Wouldn't necessarily call this aggression; as arboreal snakes have a stronger feeding reaction than non-arboreals/crepusculars. The absence of handling (not criticizing you, as it happens to all of us) basically 'trained' your snake to the idea that it was feeding time every time the door opens. Evidence of this is when the snake comes flying out with an open mouth.
A couple of things--
Try using a snake hook/dowel rod and touching her head a couple of times; a day-- the idea of the enclosure opening w/o food needs to happen for a while in order to ‘re-train/re-indoctrinate’ your snake.
Once you get your snake out and you can use a hook to do this, hold him/her for a few minutes (frequency is more important than duration). I stroke the head a few times, to reduce/eliminate head shyness. Do this every day. If you don’t want to handle after feeding, still open the enclosure, reach in and touch the head.
Andrew’s idea above, using a flat hand, is also a good one. The only thing I would add, is to be decisive. If you are not, you become prey and stand a greater chance of being bitten. Be confident!! Again-- the bite doesn’t hurt, it’s more of a shock that bleeds a little. In the words of Monty Python—It’s just a flesh wound!!
If your snake was previously tame, you should start seeing results soon. Good Luck-- it’s a beautiful animal and worth the effort.
ebb
Link

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]