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If my pine is hissing and rattling his tail is still okay to handle him without getting tagged? He does this from time to time (obviously), but never struck at me. I really don't know the line with these guys as I am still pretty new to pines. Taking into account that every snake is different, in the law of averages, should I just pick him up?

>>If my pine is hissing and rattling his tail is still okay to handle him without getting tagged? He does this from time to time (obviously), but never struck at me. I really don't know the line with these guys as I am still pretty new to pines. Taking into account that every snake is different, in the law of averages, should I just pick him up?
>>

Yeppers.If your pine looks like this then pick up carefully.

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If lead paint is so deadly why do they make it so delicious?

I concur... same for sonorans and southerns.

Thanks guys. I've heard that hissing and tail rattling are bluffs, and the real warning is the open mouth hissing. I've noticed two levels of hissing. The "hey, stop surprising me" and "hey, i'm going to bite now." Took him out for a cage cleaning and did the usual hissing and tail rattling until he was in my hands. Instantly calmed down.

p.s. How do I get the picture I uploaded to stop appearing every time I post?

They rarely bluff...if they seem annoyed...I wouldn't bother & stress them.

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Sincerely, Jason
www.NortheastSnakes.com
NortheastSnakes@verizon.net

I'm not a real expert when it comes to a lot of issues regarding reptile husbandry, but I do consider myself a bit of a master when it comes to handling issues. I have handled nearly every snake I've come ever come across in 50 years, and it truly is one of my favorite activities. I've handled friends snakes that they were afraid to handle, and unfortunately that just creates a vicious cycle. Snake bites, or bluffs, because snake is afraid of people and unused to handling, people avoid handling snake, snake remains fearful and aggressive.

I took out a friend's eight foot Spilotes last summer that was very aggressive, (did get bit a few times carrying it outside--their neck flattening is awesome!) perched it on a clothesline, supporting its' tail a little, stroked it, and let it stretch out, observe me, and soak up a little sunshine. 30 minutes later I was able to kiss it on the nose. My friend called out to her husband and said, "Rick, you won't believe this!"

I started keeping snakes again as a hobby eight years ago and my first snake was a six foot male black pine snake I purchased when he was in blue. He seemed mellow when I bought him so I'd have a great pet when I got home.

Wrong! He was the most aggressive animal I'd ever come across snake-wise. I was callin' him Satan within a week or two, and serious considered taking him back to the pet store and returning him. But I gradually figured out how to tame him down and learned a lot in the process. Within about a month or so, he let me pull of a very receded eye cap with a pair of tweezers with little complaint and now he can be handled by 4 year olds without any concern whatsoever. He's my favorite animal.

My rule of thumb unless an animal is thrashing about so violently there's is danger it will hurt itself is, whenever it shows aggression...HANDLE IT! Never let a Pituophis get away with bluff. If you're really concerned about getting bitten, throw a towel over it first. When my snakes even hiss a little at me, the first thing I do is pick 'em up and hold 'em right up to my eyes and look 'em square, letting them know, one, it's just me they're hissing at,and two, I don' care for their attitude! I have a six foot female Black Pine I raised from a baby, that's probably never let out a real Pituophis hiss in her entire life! Does have a Pit feeding response though!

Naturally, if there's a real concern of getting bit on the face, one needs to inject a little caution but you can always hold them firmly behind the neck if necessary although I don't recommend it unless there's a real threat. And it's not necessary to get so up close and personal. Just pick 'em up or even just reach in and pet them a little in their cage. The idea is just to get them very used to your touch. Naturally, I don't recommend any of these techniques for a D'Alberts Python!

Also, if you have a semi-aggressive animal, just hang out with it at every chance you get. I have a 4 1/2 foot nice yellow hypo bull inside my shirt tucked around my waist right now as I type this. I got him as a baby though so he's been dog tame forever. I place my big six foot female black pine on my chest often in the morning as I lay in bed and drink my tea. She's gotten totally used to it and like a fat cat resents it when I finally have to move her and get up. I just like hanging out with my Pits!

So, my one qualification is that I do recognize that the majority of Pituophis owners keep snakes as breeding animals primarily, and don't have nearly enough time or interest to devote themselves to taming down each one. But it is possible if you want to invest the effort. I do find very nervous animals are less responsive to consistent attention than aggressive ones.

A friend, who's an awesome breeder, just gave me two gorgeous five and a half foot white bulls this summer because they were still hissy and agitated whenever he had to feed them, etc. One is totally calm now and the other much calmer than he was when I got him. So there's one more reason to practise your taming skills. You might get some great free snakes down the line.

Best of luck! (I got more pix of my black pines in the gallery by the way.)

Great post!!
Thank you for your thoughts!! I really enjoyed reading what you have to say, and I do agree. The best way to tame an animal down is frequent handling, and you seem to have a lot of experience that is valuable!

Take care!
Billy
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Genesis 1:1

Thanks Billy, I've enjoyed many of your posts for several years now and you've inspired me to upload a few photos of my six foot black pine female eating a chicken egg at a local fair this summer. Check out photos in the gallery. Here's one!

Thank you sir!!

Wow, what a sight that is!!! Awesome black pine!! I have just one for now, an 05 female.
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Genesis 1:1

Thanks for the time and the dedicated post. I will be sure to give my little man a little more attention. I feel like a jerk only responding so lightly, but you covered more than years of empirical evidence could allot. Thanks

Does anyone know how to get this picture off when I post?