was feeding him in a separate enclosure. That all stopped completely when I started feeding in the enclosure. Of course, that's all anecdotal but think about it: you have two extra chances to get bit moving them between enclosures. Taking him out as they're ready for food, and putting them back in when they're mad about being moved with a full belly. I don't know about you, but I do not like to move at all if I ate a big meal. It also seems to me that they would associate being taken out as it being food time. Feeding in the enclosure there's no such thing: I throw it in and walk away. They never see me and I never bother them. They get it in their own time. Seems like a lot less stress to me.

[TheFrogman]

Again, I think it really boils down to your individual snakes personality.

[CosmicOwl]

Again, I think it really boils down to your individual snakes personality.

I think it's probably more stressful on the snake to move them, feed them and then move them again. You're never going to break them of associating you with food because they'll still be able to smell your scent and see you. However, you can minimize your contact with the snake when you do feed them. I've also heard good things about hook training. If you don't want to do that far, you could always just tap them with a cardboard tube or empty water bottle to get them to break their feeding response. That's just my 2 cents, though.