Burmese Behaviour!

[T.O-SK8TER]

I was just wondering if there is an age when burms are extremely defensive and nervous? If I am handling mine he is calm and just moves his head around looking at stuff, but if I am handling him and put him on the ground and watch him crawl around, then I go to pick him up again, he starts to hiss and his body gets really flat and today I let him crawl and I picked him up and he went to strike at me! I didn t get bit because I moved out of the way of the strike, and I grabed my clothes hamper, put the opening on the floor and gently slid him into it so I could get him to his cage. Has anyone else experienced this with there burms or do they just go through a phase like this?

[Mike177]

well when i first got my burm she tryed to bite me when i set her down, i think it is because they think they can make a run for it and get away from you but not shure.

[T.O-SK8TER]

Ok, I just went to pick him up from his enclosure and its been 10 minutes from the incident and he was all calm!

[NewLineReptile]

They seem to be like that when they are small but as he get's older he will probably grow out of that. Mine were all like that when they were younger.

Brandon

[T.O-SK8TER]

how young? mine is a little over 5 feet how old and big was yours when he stopped?

[ReptiZone]

5 feet is still young the is only a few monts old give or take.

just sounds like you got him on a bad day. Ya babys are a bit more on the defensive side but that is normal. You could just have a burm that dosent tolorate to be handeld that is not totaly unheard of althow a bit more on the rare side just because it is a burm but it dose hapen. It hapends to ball pythons and corns so why not burms after all they are big enugh we are not gona tell them what to do....LOL

[NewLineReptile]

Mine stopped at about a year old and 8' But my young one just stopped a short time ago and he is 6' and just under a year.

It is hard to say when he will stop being like that. He may never stop it. All i did was kept doing it until they stopped.

Good luck and just keep working with him and you should have no problems.

Brandon

[T.O-SK8TER]

The thing I am affraid of is if I stop letting him crawl he may never grow out of it. When he is like 10 feet and up and I have to clean out his enclosure, I will have to put him in our bathroom or in our bath tub which has a shower door on it. I hope he doesn t have the same repsonse then! So I should continue to let him crawl around?

[NewLineReptile]

Sure he will grow out of it. He is still just a baby. Keep working with him and he will stop. Like marc said maybe you got him on a bad day.

Brandon

[ReptiZone]

Welcom to the world of Giant snake Keeping it is like a box of chocolats yu never know what you are gona get.
we need to love the all the good the bad and the ugly

[burmer]

Mine is over 13ft now and she is still a little wierded out about being approached on the floor. She has never struck but has gotten into a defensive posture and hissed. Picking her up out of her enclosure is never a problem though, just off the floor.

[bebo]

Also, there is no tellimg what odors and smells he is picking up on the ground. Could be anything brought in on your shoes or bare feet. Just something to consider also. AT my parents we had chickens, needless to say his retic(14' at the time), was just a little rowdy after being out a little while. We didn't think about her picking up on the smell way out in the yard, nowhere near the chickens pen. Just an idea.

[NewLineReptile]

Good point bebo,

Brandon

[T.O-SK8TER]

Bebo, thats what I thought it was, an odour in the carpet because I have 2 dogs and a cat. I asked someone about this and they told me that the smell would not be a factor. But wouldn' t the smell be the same on the carpet as it would be if I was holding one of these pets of mine, cause you should not hold anything that smells like food before holding your snake?

[bebo]

Ya, I can't remember how many times I've been tagged , due to lazieness. Not washing my hands after handling or feeding my rats. But I do think the odors in the carpet does effect them. I mean think about how great there sense of smell is!

[Linds]

Originally posted by T.O-SK8TER
Bebo, thats what I thought it was, an odour in the carpet because I have 2 dogs and a cat.

I wouldn't think that the dog/cat smell would be causing your snake to get defensive. Although you do hear about it occassionally, snakes for the most part don't seem to be attracted to those odours as they are rodents and birds. How often do cats sit on top of snake cages? We used to have Bengal kittens sitting on top of the old burm cage at my old job and the burms never paid any attention, as well as my cat will sit on top of some of the cages here (some of the enclosures are clear rubbermaids which they do have a few holes drilled in the top, as well as one screen top tank).

I've found a lot of snakes seem to feel less secure once they are set down on the ground, leading to more defensive behaviour. With time and patience, your burm should be accustomed to this, but be again it may not. I disagree when people say burms are so docile, as I have seen more bitey, hissy burms, than not.

As for smell on carpet being the same as smell when you handle them... it isn't at all. Get down on the ground and stick your nose in it. YOu will find a whole world of smells, no matter how frequently you shampoo and vacum. Carpet is like a sponge for odours. Any and all odours will be concentrated when you hit the floor.