help with baby retic!

[scottyy]

so i bought a retic about 2 weeks ago and for the first week she was a very calm and easy to handle snake. after that first week though she completely turned on me. i have let her sit in her cage for about a week only getting in to fill her water bowl and feed her. i have also put balled up newspaper in there because she refuses to use a hide. my cage temps are 90 on the hot side and about 80 on the cool side and humidity is at about 50%. the cage size is a 27qt sterilite sweater box and its big enough because she is still fairly young and only about 4 foot or so. could she be acting defensive because she is nervous still and needs more time to settle in? or is it something else that i am overlooking?

[infernalis]

Actually, it sounds like the snake is getting less terrified and more bold.

However, I don't keep retics, but we do have a few members who do keep them, so please be patient, You will get the reply you are looking for.

http://www.thamfriends.com/mat.jpg

[scottyy]

well i never thought of it as her getting more bold but then again this is my first retic so i am open to any suggestions

[derekcm87]

Are you canceling the feed response when you go into the cage? Maybe you are mistaking her strong feed response for aggression?

[scottyy]

what do you mean by that and how do i do that?

[derekcm87]

Canceling the feed response is a necessity with owning retics. As soon as you go into that cage they think you are food and having a 15ft snake thinking you are food is the last thing that you want. What you do is get yourself, a hook (what I use), many use either a rolled up newspaper or papertowel roll. Reach in and gently rub the snakes head/neck with it. They will then come to learn that okay when the cage opens and I feel the hook or whatever you are using then its not time to eat its time to come out for whatever other reason. It is amazing how you will see them coming at you like your bringing dinner but as soon as you cancel the feed response they change completely. So you should cancel the feed response anytime you are doing anything in the cage (cleaning, giving water, getting out to handle.) except for feeding, you do not need to do this when you are going to throw food in.

[derekcm87]

I am willing to bet that the reason you are getting this kind of behavior is because she is hungry and doesnt know the difference between play time and eating time.

[scottyy]

well that is what i normally do but i dont rub the back of her head maybe thats it? i use a paper towel roll and i dont have a hook quite yet i gotta wait for the next expo so i can get a bigger hook so i only got to buy one of them. but even before she would strike at the paper towel roll and maybe it was because i was just touching her with it on part of her body and not the head/neck. i dont think it is because of hunger because she has been acting that way through a couple feedings now and after i feed her i wait about 2 days before handling again, but i will definitely try it and tell you what happens. thanks

[derekcm87]

yes, definately rub in the head/neck area. Something I have noticed with retics, usually with all my other snakes their feed response will be gone shortly after feeding. In my experience retics will stay in feed mode for much longer up to 3 days after feeding. So yeah try that out rub the head and then pick up from the back of them and you should have limited trouble after that.

[scottyy]

well i tried feeding her today and she didnt even look at the f/t rat i had in front of her. she was staring directly at me. she does this thing where she has real short flickers of the tongue and her pupils expand. is this her feeding response or agressive/defensive behavior?

[marvelfreak]

so i bought a retic about 2 weeks ago and for the first week she was a very calm and easy to handle snake. after that first week though she completely turned on me. i have let her sit in her cage for about a week only getting in to fill her water bowl and feed her. i have also put balled up newspaper in there because she refuses to use a hide. my cage temps are 90 on the hot side and about 80 on the cool side and humidity is at about 50%. the cage size is a 27qt sterilite sweater box and its big enough because she is still fairly young and only about 4 foot or so. could she be acting defensive because she is nervous still and needs more time to settle in? or is it something else that i am overlooking?
A 27qt doesn't seem big enough if she 4 foot. I would say something 3x1x2 and even then she out grow that pretty fast. You can go to wal-mart and get a 106 qt tub for about $11.00. Anything bigger would be better. Also maybe drop your temp a couple degrees. I say a low side of 75 to 72 would be perfect. If they are keep too warm all the time they can be a little more aggressive.
Derek right about wanting to get them hook train. Something i do if my snakes act cage aggressive is give them a little misting with a spray bottle and this seem to calm them right down.
One thing you never want to do is if she strikes at you or hisses is leave her lone. If you leave her alone every time she hiss or strikes you will reinforce her behavior. Then she will do it all the time to be left alone.

P.S. We love to see pictures of her and welcome to your site.:)

[kenchenzo]

don't want to sound stupid but she could very early in shedding.
one of my boa's does this.
suddenly gets very aggressive and then about a week later the eyes cloud over he sheds later and then back to normal.

[scottyy]

don't want to sound stupid but she could very early in shedding.
one of my boa's does this.
suddenly gets very aggressive and then about a week later the eyes cloud over he sheds later and then back to normal.

maybe she is like that i suppose we will when she sheds

[scottyy]

A 27qt doesn't seem big enough if she 4 foot. I would say something 3x1x2 and even then she out grow that pretty fast. You can go to wal-mart and get a 106 qt tub for about $11.00. Anything bigger would be better. Also maybe drop your temp a couple degrees. I say a low side of 75 to 72 would be perfect. If they are keep too warm all the time they can be a little more aggressive.
Derek right about wanting to get them hook train. Something i do if my snakes act cage aggressive is give them a little misting with a spray bottle and this seem to calm them right down.
One thing you never want to do is if she strikes at you or hisses is leave her lone. If you leave her alone every time she hiss or strikes you will reinforce her behavior. Then she will do it all the time to be left alone.

P.S. We love to see pictures of her and welcome to your site.:)

yes i have heard that hook training is the best way to train all the larger snakes. yea i sprayed her and she didnt like that too much either but i am starting to see how she looks at me as food and so i am definitely going to use that feeding response canceling technique or whatever you wanna call it. yes i will get some pics up soon.

[whoaxmary]

Welcome to the site. Look forward too seeing the pictures.
Everyone above gave great advice....Drop her temps a tiny bit..a bigger enclosure... and deffinetly keep up with hook training. Keep us updated~ Hope she comes around.

[Jendee]

I agree that the tub sounds small, the only time you want a big snake in a small tub is for shy breeds like blood pythons at 4 feet she should be in a much bigger tub. But I suggest handling her more..I think if a snake can sense uneasiness and will strike because of it. If your scared shes gonna bite you most likely your gonna get bit. Confidence is key :D and research!! research research research lol

[Damion930]

If my memory serves some 28 qt tubs measure approximately 6h×23l×17w still a little on the small side for a 4ft snake not to bad as tubs go I've never ben a big fan of tubs but for a few bux u can get ur lil guy into somthing more fitting as for the attitude ther can be a number of reasons many wich have ben mentioned hope to see pix soon lol and welcome to the site

[derekcm87]

Retics seem to HATE HATE HATE being sprayed with water.. they go nuts and will strike instantly at it. Atleast from my experience. So if you do it be careful and stand back extra far until you know how she reacts to it! lol

[Lankyrob]

Glad you said that derek!! Our SD retic always strikes at the water when we spray his viv, once he has struck a couple of times he just settles down and will then let you spray him all over but the initial fast moving water certainly sets him off.

[marvelfreak]

Glad you said that derek!! Our SD retic always strikes at the water when we spray his viv, once he has struck a couple of times he just settles down and will then let you spray him all over but the initial fast moving water certainly sets him off.
My bad! It works on my Carpets and My Yellow Anaconda.

[scottyy]

well i got a hook and i am getting a new tub in a couple days

[Damion930]

My retic Enki dosent seem to mind being sprayed to much he twitches a bit at first then let's me spray him down

[Damion930]

Oh and hooray for the bigger tub lol

[scottyy]

one thing i did notice was that she doesnt strike at things outside of her cage when the lid is on... just when i open it then she strikes. i do see more and more of it just being her feeding response. so should i just pick her up with the hook even if she strikes?

[derekcm87]

I wouldn't pick her up with the hook, It may work with her being small but you will not be able to pick her up with the hook in 6 months when shes much larger. Cancel the feed response, reach in grab her and pull her out. :)

[Lankyrob]

No idea if it will work with a full retic but with my SD if i reach in with my fingers spread he goes kinda mental, if i go in with my hand in a fist he just sits there so i can pick him up and as soon as my hand goes around him he just relaxes into me.

[Jenn_06]

my girl is about 8ft now and i use the hook to show its not eating time and then use it to move her closer to me so i can get her out of the cage.

[scottyy]

well i will give the fist thing a try. how long would a 41 qt tub last? like would she outgrow it in 3 months or do they grow slower than that?

[Jenn_06]

how much are you feeding her? some retics grow slower than others....might be a good idea to start looking for her large cage.

[scottyy]

i feed her once a week on an appropriately sized prey item and right now those are about medium sized rats. yea i am already trying to plan out her lifetime enclosure. i think i am going to try and build one myself because it is going to be cheaper and sense i am not that good with woodworking i will have my grandpa or my dad help me with it. i think that the dimensions will be 7 ft long 3 ft wide and 2 ft high. is that good enough? if i had the money i would just make her a whole room because i think this is the only snake that i will own for a while. well i went out today and got her a 51 qt tub and that should be big enough for a few months anyway... in other news she shed today and tomorrow i am putting her in her new enclosure and will get some pics up of her in her new home although i think the pics may be in a separate post.

[scottyy]

well i tried to cancel her feeding response and that did nothing. i need to get her out so i can put her in her new bin but she wont let me. i dont want her to bite the hook or anything like that so what should i do?

[Damion930]

U have to remember nothing is going to happen over nite the hook training and feeding responce canceling are going to be things your snake is going to learn not just do some ppl get lucky and it just wrks while others have to wrk hard at it be paitent and consistant if u need to move her use the hook and get some gloves don't let her boss u around if u show her biting wrks she will bite best of luck let's see some pix lol

[scottyy]

well it worked and i got her in her new tub and she looked much happier. i just had to touch the back of her head a few times before she new that i wasnt going to feed her. for the first time in 2 weeks i was able to hold her with my hands and not just look at her.

thanks so much for the help!

[derekcm87]

suit up

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv61/derekcm13/hahaha.jpg

Watch your face or get this mask

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv61/derekcm13/darthvadermask.jpg

LOL im just giving you a hard time! :)

[scottyy]

well it sounds like good advice lol. yeah i will probably get pictures later today because i seen she hasnt fully shed and she doesnt like to get sprayed so i am going to let her work that out.

[derekcm87]

A good soaking may be in order!

[scottyy]

yeah that would be a good idea because i am getting a little concerned because she hasnt pooped yet sense i got her

[derekcm87]

yep, a good soak should help with that as well!

[scottyy]

well i would have gotten pics up but she isnt shedding. she is having a rough time shedding so i put a rock in the cage and raised humidity and maybe i will have pics up tomorrow? it doesnt help that she doesnt like being sprayed either lol.

[mld]

Have you tried the pillow case trick, throw a warm wet towel in a wet pillow case and leave snake in overnight.

[scottyy]

no i havnt tried that but i certainly will. that way she wont get mad because i spray her

[kenchenzo]

it norm works.

[Steve'O]

Retics have an amazing feeding response and strike lightning fast. I have seen them shoot 2/3 of their body length out of an enclosure. You do need to condition your animal with a hook or roll of paper towels works well. Make sure to keep the humidity up. Retics like high humidity at least 60% but 70% is better. You need to start handling her for short periods. Get some gloves if your worried at first and then remove them so she feels your skin. Retics are great swimmers and love a good soak. They are often found swimming in the open ocean. With all this said. After tying the perfect enclosure, temp, humidity and gentle handling, some snakes just have a nasty attitude, no matter what you do. Good Luck and keep trying!

[scottyy]

well i think the guy who had her before me was hook conditioning her so fortunately all i had to do was rub the back of her head and she went right back to how she was when i first got her. that and i got her a bigger tub to live in so i think she is quite happy with it. tomorrow i will post some pics of her and her enclosure in a new thread.