Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I currently own a 10ft. male albino burm. I have had him for about a year and he is generally very calm and docile. If he has defacated in his water bowl he is generally somewhat agaitated when i change it. Last night he actually bit me when i was in the process of changing the water bowl. He seems to be alright and i am as well but i am curious as to whether they generally need time to calm down. I figured i would just use the hook for most necessary involvement with him the next couple days and slowly try to gain his confidence again.
Any suggestions on how to handle him would be appreciated

I never give my snake the opportunity. If he's facing what I need to interact with, I'll push him away with a hook or grab his body about 2 feet behind his head but never toward his head, I always give a gentle test touch also to see how he reacts. If calm, I'll grab his body from behind his head and move him away, then take care of business. If I need to clean the cage or spend some time in it, I'll close him in the hide box until I'm done. Don't know how you approached him but this is my 2 cents.
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

It was totally my fault he bit me. I never grab him by the head, it was most probably because earlier i had been helping my wife with her guinea pigs. I had cleaned up when i gave my son a bath, but then like an idoit put on the shirt I had been wearing while handling the guinea pigs. I never grab near his head, and i always bring him out with the hook after rubbing his side to make sure his in a decent mood. I am just concerned about him being uncomfortable after what must have been a very traumatic experinece.

Your burm is most likely associating your hand with oncoming food (I can assure you it has nothing to do with the water bowl). Many novice burm keepers make this mistake and while you can get away with it when the burm is small, if you make this same mistake with a 16' burm, it could end your life. Get in a habit of using some sort of shield to keep between you and the burm. Once they know that it's not feeding time, they will calm down quickly but using the shield will prevent this type of thing. We use various shields whenever we take our burms out of their exhibits...and these are puppy tame burms but they are big and they deserve respect. Once our of their cage, they are as calm as can be. The shield can be as simple as a piece of sanded plexiglass nailed to a wooden broom stick or something like that. I am assuming you use long tongs to feed your burm. Get in good habits now and it will save your life down the road.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center

>>I currently own a 10ft. male albino burm. I have had him for about a year and he is generally very calm and docile. If he has defacated in his water bowl he is generally somewhat agaitated when i change it. Last night he actually bit me when i was in the process of changing the water bowl. He seems to be alright and i am as well but i am curious as to whether they generally need time to calm down. I figured i would just use the hook for most necessary involvement with him the next couple days and slowly try to gain his confidence again.
>>Any suggestions on how to handle him would be appreciated
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Another thing to consider, which I have just recently started, is to take a hook and touch them in the head/nose with it when you open the cage. This is suppose to condition them that when this happens its not feeding time, because normally when you feed you would not do this. They call it hook training. So far this has worked for me. The scent of guinea pigs on you may have been a factor as well. If he got a whiff of those he may have gone into feed mode.

I appreciate all the advice, but i am still curious as to whether after he bite me if i should leave him alone for a couple of days or if i should resume normal handling.
Thanx for your time and consideration

I say resume normal handling with the mentioned precautions. Like Rob Carmichael said, once out of the cage it should calm down.

Mike
(HH)
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.