Advice needed

Wolfus_305 · 03-06-11, 11:10 AM

Hi Everybody,

Last March I purchased a two year old female jungle carpet X jaguar carpet python. at the time I didn't realize that I would be moving away from home for university.
My parents are asking that I get rid of her because she is becoming aggressive. She will strike at the glass of her habitat when you walk by and even tasks like cleaning her home and changing her water are becoming incredibly difficult.
I posted her for sale in the classifieds section of this forum because I want her to go to a good home, with somebody who will be able to work with her and give her the proper care that she needs. Unfortunately nobody is wanting her.
I am looking for advice on what to do now. She needs to go to somebody with lots of snake experience, any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Kendra

**Aaron_S** · 03-06-11, 11:15 AM

You need to go to the right forum for this. This isn't it yet. There's a much larger Canadian website with a larger classifieds section. Try there.

SnakeyJay · 03-06-11, 12:48 PM

id say that your best bet is to try and tame/calm her down abit with short but often periods of handling... if getting bitten is an issue then wear gloves lol. but you mite then have a far better chance of rehoming her x

Wolfus_305 · 03-06-11, 01:12 PM

Thank you for the tips

We can't even get into her cage without stiking/bites... when I bought her she was handleable and I tried to handle her every day or every other day and she kept getting worse and worse. as soon as she sees you at the glass or hears you unlock the lock she's ready to strike...

shaunyboy · 03-30-11, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfus_305

Thank you for the tips

We can't even get into her cage without stiking/bites... when I bought her she was handleable and I tried to handle her every day or every other day and she kept getting worse and worse. as soon as she sees you at the glass or hears you unlock the lock she's ready to strike...

its sounds like defensive bitting due to feeling insecure.i could'nt see any hides in your picture if you don't have any put 1 in the cool end and 1 near the hot end but NOT directly under the heat source.

what size of food item are you feeding her ?

i'm thinking its either feeling insecure or hungry i'm swaying towards insecure though what with her striking the glass

it could also be that you just have a bitey defensive or evil carpet there are a few of them out there

cheers shaun

Wolfus_305 · 03-30-11, 12:30 PM

Hey Shaun,

She has 3 hides, it's hard to see in the picture though. she has two on the warm side and one on the cooler side and she has a nice big water dish and the branchy thing in the middle to curl up on.

I can't remember what size rat i'm feeding her... they're small though.. just about the size of her girth (i heard somewhere that's how you choose a food size for your snakes)

She is also kept in the quietest room in the house above where the two dogs i have can see her, so i don't think she's stressing/insecure about that.

When i got her she wasn't as tame as my BP, but i figured that with some handling and love she would get to be like my BP

Kendra

Lankyrob · 03-06-11, 01:17 PM

You have a top opening cage?? Arboreals snakes, all snakes really, see anyhting coming at them from above as a major threat, i always approach my snakes from their level and certainly my JCP and GTP will strike if i go to them from above.

What do you do when she strikes? If you back off then you are reinforcing the behaviour as she is getting her own way. You need to continue to pick her up and accept the bites, then she will learn that biting doesnt stop handling and start to settle down.

Wolfus_305 · 03-06-11, 01:35 PM

hmm, I didn't know that about top opening tanks, thanks for the advice. (my ball python tank has sliding glass doors across the front)

I'll go to her tank, take off the locks, open it (wearing thick gloves) i'll reach in and when she strikes i try not to move. I don't back away because i don't want her to think it's ok to strike (like you said) but i didn't want to continuing moving towards her in case it really scared her or made her strike more, I was really worried about stressing her out.

the major problem now though is that I don't live with my parents any more because i'm away for university (which i didn't know i would be when I purchased her) and they are stuck looking after her, they don't like snakes to begin with and are really not intrigued by the biting. I can't bring her with me because in the city I am in for university you aren't allowed to have pythons or boas

mld · 03-06-11, 01:46 PM

You can always place an ad on Reptiles Canada website, it's mostly all canadians and have a lot of member in the GTA.
Good luck, I know my parents would never look after any reptiles.

dshin963 · 03-06-11, 01:46 PM

Hey mind if I ask a question? are you near the Peterborough area? If you are I would gladly take her off your hands if you are able to tame her slightly ( I have a roommate who has a phobia of snakes and we are trying to help her get over her fears but if she was aggressive it would only set us back drastically)

Wolfus_305 · 03-06-11, 02:06 PM

I have made an account on that site, but I couldn't find a "post ad" button, when I tried to view the forums it said that I was either not allowed to view that info or that my account was still awaiting activation. I have activated my account via the link in an email they sent me. I will see if it is working later today.

I am in North york area and go to school near london ont. I miiiiiight be able to arrange for somebody to drop her off, but I really doubt it since my mum doesn't drive and my dad works shifts. I'm really not sure how/if i can tame her down at all, i've been trying since just after I bought her and it's even harder now that I don't live at home. I will be done with university near the end of April. if you would like to wait until then or I can PM you if I can arrange transport to your place

dshin963 · 03-06-11, 02:10 PM

Hmmm I am still a new reptile owner and I am not sure if I would be able to care for an aggressive snake to its fullest... I would have to see her before I could commit to taking her

Wolfus_305 · 03-06-11, 02:29 PM

That's perfectly fine and I understand. I have a BP so I thought I could get another snake. My BP was 5 when I got him and he is very hand tame. I have worked very hard to try and tame Nova (the JungleXJaguar carpet) but it's not working and being away for school is making it too difficult. she really needs a very experienced owner. If I still have her and you would like to come see her at the end of april message me and let me know closer to then

dshin963 · 03-06-11, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfus_305

That's perfectly fine and I understand. I have a BP so I thought I could get another snake. My BP was 5 when I got him and he is very hand tame. I have worked very hard to try and tame Nova (the JungleXJaguar carpet) but it's not working and being away for school is making it too difficult. she really needs a very experienced owner. If I still have her and you would like to come see her at the end of april message me and let me know closer to then

Abso-friggin-lutely I will be interested

Lankyrob · 03-06-11, 02:31 PM

If you want to take a trip to theUK with your snake we would love another carpet python............

we would even put you up for free!!