A couple questions

[FrankDaScrilla]

Hey I'm new to the forums and this is actually my first post.

After reviewing the blood forum rather extensively, I thought I would ask a couple questions about my newly acquired yearling male Super Stripe Borneo STP. I got him five days ago and I think he's been doing really well. Temps in the low 80's with humidity at around 75 percent. I fed him the second day I had him to keep him on the same schedule that the breeder had him on and he accepted food with zero hesitation. I'm keeping him on cypress mulch (treated) and he has a ceramic water dish big enough to soak in, although I've never seen him soak.

My question revolves around handling:

I waited 48hrs after he ate (three after I received him) to take the first steps toward handling him. I made sure his head was facing away from me and I slowly stroked the lower half of his back with my finger. He immediately tensed up and I backed off. He never started breathing heavily and he never hissed he just got very tense. I waited five minutes or so until I felt he had sufficiently left striking position only for him to get tense again and regain the "s" curve and strike at me from over his body and then strike two more times as I was getting the lid on his cage to put him away. I waited 24hrs and attempted to work with him again. With the same response. I guess my question is several parted. Is this behavior all feeding response, or is it defensive/aggressive? What are my chances of calming him down to be at least semi-handleable at just under 1 year old? Did I start too soon to begin trying to work with him? What are methods that have worked for you with calming down a blood?

I've had several snakes before, but this is my first snake of this caliber. Any advice or suggestions are immensely appreciated. My apologies for the longwinded email.

All best,
Frank

[Rogue628]

Hi Frank and welcome to our zoo :)

I do not have any experience (yet) with bloods, however, knowing about their temperament somewhat, it's defensive as they can be really skittish. I'm sure a few of our members who have tons of good experience with bloods can help get you in the right direction of calming him for handling. Until then, here's a link to one of our members youtube channels with various videos of him and his bloods. CdnBlood's YouTube Channel - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/CdnBloods)

P.S. Can we see a pic of your new boy? We love pics! :D

[CDN_Blood]

This sounds like perfectly normal behaviour to me. That's just what Bloods are like and it's one of the reasons I've never recommended them to anyone in all this time - most people simply aren't prepared to deal with 20+ years of that.

[FrankDaScrilla]

Hey,

Thanks for the welcome.

CDN Blood- I checked out your youtube videos and your snakes are beautiful. Do you have any advice on trying to calm this snake down? At this point he isn't handleable.

[CDN_Blood]

See 2 entries above :)

If you intend to keep this snake, I can only suggest screwing-up your courage and pushing past what you're seeing - it's normal Blood python behaviour.

If you let it learn that all that is needed to be left alone is to unnerve you a little, you can count on it calling the shots for the rest of it's life and it will quite likely get to the point where you'll be one of those folks who has to shield himself with a garbage can lid just to change it's water and clean it's tank - if you don't work-out now, you're going to need to for that because these things hit like a runaway freight train.

If these snakes are left alone too long they tend to go Mustang and then you'll *really* have a problem.

Even my best Blood has had that reaction to being approached since I got him as a hatchling 11 years ago - it's just what they're like. All I can recommend is a truckload of courage and only approaching it in daylight hours until you get used to what it's all about. Bloods are a serious animal and they're not to be taken lightly. I hope it all works out for you.

Unfortunately, I'm much more about preparing folks for what to expect as they're considering a Blood. There's really not much I can help with after a body has made the leap. All I can do at that point is hope for the best and try to answer questions :(

I can say that your temperature sounds right - they don't like hot, so low-mid 80s is best, and keep an eye on the humidity (which also sounds right for the moment) and don't let it get too high because that will lead to respiratory issues.

[FrankDaScrilla]

CDN Blood- I did some fairly extensive research before making the leap. As I said in my first post this definitely isn't my first snake and I wanted something a little more difficult, so a blood seemed right. Even with its current demeanor, I'm quite happy with him. He's stunning and is unbelievably powerful even at a year old. I have a lot of respect for him. I appreciate your kind words and hope. However, I'm not terribly concerned. It isn't a matter of if I'm going to handle him, rather it's a question of how. I'll keep you posted on my progress and I'll try to post pictures in the next couple days or so. Thanks again. I very much appreciate it.

[MDT]

lol! you lost me a "hits like a runaway freight train"....

[CDN_Blood]

Yup, I read that you did some homework, it's just that you're not likely to see that kind of information posted many places because people want to make the sale, not hinder it. It's only a place like here where you'll find really valuable info. There's been some really good input in the "Blood python quirks" thread, but even there I'm not so sure something about how they react when you approach them was touched upon, but there are good bits of information that are helpful in what to expect from this point forward, I suppose, lol.

A lot of Blood behaviour is a bluff which is designed to discourage, and as you can see, it's rather effective. When they're actually going to lash-out, you likely won't get any warning whatsoever that it's coming and it'll happen so fast you won't really even know what happened until it's already over. Just move slowly and deliberately around them, make sure they know you're there before you try to touch them and remember that you have to work with them. They're not intelligent snakes - they're very rudimentary and they're very paranoid, so slow and steady wins the race.

[CDN_Blood]

lol! you lost me a "hits like a runaway freight train"....
Take a few moments to watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GyiwBq9seA) and you'll understand.

[Toronto1977]

Take a few moments to watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GyiwBq9seA) and you'll understand.

To this day, every time I watch that clip I flinch! Would NOT want to get tagged by an angry Blood.

[CDN_Blood]

To this day, every time I watch that clip I flinch! Would NOT want to get tagged by an angry Blood.

I can guarantee you that dealing with a ticked-off Burmese, Retic or Anaconda is easier than dealing with an ornery Blood :)

[MDT]

HOLY CRAP!!!! dude...I literally jumped at 1:20 in that video!!!! LOL!!!
That is a handful!!!!

[CDN_Blood]

HOLY CRAP!!!! dude...I literally jumped at 1:20 in that video!!!! LOL!!!
That is a handful!!!!

I don't spout nonsense or untruth ya know :)

[Toronto1977]

@MDT - I think "handful" is an understatement lol. AND that thing wasn't even fully grown! Yikes.

[FrankDaScrilla]

On a side note, my blood doesn't strike at me like that. That is an impressive animal.

[CDN_Blood]

On a side note, my blood doesn't strike at me like that. That is an impressive animal.

Mine only do that if they scare themselves half to death, which for some is more common than others, but when it does happen, it's not usually just a one or two strike thing like that - it's usually a series of successive launches during which they can get themselves completely airborne. It's rare that they get that freaked-out, and that particular example has some things which cause me to say "Well, dude...you're asking for it", but it does illustrate how their strikes come with no warning, how fast they are and how much power is behind them, which is exactly the point I wanted to make.

Once they reach the point of that particular girl, there is no return. That snake will never trust people again and even if put into the right hands, she'll always be untrustworthy - she's gone Mustang, but I've certainly seen worse, lol.

[FrankDaScrilla]

Mine only do that if they scare themselves half to death, which for some is more common than others, but when it does happen, it's not usually just a one or two strike thing like that - it's usually a series of successive launches during which they can get themselves completely airborne. It's rare that they get that freaked-out, and that particular example has some things which cause me to say "Well, dude...you're asking for it", but it does illustrate how their strikes come with no warning, how fast they are and how much power is behind them, which is exactly the point I wanted to make.

Once they reach the point of that particular girl, there is no return. That snake will never trust people again and even if put into the right hands, she'll always be untrustworthy - she's gone Mustang, but I've certainly seen worse, lol.

I'm not sure what the lead up to the snake lashing out like that was, but I'm guessing some basic husbandry rules weren't followed and, as you said, the the keeper was asking for it.

[CDN_Blood]

Some of them are just like that from the get-go and some are made that way through a total lack of respect and understanding what they're all about. Some have good days and bad days, which is the most common scenario - they're *very* moody snakes.

One of mine has good days and bad days and the other two are fairly steady in their behaviour, but even on good days they can be pretty short-fused. They're paranoid, insecure snakes and they really don't appreciate human interference much at all, but most will tolerate it for short periods of time. I have yet to see one that will actually go to someone of it's own accord rather than just wanting to go the opposite direction. They tend to be a little more friendly when they're young, but as they mature they get awfully independent just prefer to be left alone.

[MoreliAddict]

I can guarantee you that dealing with a ticked-off Burmese, Retic or Anaconda is easier than dealing with an ornery Blood :)
I have tons of respect for you, Todd, and I know you're so much more than capable as a keeper. But, I'm going to politely go ahead and doubt this. :)

[CDN_Blood]

I have tons of respect for you, Todd, and I know you're so much more than capable as a keeper. But, I'm going to politely go ahead and doubt this. :)

Haha! Well, I'm only speaking from my own experience, but you should (of course) feel free to conduct your own experiments to put that to the test. Do let us know what your conclusions are if you decide to take the challenge, and I'd like to wish you a speedy recovery in advance :D

<Just kidding, naturally> For gawd sakes people, don't try this at home, hunh! lol

[Toronto1977]

Since Todd has owned all of the aforementioned snakes (at some point), I'm going to take his word for it. Also, he's not prone to hyperbole so another reason I don't doubt the comparison ;)

[lumpdog]

When calming my year old male 100% het albino he hated being stroked but would let me tap on his side. Just do what will work for you and he will come around for you soon enough. And I would change his bedding to jungle mix because blood pythons love it. And that might help put him in a better mood just my 2 cents. And now my snake loves me holding him all the time and wont leave my side. best of luck to you.

[Aaron_S]

If you really want to deal with this and kind of "train" your snake. I simply have always used hooks. Invest in some that can handle the weight of a blood though.

I always use a hook to lightly touch a snake before picking it up or use the hook to get part of the body out of the bin and then I can grab the rest. This usually kicks them out of feed mode if their in one without my hands within reach.

Also, let's be honest. Who enjoys getting bit by any snake? Not me.

[shaunyboy]

I have tons of respect for you, Todd, and I know you're so much more than capable as a keeper. But, I'm going to politely go ahead and doubt this. :)

i think maybe dealing with a longer snake like a retic,burm,anaconda,where you have a lot more distance between the tail and the head,imo this would make for easier handling,than some 5ft or 6ft long power house blood,i would think bloods strike a lot faster as well

just my opinion,not taking sides;)

cheers shaun

[Trent]

i think maybe dealing with a longer snake like a retic,burm,anaconda,where you have a lot more distance between the tail and the head,imo this would make for easier handling,than some 5ft or 6ft long power house blood,i would think bloods strike a lot faster as well

just my opinion,not taking sides;)

cheers shaun

Having owned all of these at one point or another.I would have to agree with shaun.Bloods are way faster strikers the the other three in my IMO.

With that said the most powerful hit I have every took was from a 14 foot albino burmese..lucky I had a homemade shild in hand..lol

[CDN_Blood]

...Bloods are way faster strikers the the other three in my IMO...

Yup, I can also vouch for that. A short, coiled spring releases much more energy under pressure than a slinky does :cool:

[KORBIN5895]

To what do we owe this pleasure?