Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,

Back in early September of 2005, I purchased a hatchling African brown house snake. I was excited when it arrived, as I was anxious to acquire an attractive African species that was gentle and pleasant to use in demos. I handled it carefully for a few days, and kept it in a nice natural savannah vivarium. Well, it has grown considerably already since then, and I am back to the gentle handlings. If only the snake could be as gentle! My black racer gives me less trouble. Usually what has worked for me in the past is using a stick to lift the snake up with, and then placing it on my hand. Even when I am standing still, the snake coils repeatedly and strikes at my hand. It may sound silly for such a little snake, but it is amazingly painful and bloody. It throws its muscular body at me, striking repeatedly. I have stopped handling it. Does anyone have any sugestions about what I can do to calm this supposedly gentle species down and make it more used to my presence? It is a beautiful specimen, and I hate to see it so freaked out all the time. Thanks for any help you can provide.
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DAVE

0.0.1 Oriental fire-bellied toad
0.1 Western hog-nosed snake
0.0.1 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Dubia day gecko
0.0.1 yellow * Everglades rat snake
1.0 Yunnan beauty snake
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.1 albino African clawed frog
0.0.1 Northern black racer
0.0.1 African brown house snake (Zambia locale)
0.0.1 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 European fire salamanders
(parthenogenic) Brahminy blindsnakes *

I feel your pain LITERALY!

I breed House Snakes

Tanzanians
Capes
Transvaal
etc.

I have 30 breeders and while hatchlings often bite a bit they usually get over it. Yet adults and even yearlings are almost always gentle. I just added some high red Tanzanians though and one of them is just a [bleep]! She bites and she is not getting better she has gone from striking to now chewing. She is still small about 18 inches but is now drawing blood.

She does get a LOT better once in hand but still strikes and the other hand when it gets close.

All I can suggest is don't stop picking her up if she is drawing lots of blood try some good tight fitting gloves. May be you can out last her and keep picking it up until it gives up. Just be as gentle as you can.

Many of my fellow breeders say they just are bighty as a breed but again my results are so far one in 30. The one bite prone animal is a wild caught red phase Tanzanian animal. I have several other WC Tanzanian animals including a huge male that is puppy dog tame. If you can't chill her out don't give up on the breed though most are not like this in my experience.

Jack

Link

Wierd...never heard of an angry house snake, unless your grabbing it by the neck.

Both of mine were very tame...even the young male I bought. He was a bit nervous, but never bit.

I have one house snake that will bite out of about 12 but i did not recive him untill he was about a yearling, a cinemon lace male, I really don't mind being bitten by him and its normaly just one bite after he comes out and then he is ok.
Most don't bite except for when they are hatchlings.
I bought a pair of wc adults a couple of years ago and even these where puppys.

Great little snakes and the hatchlings are so much fun