agression issue (my first post)

[dragonteen]

hi everyone.
last christmas, i got a baby carpet python whom i named cyril (don't know why, i thought it suited him:smug:) anyway, he's my first and so far only python i ever owned and i'm concerned about his agression. it's fine now when he bites, it only hurts a tiny bit because he's tiny, but what happens when he grows to his full length? (how big do they grow by the way? i heard six foot but i swear my cosin's is bigger.) whe he's in his tank, there's no way i can get anywhere near him unless i have a handling stick, once he's out he makes a sort of S type shape and most of the time if i leave my hand near him he'll calm down, but every now and then he bites me, usualy more than once. what should i do?
excuse my spelling by the way.

[infernalis]

sSnakeSs.com - Rules (http://www.ssnakess.com/index.php?page=rules)

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

[jaleely]

Carpets are brats when babies. It takes a while, a few minutes a day of handling, and it can take from a few months, up to a year, to get them to get used to you and not strike you. The babies are very bitey. Persistence. From being scared and biting and pooping (full on) when handled, to letting me pick her up and feed her...mine is still getting used to things. I have to be careful with her after feeding, because she will strike me and get fussy. She's not still hungry, she just doesn't want to be bothered.
She will also "bump" me, as a warning. Striking, but not biting, just hiting me with her nose. She's getting better. I don't hold her a lot, but i try to make the removal and replacement from the viv as easy and smooth as possible to keep her calm.

[KORBIN5895]

Welcome. So this snake is over a year old correct?

[dragonteen]

Carpets are brats when babies. It takes a while, a few minutes a day of handling, and it can take from a few months, up to a year, to get them to get used to you and not strike you. The babies are very bitey. Persistence. From being scared and biting and pooping (full on) when handled, to letting me pick her up and feed her...mine is still getting used to things. I have to be careful with her after feeding, because she will strike me and get fussy. She's not still hungry, she just doesn't want to be bothered.
She will also "bump" me, as a warning. Striking, but not biting, just hiting me with her nose. She's getting better. I don't hold her a lot, but i try to make the removal and replacement from the viv as easy and smooth as possible to keep her calm.
oh ok. mine used to bump me too but he mainly just bites now. our friends a breeder and he said to just handle him and he'll settle down but he never realy did

[dragonteen]

Welcome. So this snake is over a year old correct?
yes about a year.

[stephanbakir]

Are you sure its aggression? I'll post a few examples once my movie is done.

Your snake is likely being defensive

[dragonteen]

Are you sure its aggression? I'll post a few examples once my movie is done.

Your snake is likely being defensive
that did cross my mind quite often. will he grow out of it?

[Lankyrob]

Use a hook to get him out of the viv - is he calmer when out?

Ours is about 2yrs old and still majorly viv defensive, hooked and out the viv you still have to be wary but he rarely strikes/bites once being handled.

[CDN_Blood]

Even with the most gentle of handling some can take a long time to chill, but persistence will pay-off with regular, gentle handling. There's a reason I often refer to baby Carpet Pythons as 'flying staplers' (a term coined by a buddy of mine who works with them daily).

Here's a link to an excellent video that will help you understand what's needed to curb that aggression:
Handling Baby Jungle Carpet Pythons - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB9S51g60Ig)

You'll likely need to take a few hits from it in the meantime, and *never* put it back because it bit you, just keep doing what you're doing when it tags you so it doesn't learn that biting works as a deterrent.

As for size, some Carpets only get about 6 feet, some get 9-10 or more under the right conditions - it depends on the subspecies.

[shaunyboy]

hi everyone.
last christmas, i got a baby carpet python whom i named cyril (don't know why, i thought it suited him:smug:) anyway, he's my first and so far only python i ever owned and i'm concerned about his agression. it's fine now when he bites, it only hurts a tiny bit because he's tiny, but what happens when he grows to his full length? (how big do they grow by the way? i heard six foot but i swear my cosin's is bigger.) whe he's in his tank, there's no way i can get anywhere near him unless i have a handling stick, once he's out he makes a sort of S type shape and most of the time if i leave my hand near him he'll calm down, but every now and then he bites me, usualy more than once. what should i do?
excuse my spelling by the way.

hello and welcome

what species of carpet python do you have ?

most young carpets can be defensive biters,but most calm down through regular handling,also they tend to calm down once they get bigger and they realise your not going to eat them

get a pair of soft leather gloves

then take him out for 5 minutes each night and just let him feed himself through your gloved hands

once he's ok with 5 minutes,up the handling time to 10 minutes per day

then after he's ok at 10 minutes up it to 15 minutes

once he's ok with the above.....

take him out and handle for 5 minutes with gloves,then take 1 glove off and let him run through your gloved and UNGLOVED hand.

this will get him used to the heat from your hand

gradually build the time up with an ungloved hand as you did with both gloves on

once he's calm with 5 or 10 minutes handling with one glove off.....

then you take both gloves off and build up the time again like you did in the beginning

when taking him out don't act nervous,just walk straight up to him and in one move firmly take him out his tank.carpets will pick up on your nervousness and become defensive

DO NOT handle for 3 days after a feed,the snake needs this time to digest it's prey

imo,patients and perciverance are the key to calming young carpets down mate

cheers shaun

[Norm66]

I hate to sidetrack the discussion, but maybe it will be pertinent to the OP.

Shaun, my JCP is a pain to get out of the enclosure. He bites, but worse than that he loops his tail around anything he can, usually his PVC perch I made. So what I've been doing is just taking the perch out and slowly working him off it. The problem then becomes he uses my hands as a perch and keeps a death-grip on my fingers. After a while he does calm down, relax and kind of start to look around etc. but as he hasn't eaten for me yet I've only had him out twice long enough for him to relax.

I'm getting a small-ish hook to help with getting him out next weekend at the reptile expo but should I keep him out long enough to relax or try and get him back in the cage in 5 minutes? I don't worry about the bites or act nervous about them, but it is somewhat stressful for him and me getting him out.

[Lankyrob]

Norm, I wouldnt worry about handling at all until it has eaten a couple of times for you.

Our also grabs onto anyhting with its tail when trying to get it out, what we have found is that once his front end is supported nicely he will "transfer" from his in viv perch onto the hook or our arms as his new perch, but not until he feels comfy and secure.

If he is being a real pain then lightly touching his tail does encourage him to let go a bit quicker.

[shaunyboy]

I hate to sidetrack the discussion, but maybe it will be pertinent to the OP.

Shaun, my JCP is a pain to get out of the enclosure. He bites, but worse than that he loops his tail around anything he can, usually his PVC perch I made. So what I've been doing is just taking the perch out and slowly working him off it. The problem then becomes he uses my hands as a perch and keeps a death-grip on my fingers. After a while he does calm down, relax and kind of start to look around etc. but as he hasn't eaten for me yet I've only had him out twice long enough for him to relax.

I'm getting a small-ish hook to help with getting him out next weekend at the reptile expo but should I keep him out long enough to relax or try and get him back in the cage in 5 minutes? I don't worry about the bites or act nervous about them, but it is somewhat stressful for him and me getting him out.

as rob said mate better getting him feeding regular before you handle him anymore

imo eating always has to take priority over calming him down

sounds like he's very nervous

my worst jungle " crazy bert " was/is just like yours,bert never did calm down and hits like a machine gun at anything with a heat signature

he's the exception though,as i've had others like him who calmed down with regular handling

imo you did the correct thing in making his perch removable mate

i've found if you touch/tap the tip of their tail with your bare finger they react to the heat by letting go whatever they're wrapped around

once you get him feeding,i would buy a pair of soft leather gloves and get him used to being handled with the gloves.imo it's usually the heat off your hands that spook them most

with the gloves on it gets them over the handling part thats making them nervous

then go through the whole proccess again,with one glove ,then both gloves taken off,after he's calmed down with both the gloves on

its a time consuming proccess but very rewarding once they calm down

although most carpets will calm down,there are a small number who never calm down

after you get him feeding its a case of more of what your doing regards regular handling

make sure he has plenty hides,branches and fake plants,this will make him feel more secure

patients and perciverance should win through,that said i tried for over a year with crazy bert,before i came to the conclusion he was just one the bitey ones

i hope you get him sorted out mate

all the best shaun

[Norm66]

Thanks guys, except for the first time I've only ever handled him a minimum when I had to work in his cage. I appreciate the advice.

[dragonteen]

yeah he's tones calmer when he's out.
i'm not 100% sure of he's subspiecies but i think he's a central carpet python
i use a handling stick to get him out too.
i can have him out for hours, the longer he's out, the calmer he becomes

[stephanbakir]

Limit your "outings"to 10-15 minutes till he feels safer around you.

[millertime89]

post pics, some of the more veteran carpet keepers can give you a good estimate of what he is.

[dragonteen]

ok.
here's a pic of him when he was a bit younger. go--> (http://dragonteen1.deviantart.com/gallery/32886453#/d4f2vgs)
sorry that it's not all that god but most pics were on my od laptop which died.
(if you need to zoom in, click the picture)

[shaunyboy]

yeah he's tones calmer when he's out.
i'm not 100% sure of he's subspiecies but i think he's a central carpet python
i use a handling stick to get him out too.
i can have him out for hours, the longer he's out, the calmer he becomes

have you got pictures you could post ?

i'm thinking he could be a centralian carpet python (a bredl python)

although it is no longer regarded as a carpet python and is now recognised as a seperate species

beautifull snakes,theres a guy in europe called rolph milkellson,who does a lot of work with bredl.he has created some very nice diamond bredl jaguars

if you want a good book on carpet pythons,get a copy of " keeping and breeding australian pythons ",edited by mike swan.(mike is from oz)

cheers shaun

[dragonteen]

have you got pictures you could post ?

i'm thinking he could be a centralian carpet python (a bredl python)

although it is no longer regarded as a carpet python and is now recognised as a seperate species

beautifull snakes,theres a guy in europe called rolph milkellson,who does a lot of work with bredl.he has created some very nice diamond bredl jaguars

if you want a good book on carpet pythons,get a copy of " keeping and breeding australian pythons ",edited by mike swan.(mike is from oz)

cheers shaun

um no, only the one in the link.
realy? that's intresting. they are beautiful :)
hmmm, i'll take a look for the book.

[red ink]

yeah he's tones calmer when he's out.
i'm not 100% sure of he's subspiecies but i think he's a central carpet python
i use a handling stick to get him out too.
i can have him out for hours, the longer he's out, the calmer he becomes


Coastal carpet python mate....

[dragonteen]

Coastal carpet python mate....
i thought he was eather central or coastal. i have a book about them (more like a magazine) and there's 3 pages of large pics of typles of carpet pythons and i couldn't figure out which one he looked more like.
thanks for that.:)

[shaunyboy]

Coastal carpet python mate....

my bad mate i made the leap from the word central to centralian

so its mcdowelli,are they reffered to as central pyhons in the motherland then ?

thanks for that,its hard to tell from the picture in the link

cheers shaun

[red ink]

my bad mate i made the leap from the word central to centralian

so its mcdowelli,are they reffered to as central pyhons in the motherland then ?

thanks for that,its hard to tell from the picture in the link

cheers shaun

No worries Shaun...
To be honest I did'nt really read much of this thread I just clicked the link he provided and a pic of a coastal showed up lol. The Mcdowellis are more grey and from the pic I could see a hint of cream/yellow typical of coastals in Southeast Qld so I went with that. A proper pic would help us give him a more difinitive ID as upon closer inspection of the pic .....hmmmmm it does seem to have a bit of Bredl patterning happening :).

Mcdowellis are "inland" carpets mate :)

[millertime89]

red ink, question for ya, I thought I read somewhere that you Ozzies (Aussies?) can only keep native snakes, truth? If that were true can you keep any GTPs or only the ones that are bred from snakes captured in country? Same goes for retics, can you keep them even though they haven't (to my understanding) been found there but on many of the nearby islands?

[red ink]

No worries Shaun...
To be honest I did'nt really read much of this thread I just clicked the link he provided and a pic of a coastal showed up lol. The Mcdowellis are more grey and from the pic I could see a hint of cream/yellow typical of coastals in Southeast Qld so I went with that. A proper pic would help us give him a more difinitive ID as upon closer inspection of the pic .....hmmmmm it does seem to have a bit of Bredl patterning happening :).

Mcdowellis are "inland" carpets mate :)

Crap Sorry Shaun now I got myself muddled up mate Mcdowelli are coastals and Metcalfei are inland :o

[red ink]

red ink, question for ya, I thought I read somewhere that you Ozzies (Aussies?) can only keep native snakes, truth?
Absolutely true mate... nothing in or out of OZ. Plus different states have differing governing bodies that dictate what can and can not be kept in the state in terms of native wildlife.

If that were true can you keep any GTPs or only the ones that are bred from snakes captured in country?
Yes we can keep GTPs, there are native GTPs on OZ. They are found in the Cape York peninsula in Far North Queensland. Easiest way to tell an aussie GTP is the white striping on their back and no blues in them (except for hormonal females). Aussie GTPs are also yellow as hatchlings and never red.

Same goes for retics, can you keep them even though they haven't (to my understanding) been found there but on many of the nearby islands?
Nah mate... we can not keep retics their not considered Australian natives, to my knowledge there are no retics in any of the far islands in the Australian teritories....




Hope that helps...

[millertime89]

yeah thanks man.

[dragonteen]

Hope that helps...
hu, i didn't know that we couldn't have snakes from other contries.

[stephanbakir]

While retics have been found in Australia, they were all thought to be roamers that drifted off from whatever locale they were found in.

[red ink]

While retics have been found in Australia, they were all thought to be roamers that drifted off from whatever locale they were found in.


Where abouts steph? I'd be curious to find out... there are plenty of retics, burms, corns and all manners of excotics that can be found in Oz. Well "found" is a loose term.... proper term would be seized really.