Patience Finally Paid Off!!!!

[PsychoSnake]

My baby male anaconda FINALLY let me hold him!!!!! He's been a difficult feeder and is prone to being defensive (wild caught). He was returned to the reptile store from his previous owner because he was "aggressive". He's been in a tub with deep substrate, two hides, two water bowls and he gets a privacy curtain for when he eats. He is super shy.

Tonight I smelled a horrible smell. After a bit of investigation I found it was his poop soup. I had no intention of handling just cleaning up poop and bleaching his water bowl. But I noticed he wasn't reacting as defensively as he usually does when I was moving him with my hook. He was showing signs of curiosity! I offered my arm and he climbed right up! No hissing at all! He's hanging out on my shoulders right now as I type. He's not afraid of me anymore! I've had him for four months and this is the first time I've really held him.

Of course this probably means he won't eat for me this week, but oh well.

[EL Ziggy]

Congrats Psych! Sounds like you're making progress.

[PsychoSnake]

I can't tell you how stoked I am about this! This was a big step for him. We're going to be best friends. He is such a sweet little guy behind all that shyness.

[Minkness]

Awww! Congrats!

[Snakesitter]

Awesome news!!!

[reptiledude987]

Very good to hear. did you get a pic while he was out?

[prairiepanda]

I'm glad you kept him despite his defensiveness. Sounds like it was worth it for you :) Let us know if he still eats after this! That would make it an even bigger victory!

[Pogie]

You must have been doing everything right! Grats :)

[PsychoSnake]

Very good to hear. did you get a pic while he was out?
No, sorry, I was a bit too excited to snap one. I will next time he's out.
I'm glad you kept him despite his defensiveness. Sounds like it was worth it for you :) Let us know if he still eats after this! That would make it an even bigger victory!
I don't believe in aggressive snakes, just hungry or scared. True aggression is rare. Since he wasn't eating I figured he was scared. He's actually not that bad as long as his boundaries are respected.

I learned a lot from my pair of green anacondas. I learned they remember past encounters/relationships well, are forgiving, very shy, prefer to take things slow (I find making slower deliberate movements works better when working with them), and are insanely curious about people once they get past the shyness. They have no concept of the personal bubble and they will deliberately invade your face space - practically up your nose! I think some people are intimated by this rather abrupt and personal investigation and misinterpret the curiosity as an attack. What happens then is the human becomes defensive and the annie reacts by also becoming defensive ("aggressive"). I've learned to trust them so they can trust me. It seems to be working. :)

Here's a picture of the little guy when he was still at the reptile store:

[PsychoSnake]

Update!

My little green anaconda is doing well. He's eating regularly and becoming calmer. He hasn't hissed at me in quite some time.

Here's some crappy pictures of him. He wouldn't stay still!

[Snakesitter]

They never do! Cool little (?) guy!

[trailblazer295]

This might be a dumb question but how do you handle these behemoths when they are full grown? Seems like a hard pet to clean up for.

[PsychoSnake]

Lots of weight lifting. :D Wind them over your shoulders and point them general direction you want them to go. Never force a bad position and have someone on standby for every 8 feet of snake. Fortunately green annies are pretty mellow once they get used to you.

[Snakesitter]

^^ LOL on lifting. ;-) Good caution on the extra hands, though -- while risk is usually low, it never pays to be too safe with the big snakes.