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RE: Pissy Burm

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Posted by: HappyHillbilly at Sat May 22 04:43:17 2010  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by HappyHillbilly ]  
   

Corey,
My first suggestion is to double, triple, check the cage temperatures. High temps can cause that type of behavior. I'm not claiming that this is your problem, but it's quick & easy to rule out and therefore a good starting point. You should also consider reducing the amount of food you're feeding her in order to keep her within a manageable size for the time being.

The problem you're having stems from her lack of trust in you, period. Poop slingin' hissy fits are one of their defense mechanisms. She sees you as a threat to her life. You can't force a reptile to trust you, no matter how hard you try. You have to earn their trust.

Could be something in her cage setup, something about the way you remove her from her cage, handle her. Ninety-nine percent of the time it's one of these instead of the snake's individual personality.

How long have you had her and has she been this way from day one?

Have you tried hook training her?

Is she getting spooked from whatever movements it takes to open her cage?

Personally, I believe you're handling her too often & for too long each time. I wouldn't even handle my calmest snake every day for 30 minutes at a time. I don't mean that stern towards you, as if I'm getting onto you. It's about the same as the Jolly Green Giant ripping off the roof of my house every day so he could handle me whenever he wants.

Not to insult your intelligence or experience, by any means, but to make sure that everyone reading this understands - handling or holding a snake doesn't mean to physically restrain it. Even most calm snakes don't like to be restrained, to be held behind their head or to be tightly gripped anywhere within their body to the point that restricts their ability to move about freely. Also, no sudden movements around her, in & out of her cage. Especially not towards her head from the front, top or side.

Support the majority of her body with your hands & arms and let her crawl through your fingers/hands. As she crawls out of one hand keep it below her belly and slowly place it in front of your other hand. Fairly slow & steady movements.

Five to ten minutes for the first several handling sessions - done about every 3 days. Generally, if they calm down after a few minutes of handling, to the point that I know they're beginning to trust me holding them, I'll go ahead and put them up within a minute or two of them calming down. You don't want to hold them for so long that they begin to get anxious again.

If you're currently using a hide in her cage get rid of it. None of my Burms have ever seen a hide. If the cage is in a very low-traffic area I suggest moving it to a slightly higher traffic area. Not Grand Central Station, but some place that has a bit of traffic so the snake's not sitting in complete solitude all the time.

Being housed with other snakes can cause this type of behavior sometimes. There are kaboodles of other possibilites that could cause her to act that way.

Hang in there!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American



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