Reptile & Amphibian Forums

bought a baby brooks 8 weeks ago and hes growing like a weed.one problem tho.for about three weeks now,every time i open the tank lid,he "s"up and strikes at my hand until i pick him up.after about 10 seconds,he calms down and just crawls through my fingers.i this normal for baby brooks?he is about6 monthes old or so.my gbk didnt do this as a baby.any feedback would be appreciated....thanks

With that little info to go on, I’m going to take a guess from your clues. Do you have a proper “hide” for your little snake? I’m wondering if you are reaching in like a great giant eagle with your hand or suddenly exposing him by lifting his hide and presenting the giant eagle claw? I would suggest going real slow so he can take in what you’re doing each progressive step. Maybe slide the lid off and back off. Then lift the hide and back off. Then maybe use a real small hook instead of the giant eagle claw. I use a spatula for some small snakes because I can barely pick them up with my fingers. I noticed they like being scooped up a lot better than “pinched” and grabbed by the giant eagle claw. Once they get the routine down, they are usually pretty matter-of-fact about the regular bowl swap, the Aspen poop-ball removal, and the scoop and transfer move. I’d say show some patience with it and all will be fine.

He's right about the giant "eagle claw"!LOL, snakes, especially young ones think that huge human hand is going down on them in "attack-mode",...not to worry, this is very typical. There are several different ways to go about it. You can gently lift it out with a small hook, as previously mentioned, or just go in and gently grasp(without hesitating so it can't zero in on your hand) the snake at mid-body gently picking him up. The trick is not to give him alot of time to get into strike position, most of the time, you have them in your hand before they knew what happened!LOL.....just don't give him time to zero in!.....the fact is a little baby snake doesn't hurt when it bites, so if he does this after you have him out, he will soon learn that there's no reason to bite any longer, and will start trusting that you're not a "monster trying to eat him!LOL...it should do just fine, just be patient and give it some time.
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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!

thanks for the info guys,i,ll keep at it...slowly!