Need JCP Help!!!

The_Joker · 09-01-11, 09:01 PM

So i recently ended up being the owner of a 5 foot JCP. I have snakes and the previous owners were so afraid of it they werent feeding it or taking proper care of it so i rescued him. I have since brought him home, put him in a 100 Gallon tank with hides and such and fed him. He eats just fine and seems to be pretty active in the tank. I read up and found out how nippy these things can be and have since learned that its 6 years old. I tried the glove tactic as well as trying a hook & have made quite a few attempts to get him out of his tank. So far EVERY time i open the tank and put anything in it he immediately and repeatedly strikes it. I have had some success with leaving my hand on the side of the tank and letting him crawl to me which was fine except that he was in striking range of my face & got himself a nice piece of my ear. Im not afraid of him by any means, my hands dont shake, and i dont react much when i get bit... At this point im not sure what i can do.The best i have gotten as far as holding him was holding on as he switched from striking my left hand/arm to my right hand/arm.

Anyone have any tips/secrets about these things or how to hand train them?

P.S. I have done my research about the breed and know that they feint with their mouth closed, this isnt the case, he draws blood every time!

marvelfreak · 09-02-11, 03:46 PM

For me i found that giving my Carpets a light spray with the misting bottle calms them right down. One thing you don't want to do is put him down when he bites. That will just reinforce his biting to be left alone. What sucks is he already learn this behavior from the previous owners. So it going to make it harder to break him of it. But with time and patience you should be able to get him to calm down. Any time one of my snakes bite me i hold them for at least another 10 minutes. This way they know biting won't get them put down.

red ink · 09-05-11, 05:25 PM

Sometimes some snakes are just not into handling no matter how much interaction is given to them (specially with the reputations of JCPs).

If it's eating fine and active that may be the best you can hope for, as long as you can hook it out when you need to do routine maintenance without too much undue stress then so be it.

I have seen JCPs that were raised by breeders themselves at that age that could only be described as living chainsaws....

One thing you may also try is not to interact with it in the evenings and limit all contact hours to daylight hours... glove techniques is good as it reduces your hands heat signature as well as using a hook to get it out to transfer to the gloved hands.

stephanbakir · 09-05-11, 05:46 PM

Hook training is also a great idea, can't really add much more, the 2 previous posters nailed it.

lpbldg18 · 09-05-11, 06:43 PM

My JCP (although still young) was VERY nippy. It took him quite a few monts to calm down. Its september and he is still jumpy, but can finally hold him without gloves! give him time and he will gradually get better!

stephanbakir · 09-05-11, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpbldg18

My JCP (although still you) was VERY

Not sure I understood this =/

lpbldg18 · 09-05-11, 06:49 PM

sorry hit enter on accident lol