How to deal with snakes with attitude.

[reptiledude987]

Theres frequently posts on here about how to deal with a snake that has always been or has become defensive. Now this wont address underlying issue that caused the defensiveness to begin. However I believe it is a good example on how to work on calming the snake back down. Its certainly a different story for giants however for the rest a good demonstration.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1618103455095341&id=1583917475180606

[Bandit]

Really great video. That's how I've always done it and it always works. The thing that some people don't seem to understand is that when you get into keeping reptiles, defensiveness comes with the territory. No matter what species you go with, there's always a chance that at some point during the animal's life, it will be defensive for one reason or another. A lot of people seem to focus too much on not getting bit...when you get over the fact that you're going to get bit, things become a lot easier. Besides, most of the commonly kept snakes (excluding large constrictors) don't have too bad of a bite.

And like you said, large constrictors are a different story, as well as venomous.

[EL Ziggy]

I agree. That was a textbook video on how to handle a defensive snake, giants and venomous snakes excluded of course. My male bull snake was pretty snappy on his first day. I made a fist and let him tag me a couple of times then I picked him up. He calmed down in a matter of minutes and hasn't bit me since, with the exception of the one time I reached in his tank quickly when I knew he was hungry. I basically asked for it that time. Thanks for sharing the video. I think it can help other keepers who might be leery of getting bitten.

[Tsubaki]

Can't even see the video, and prefer not to get bit at all. And that's been working out just fine for many years so far :D

[EL Ziggy]

Can't even see the video, and prefer not to get bit at all. And that's been working out just fine for many years so far :D

LOL. I'm sure most of us prefer not to get bit :). Sometimes it's just inevitable. As a keeper it's good to know how to handle those situations and to get past that fear.

[Bandit]

Can't even see the video, and prefer not to get bit at all. And that's been working out just fine for many years so far :DYeah I've never had an issue with any of the snakes I've personally kept. The problems came in with the snakes(or reptiles in general) that we used to get at my old job. We'd get rescues, drop-offs, etc. that were sooo defensive. I would usually just suck it up and pick them up. Most of them quickly realized I wasn't there to hurt them. The funny thing is, after they got it over with most of them turned out to be really good snakes. Makes me wonder how their prior owners handled them and cared for them.

[toddnbecka]

I don't have a problem with getting bitten, but if I see a snake strike I reflexively pull back before I have time to think about it.

[Sasha2]

Thats just what my male boa was doing last night. I made the mistake of moving them to tanks from being in tubs for the last year and half and they were stressed. He was striking and hissing and all ready to kill something.
Im moving him back to a tub tomorrow. The russian can have the big tank, she will love it.

[Snake Plissken]

Awesome vid. It's not a matter of if you get bit, it's when.

[prairiepanda]

Nice video. My rule with feisty snakes like this has always been to never reward them for this behavior. Retreating right away or putting them back home as soon as they start snapping just teaches them that aggressive behavior is an effective way to get what they want. Of course, none of my snakes are capable of nasty bites, so that helps.