Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have one mean little hog and i dont understand it. i have never had a problem with my argentine or pythons? she is an 05 i have had her for 2 months now. do i have any hope of calming her down? any suggestions?

Jeff

Hogg Islands are generally docile in my experience, but of course any snake can have a bad attitude. There is a chance that it will grow out of it of course, but I would just handle it often and take the bites if you are really concerned about taming. Try handling it when its been sitting in the cool area of its enclosure and a few days after feeding. Trey Schneller, Boidae Addiction

One thing that I have heard of but have not tried myself is placing and worn t shirt in the cage of the snake so it can get use to your smell. Besides that what I would do is get a snake hook, a small one since it is a 05 baby and pick it up with the hook and gently handle it for short periods of time and do not show any fear if or when it strikes. If you do this several times a week, I believe you will be able to tame it. Good luck.
Chuck

Hogs can be rather tempermental when little. All my Argentines were the same way. Your Hog should mellow out as he grows. Don't be afraid of him. My little Hogs huff and puff and raise quite a fuss, but once you pick them up they totally calm. The worst thing you can is reach in his cage after him, touch him, and then draw your hand away when he tenses up. Just reach in and grab him. If you touch him and draw back he will probably nail you when you go back to get him. He will settle down. Give him time.

Phil Goss

i agree with phil, i have seen with baby hogs that they can act tough, most do, but just use a hook and get them in your hand and they will calm down. i rarely "hold" my snakes and my adult hogs are calm (unless they just had a litter then "mary-lou bar the gates)one of mine went nuts protecting her little ones. j yocum

if you don't have a hook then you should get one. I got this one that is super light cheap and i use it for all my small snakes. I think hooking them is a good method cuz its probably less scary to them then a huge hand coming at them and its less scary for you too cuz you don't have your vunerable hand in a confined space. I have a baby savu python(notorious for being little devils when young) that will snap about anything but once you get him out with a hook he is as calm as my hoggs island. My hoggs always been calm for me but when i first got him there were some moments. Just be confident and take it slow but consistant. i really noticed a difference in my snakes when i handled them confidently but it took time for me to read them.
quey

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Love small boids always looking for new ones.
1.0.0Hogg Island Boa, Quey
0.0.1Ball Python, Apophis(my sisters now)
1.0.0Irian Jaya Carpet Python, Riddick
1.0.0Spotted Python, Bobbi
1.0.0Savu Python, Fossa or Hubi
Snakes to get list: Solomand Island ground boa, Soloman island tree boa, Bolivian Boa, Rosy boa(san felipe or san matias) and ATBs.

hello there could a bunch of reasons why its not happy.. it could be anything from temps being wrong..to being underfed.. to the snake is one thats just not gonna calm down every snake is different

if u would like to contact me on aol my sn is galbraith2004