Now, I've had my gopher snake Phil for almost two weeks now, so he's nowhere near being completely settled in, but should be calmed down a bit. Last Friday I fed both him and my corn snake their weekly meals. Phil actively struck the mouse I gave him and I let him swallow it and waited for him to settle it in his stomache a bit before I moved him out of his feeder tank. After he was back in his home, I went to change the water bowl, which caused him to start rattling his tail at me. I cautiously got the water bowl out and and emptied it and wiped it down. When I went to put back the (now empty, thank God!) bowl he rattled his tail again and struck out at my hand and started hissing loudly at me. I figured he got moody just after eating and moved on with my life Yesterday was feeding day again at my house. And I had no problems with the corn snake (as usual), but when I went to get Phil into the feeder tank he started rattling his tail and got into the defensive "S" posture. I was able to get him out of the cage with a snake hook and feed him (at least he seemed to appreciate that!). But once again, would not let me near him to put him back in his cage. I had to put a snake bag in front of him and nudge him over to encourage him to go into it with the back end of the snake hook. Once inside the bag, I got him into the cage fine. I didn't want to use the snake hook to pick him up right after eating for fear of regurgitation. Nobody wants a snake that hates them, so I'm hoping he will calm down in time. Does anybody have any suggestions as to get him to trust me and to get him to stop trying to take a piece out of me? I've had aggressive animals before and have had no problem with keeping them (Phil's part of the family now!), but never with a snake... although I have dealt with an aggressive 5' long male iguana... So if anyone has any advice... it would be super duper!
RE: A Big Ol Mine isnt that agresive... his has only made hissing sounds 2 times at me while i was holding him and he was trying to run(slither) away while he was doing it... becuse he (mine) is wild caught i have been haveing "handling sessions" everyday for 10-15 minutes a session 2 times a day... in just 3 days he has clamed down to were he isnt actively trying to run away and hasnt hissed at me.... maybe that will help you... My snake is hungry right now too... but he hasnt tryed to bite.. *crosses fingers*
RE: A Big Ol Well, since he ate last night... I'll wait until tomorrow night/Sunday morning to handle him again, I see that tail going and I back off though! That's my warning sign
Re: RE: A Big Ol Lol! BGAWK! Ok ok, all jokes aside, I'd back off too. Shhh, don't laugh You could always try putting an article of clothing that smells like you into the tank and keep it there for a bit. How often have you been handling him? He's not WC right? I think with more time and handling he should eventually settle down. Different snake will have different personalities and different time frames of when they will feel safe. Good luck!
RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol Most of the Gophers I've run into in the wild will tail rattle as a "leave me alone" warning, but I've never had trouble w/ biters. Is Phil CB. I heard CB Gophers are more prone to bite, and have trouble distinguishing hand from food than their WC counterparts. Chalk it up to strong feeding response I guess. reako45
RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol I'd say just keep feeding him and try to handle him more and more. Soon he'll learn that you're either going to feed him or just hold him and hopefully stop being so hostile. If not you can always just hate him back, chuck the food at him and such. (JK!)
RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol He's captive bred, I got him from a breeder... just a moody little jerk I suppose. I try to do things with him once a day... and he did let me hold him this morning for a bit! So, perhaps we're making some slow progress. Oh, and Clem... have you seen my hand? Because it's pretty nasty... I don't think I want him biting me again... It seemed to have an anti-coagulant affect when he bit me, blood everywhere....... not be gross or anything. But it could be a feeding response too. Sometimes all I have to do is look at him in the cage and that tail starts going!
Re: RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol "It's just a flesh wound" HAHAHAHAHA Yeah, I guess I wouldn't want to go back for more! He loves you though, he just has a funny way of showing it!!
RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol hahaha... we had a breakthrough today! He sat on my lap and crawled around me, smelling me (is that what killed the plants?) flicking his tongue everywhere... I sat perfectly still and let him explore and then was able to get him back into his cage without incident!
RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol Great work Eire! I knew it would just take time Nice reference to The Holy Grail Clem I fell off my chair, laughing!
RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol Lmao, wait for it...are you ready? King Arthur: [after Arthur's cut off both of the Black Knight's arms] Look, you stupid B*****d. You've got no arms left. Black Knight: Yes I have. King Arthur: *Look*! Black Knight: It's just a flesh wound.
RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol King Arthur: What are you going to do bleed on me? Black Knight: I'm invincible!! King Arthur: You're a looney... Black Knight: The Black Knight always triumphs! Have at you!!! Come on then... [King Arthur cuts off last leg, Black Knight is now armless and legless] Black Knight: All right, we'll call it a draw........
RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol LOL i love that part.. it intresting that CB are more agressive then WC ones... I wonder way... i would think WC would be the Uber Agressive counter-part.. go figure
RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol Pituophis in general are all very defensive. It's all a bluff unless you get a big W/C adult that doesn't want to be touched. I had a 7.4 inch Texas Big Boy, housed in a 55 gallon tank with a big piece of PVC in the middle. The snake would only come out of his PVC when I wasn't in the room, or if he was hungry. This snake would actually sit there and beg until I brought him his rats. I would throw 2 in at a time. He would grab one and start constricting it, while his tail searched for the other. Once he found it he would smash it up against the glass and hold it there until he had swallowed his first. Then He would make his way over to the other rat he had pinned down. The funny thing is that the whole time he would be hissing at me and rattling his tail. Even striking at me while eating. What's even more funny is that I could pick him up at any point during this and he would be perfectly calm. These are my favorite snakes because of their akward personalities and random feeding habits. Just don't be afraid, even if he bites you it's not going to be anything you'll care about 5 minutes later.
RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: A Big Ol oh dear lord i LOVE that movie..especially that part. But good job with the incident-less handling session just keep at it and i'm sure he'll eventually get used to you.
you should put him somewhere where he will see you a lot, like next to your bed; while you sleep you are not a threat. you also should just handle him a lot and use tweezers to feed him so he does not assosiate hands with food or he will become a biter. just be patient and kind and deal with the temper, ignore it and he should stop.
