Are ATB's handle-able?

[Corey209]

I have a very tame ATB I can handle every day if I wanted without being bit. He doesn't like being taken out of his cage but he still won't strike while getting him out. While handling him you have to be careful of your fingers though, if you wave one in front of his face (eg. typing while he's in your hand) he will strike but usually settles down.

[Jason_Hood]

Originally Posted by lady_bug87

I think that may be just a little uncalled for.

I believe him. I just don't share the same experience. Why is his experience any more credible than mine? Yes he has more years and more specimens to consider but its generally accepted that defensiveness is dependent on the individual specimen (at least I believe it is)

Mine does not tolerate handling without biting. However most will use the same argument with GTPs and mine is 'docile' and has never bitten anyone nor has she made any attempt.

I do stand by my statement, however that neonates are especially delicate due to the prehensile tail which you are more than welcome to dispute.

When I see people talking about ATBs and calling them aggressive while having no real experience with them I see it as the herp community version of when a non snake person tells me some BS story about snakes that they have never seen. Any reptile person should be able to identify with that. Falsehoods spoken out of ignorance are still falsehoods. I have produced around 100 CBB ATBs in my breeding career and far more of them have been placid than not. That is my personal first hand experience which happens to be backed up by quite a few people in this thread.

In dealing with WC ATBs I have found them to bite slightly more often but with proper handling they are fine for the most part. What is the exception to the real world rule is that ATBs are bitey, the norm for them is actually the opposite. This is spoken with the authority of someone who has around 50 in my possession right now and who has had a few hundred pass through my hands both WC, CB, and CBB.

If you somehow find that statement as offensive or flaming then maybe you should look at what you are saying. You are saying a group of animals I care for deeply are "biters" which is to say they are dangerous. The fact that it is one species in particular as opposed to all snakes does not matter to me. You are in fact passing along the same fear mongering that outsiders claim on all snakes to one species. To a non snake person who encounters a wild corn snake, they are biters because a wild corn picked up the wrong way will in fact bite you but we all know from personal experience that corns are in fact quite placid. What I am telling you from my vastly greater experience with ATB's is that they are also not really aggressive and I will stand behind that 100%. There are simple rules to handling them and they are on a whole easy to deal with but I will agree that there are a few in the mix that are biters but guess what, the same is true of corns snakes!

Jason

[MoreliAddict]

@Pareeeee

If you're set on ATBs, go to a reptile show and handle a bunch of them. Pick out a calm one.

Same can be done for GTPs...

[Will0W783]

They can be handleable, although it can stress them. I have owned four GTPs and 2 ETBs (both species thought to be "aggressive"), and all of them were perfectly tame. You have to approach arboreal snakes differently than you do terrestrial ones. Never approach an arboreal from above- their only natural predators come down on them from above, so they instinctively defend themselves from aerial attack.

I have found that using removable perches (such as scorched PVC) makes things much easier. I just remove the perch with the snake on it, and let the snake crawl off onto my arms.

[lady_bug87]

Originally Posted by Jason_Hood

When I see people talking about ATBs and calling them aggressive while having no real experience with them I see it as the herp community version of when a non snake person tells me some BS story about snakes that they have never seen. Any reptile person should be able to identify with that. Falsehoods spoken out of ignorance are still falsehoods. I have produced around 100 CBB ATBs in my breeding career and far more of them have been placid than not. That is my personal first hand experience which happens to be backed up by quite a few people in this thread.

In dealing with WC ATBs I have found them to bite slightly more often but with proper handling they are fine for the most part. What is the exception to the real world rule is that ATBs are bitey, the norm for them is actually the opposite. This is spoken with the authority of someone who has around 50 in my possession right now and who has had a few hundred pass through my hands both WC, CB, and CBB.

If you somehow find that statement as offensive or flaming then maybe you should look at what you are saying. You are saying a group of animals I care for deeply are "biters" which is to say they are dangerous. The fact that it is one species in particular as opposed to all snakes does not matter to me. You are in fact passing along the same fear mongering that outsiders claim on all snakes to one species. To a non snake person who encounters a wild corn snake, they are biters because a wild corn picked up the wrong way will in fact bite you but we all know from personal experience that corns are in fact quite placid. What I am telling you from my vastly greater experience with ATB's is that they are also not really aggressive and I will stand behind that 100%. There are simple rules to handling them and they are on a whole easy to deal with but I will agree that there are a few in the mix that are biters but guess what, the same is true of corns snakes!

Jason

That's exactly my point. I respect what you're sayng I never said they all intact I specifically said my own happens to be a biter. I still love keeping him and will hopefully add another to my collection

[Corey209]

Originally Posted by Will0W783

They can be handleable, although it can stress them. I have owned four GTPs and 2 ETBs (both species thought to be "aggressive"), and all of them were perfectly tame. You have to approach arboreal snakes differently than you do terrestrial ones. Never approach an arboreal from above- their only natural predators come down on them from above, so they instinctively defend themselves from aerial attack.

I have found that using removable perches (such as scorched PVC) makes things much easier. I just remove the perch with the snake on it, and let the snake crawl off onto my arms.

Amazons eat normally while hanging down waiting for a prey to pass by, I grab mine from above every time because I can't get him out from the front. Amazons also like crossed branches like a X, not straight pvc.

[SSSSnakes]

Originally Posted by Corey209

Amazons eat normally while hanging down waiting for a prey to pass by, I grab mine from above every time because I can't get him out from the front. Amazons also like crossed branches like a X, not straight pvc.

ATB's need 3 points of contact to perch properly. They do not coil over a branch like most arboreal snakes do.

[Rogue628]

Jerry, what do you mean by 3 points of contact? 3 different perches?

[SSSSnakes]

Originally Posted by MoreliAddict

@Pareeeee

If you're set on ATBs, go to a reptile show and handle a bunch of them. Pick out a calm one.

Same can be done for GTPs...

Be careful about trying to see if the snake is handle-able at a reptile expo. At the expo, the temps are normally cooler than you would normally keep the snake at. This sometimes make the snake more docile and slower. Then when you get the snake home and warm it up, you find it's real temperament.

[Corey209]

Originally Posted by SSSSnakes

ATB's need 3 points of contact to perch properly. They do not coil over a branch like most arboreal snakes do.

The preferred branch set up is the X, I never said they coil over a branch. My ATB wraps around a fake plant, branch and straight perch all at once.

[SSSSnakes]

Originally Posted by Rogue628

Jerry, what do you mean by 3 points of contact? 3 different perches?

It can be 2 branches that cross each other. They want 3 parts of their body touching something.

[Rogue628]

Thanks for the info! I've been getting really interested in ATB's lately. Not sure if I'd own one, however, I still love to learn anything about the species I have not kept yet as they begin to interest me.

[Rogue628]

Originally Posted by SSSSnakes

Be careful about trying to see if the snake is handle-able at a reptile expo. At the expo, the temps are normally cooler than you would normally keep the snake at. This sometimes make the snake more docile and slower. Then when you get the snake home and warm it up, you find it's real temperament.

I saw a perfect example of this at a reptile expo. Some breeder had a dwarf burm. He called him Chainsaw. Chainsaw was fine when held at first. As soon as he warmed up, he was all about biting the handler and anyone close enough for him to tag. It was really interesting to see how the breeder handled him without being bitten and stressing the poor animal out too much. Someone had wanted to buy him and he was warned that Chainsaw was evil. After seeing for himself, the prospective buyer decided against the purchase. lol

[Corey209]

If anyone in northern california wants to trade for an atb I have one, looking for other arboreals. Mine is a male about, about 2 years old and over 4 feet.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by Jason_Hood

When I see people talking about ATBs and calling them aggressive while having no real experience with them I see it as the herp community version of when a non snake person tells me some BS story about snakes that they have never seen. Any reptile person should be able to identify with that. Falsehoods spoken out of ignorance are still falsehoods. I have produced around 100 CBB ATBs in my breeding career and far more of them have been placid than not. That is my personal first hand experience which happens to be backed up by quite a few people in this thread.

In dealing with WC ATBs I have found them to bite slightly more often but with proper handling they are fine for the most part. What is the exception to the real world rule is that ATBs are bitey, the norm for them is actually the opposite. This is spoken with the authority of someone who has around 50 in my possession right now and who has had a few hundred pass through my hands both WC, CB, and CBB.

If you somehow find that statement as offensive or flaming then maybe you should look at what you are saying. You are saying a group of animals I care for deeply are "biters" which is to say they are dangerous. The fact that it is one species in particular as opposed to all snakes does not matter to me. You are in fact passing along the same fear mongering that outsiders claim on all snakes to one species. To a non snake person who encounters a wild corn snake, they are biters because a wild corn picked up the wrong way will in fact bite you but we all know from personal experience that corns are in fact quite placid. What I am telling you from my vastly greater experience with ATB's is that they are also not really aggressive and I will stand behind that 100%. There are simple rules to handling them and they are on a whole easy to deal with but I will agree that there are a few in the mix that are biters but guess what, the same is true of corns snakes!

Jason

Jason, I have shown my experience with them. I also have experience with wild corn snakes. They don't bite. Not even close to how often I find ATB's to bite.

I have my personal experience with them to go on, with a range of them. A couple dozen to be exact. I'm good with my opinion of them. I still stick to the recommendation of not handling them because they tend to care less about you then.

You can get calm ones and you can get chainsaws. Just like other arboreals.