Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just aquired two burmese as a breeidng broject. They are 1.1 and they are 05's... and extremely aggressive. I mean hissing, biting, and defecating... just not very handleable at the moment. What should I do? Should I give them some time to settle in like a week or so, or should I handle them sooner? Just wondering if anyone has had agressive burms as babies and them they calmed down to be very calm adults. Thanks for any info

Your best bet is to give them 2-3 days to get acclimated to their new environment. As for the biting problem, take a snake bag or pillow case and put one of them in it. Hold them through the bag for about 2 hours. During this time they should start to get used to being handled as well as associate being handled with warmth. Only put one snake at a time in the bag. This may take more than one session with the bag. I normally just use a glove to get them out and after a few minutes, if they are being good, I take the glove off and let them get used to the feel of my skin, which again they will associate with warmth. Whatever you do, when you go to pick them up, don't hesitate, no matter how nervous you are. They will key in on this and it will make them nervous as well, which will make them more prone to strike out of fear. If all goes well, they should be handleable within a week or so, but you have to keep the handling constant, or you'll be back to square one in no time. Good luck.