Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all.

I am new to the world of snake caring, and I have one major question. How do you condition a snakes behavior?

With mammals and rodents it is quite simple. You give them a treat if they do something good, or you take something away if they do something bad. But how does this work for snakes? How can I reward a snake for good behavior or punish them for bad behavior? I mean, they don't exactly eat often so I wouldn't expect that throwing them a pinky would work.

Let me explain my situation further. I am a new intern at an agriscience center. They received a donation of snakes a few months ago (before I got there). There are 20 total, varying breeds: boa constrictors, ball pythons, red-tailed baby boas, corn snakes, kingsnakes, bull snakes, milksnakes...typical domestic snakes. These snakes are not used to being handled...at all, really. The animal caretaker is afraid of snakes, and doesn't really know how to take care of them anyways. We have done lots of research, and have everything figured out but this question about conditioning.

Since the snakes are not used to being handled, it is my job to take them out and hold them and whatnot so that they get used to their captivity. They get spooked and defensive very easily though, and I think that if I could find a way to reward them for not biting (or even punish them for biting, maybe), then the process will go along much better.

I believe you'll find that the snakes in your care will not respond to the type of conditioning you are used to. The key to this situation is to train yourself to read the snakes' body language and response, to gauge their moods and to appear non-aggressive to them.
Snakes have much simpler brains than mammals and act primarily by instinct. While it MAY be possible to condition some snake species using reward/punishment techniques, it's highly unlikely. Snakes are not capable of any form of reasoning and only basic associations. They differentiate between food and handler by smell, for example. If you are non-aggressive, they will eventually associate your scent and movements with non-aggression and may calm down. You should NEVER punish a reptile. That would only serve to make them more afraid.
Also know that some species, and some individuals, may never calm down. I own several "flighty" milk snakes and have learned over the years how to adjust MY movements to help keep the snakes as calm as possible and how to avoid bites by aggressive snakes. Another thing to learn is how to not flinch or jerk (or freak out) when a snake does bite. I (and MANY of the other posters on this forum) can offer you more specific techniques to help you deal with these snakes.
You may want to visit some of your local pet stores and ask for some advice and perhaps handling demonstrations. I would advise against going to a chain pet store, as the employees there tend to be improperly trained. Instead, find locally owned pet stores and seek out the most passionate employee or the owner.
I hope that some of this is helpful to you and, ultimately, to the snakes in your care.
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1.1.0 Hondurans Het Amel
1.1.0 Hondurans Anery, Het Hypo
0.1.0 Honduran Hypo
0.2.0 Pueblans
1.0.0 Thayeri MSP
0.0.1 GBK Blair's Phase
1.0.0 California King
0.0.1 Speckled King WC
0.0.1 Jungle Carpet
0.1.0 Ball, Normal
0.0.1 Sulcata
0.1.0 Girlfriend, Caucasius Mexicana, Fiancee Phase

I don't have any experience with the boas and pythons, but I would assume (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) that you would condition them much the same ways as rat snakes and kingsnakes.

Mfoux is right - snakes don't understand the idea of reward/punishment for good and bad behavior respectively. You will always have the animals that will never calm down, but I would say that most should, at the very least, become handleable.

If the snakes haven't been handled much, I would suggest a snake hook. A hook allows you to remove the snake without grabbing it, which can stress the animal further. Also, try to be consistent when you remove the snakes from their enclosures, and don't back off if the snake becomes defensive. Once you have the snake out of the enclosure, let it crawl through your fingers while you support its body.

Very important: if the snake bites you, don't try to pry it off. You can actually hurt the animal by doing this. Being around snakes means that you will eventually be bitten, and most bites are nothing to worry about. If the snake doesn't release, running water on the snake should make it let go.

Good luck!

Orocosos

I can only reinforce what has already been said.

Several of my snakes are rescue snakes, and they have been cast around a bit before landing here.

LOTS of gentle handling, you should also do some feeding. In time you will EARN the snakes trust. However they may remain skittish. Each one is an indavidual.

Patience and persistence are the key. Bites are not painless, but easily tolerable depending on where they get you. (long sleeve shirts will help, and soak up the musk fluids as well)

As it has been said before, if bit never pull the snake off.. Suck it up soldier, pain is temporary. Be safe and keep your face clear at all times.

if you do this, please commit to it and stick with it for as long as you can. It sounds like these snakes need some good care.

Peace.
Wayne A. Harvey

Thank you very much. That was genuinely helpful.

Could you give me some tips on how not to seem aggressive when taking them out of their cages? That is where the biggest problems are. Once they are in my hand, they are fine. I'm working on getting a snake hook, but aside from that.

The contraption that most of these snakes are in is similar to the picture below, and I think part of the reason they get spooked is because I am reaching for them at eye level instead of down (like it would be in an aquarium).

Go in slow but with a purpose. IOW - once you've committed to getting the snake out, move slowly so that the snake isn't startled, but don't give the snake time to be aggressive. Never try to grab the snake's head first thing; somewhere about mid-body is preferable. For the smaller snakes, you can try scooping them, but larger snakes may require you to (gently) grab them.

Everyone has their own preferences, but here's the sequence that's worked for me:

1) After opening the cage, reach in and gently touch the snake
2) Pick the snake up, and remove it from the cage

Snakes are first and foremost individuals. Some may tolerate handling better than others.

One more thing: it's generally a good idea to wash your hands in between snakes. You can help prevent the spread of diseases and some parasites. Also, kingsnakes are cannibalistic, so if you go into a kingnsnake's enclosure smelling like another snake, the kingsnake might mistake you for lunch.

I always tell the people who get my baby snakes.....

If they do bite, do NOT put them away, just reinforces the strike at it and chase it away behavior.

They seem to sense who is comfortable holding them versus who is afraid.

Gentle support from underneath rather than grasping them.

And like the others have already said, you will get bit!!! Calm reaction and NOT pulling away will keep the damage minimal to you and the snake. Their teeth are designed to keep prey from escaping, pulling only sets them deeper and tears your skin.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Not a whole lot to add to this, just keep in mind, as some other's have mentioned, unless you use a hook to take out some of the bigger ones, just go in with an opened, flat palm, as this offers minimal surface for the snake to grab, cover them in the head area with flat palm, and gently grasp them while lifting them out all in the same motion. This will offer no time for the snake to "zero in" on the target(your hand)and get defensive, they're up and being held before they really knew what happened. This method really works very well.

best of luck with them!

~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Everything the other guys said here is true. Here are a few of other things that might help:
1. What Dmong said about covering the head with your palm is good. Here's another way to do the same thing without using your hand: place a shirt or towel over the snake's head and then grasp the body. I've used this for quite a few snakes.
2. Most of the snakes I've kept do better being removed from shallow enclosures than from overhead. My guess is that snakes are hardwired to view anything coming at them from above as a predator.
3. Wear a shirt all day and then leave the shirt in with the snake. It will associate your scent with non-aggressiveness.
4. Most snakes do not like to be touched on the head or the tail. Even my tamest snakes pull away when I touch the tops of their heads. Again, I think this is survival instinct.
5. Always wash your hands before AND after handling. For sanitation and to keep your fingers from being viewed as food.
6. And finally, this is one I just heard today from my crafty 14 year old brother who is just getting into water snakes: scent your hands by holding a calmer snake of the same species before handling a more nervous one. He has started employing this technique with broad-banded water snakes. His juvies are fairly tame, but the adults are vicious. He noticed that the adults were calm when he handled them after handling the smaller snakesm. After a few days, he was able to stop "scenting" himself. It seems to work the same as when we scent or de-scent pinkies to feed to our picky grey-banded king snakes. Although I wouldn't try scenting your hands when dealing with cannibalistic species.

Good luck!

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1.1.0 Hondurans Het Amel
1.1.0 Hondurans Anery, Het Hypo
0.1.0 Honduran Hypo
0.2.0 Pueblans
1.0.0 Thayeri MSP
0.0.1 GBK Blair's Phase
1.0.0 California King
0.0.1 Speckled King WC
0.0.1 Jungle Carpet
0.1.0 Ball, Normal
0.0.1 Sulcata
0.1.0 Girlfriend, Caucasius Mexicana, Fiancee Phase

>>>"Although I wouldn't try scenting your hands when dealing with cannibalistic species".

***LOL!!!,....Yes, I would STRONGLY advise against that!....too funny!

Good job on the posts.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

"3. Wear a shirt all day and then leave the shirt in with the snake. It will associate your scent with non-aggressiveness"

This was the tip I was going to suggest... I'd like to second this advice. If he could manage to do that with each snake, maybe even just scenting a towel to put in with them, I think it would help some.

My $.02

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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake possible mix (Eddie Gein)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

I thought of a few others...

Always remember that if the snake is sitting in his hide, or lying motionless, ANY sudden advance by you will startle the animal.

For survival reasons, a snake is fully aware while sleeping, and since they have no eyelids even the shadow of your hand approaching will set off the intruder alarm.

never try to feed more than one snake at a time, I have seen snakes on many occasions have no interest in a food item until another snake grabbed it, Then suddenly the competition instinct kicks in, and they will fight over the food.

Never feed in an enclosure with bedding in it, Aspen shavings, Coconut, bark, sand, gravel or moss are all good and pretty, but can and WILL become impacted in the snake, A VERY UGLY way to die.

P.S. I want that wall display

Wayne

First off everybody has provided lots of very useful information and I really don't have too much to add. One other thought that I had regarding conditioning is that I never put a snake back in its enclosure right after it musks. Snakes musk because they feel threatened and it is possible that they may learn to associate musking with being put back down. Doing so may reinforce the musking behavior.

Most of my reptile experience is with field survey work so I've handled a LOT of snakes with no social skills. The best way to calm a snake down that is freaking out is to let it crawl through your hands. Support its body from below and as it moves forward move your hand that was at its rear to the front. If you keep doing this the snake is essentially "running" in place. Snakes aren't all together that smart and they think they are escaping. Once they feel they are away from danger they usually calm down and even though you are still holding it stop perceiving you as a threat. As long as you don't move suddenly it should be fine. As others have said, each species and individual is different. This method generally works for snakes up to about 5 or so feet in length and you can usually get even more aggressive snakes to calm down quickly.

Also, regarding the people who are not comfortable handling snakes. If you take the snakes out when they are in the area and they see that you are not being bit or hurt it eventually helps increase their comfort level as well. Very often in the field there are a couple people who get the shivers just looking at a snake. After a few days of watching me and other people handle them they get a little curious and come closer. Then maybe they just want to touch it's skin with you holding it (and keeping the head away). Pretty quickly you can get someone like that to hold a snake who was terrified of them before. Make sure to let them know that they can touch it or hold it if they like so they know it's an option. It's a much faster process then calming the snakes down Usually it's best if you only handle calmer snakes when you are around these people. It also helps to explain that common roses are more a threat to people than the snakes you have at your facility. chipmunks are a far greater danger and capable of inflicting much more serious injuries AND have been known to attack people unprovoked. The snakes you keep there don't do that.

The photo below is was taken last week and is of a person holding her second snake. Her first was a baby milksnake so this was a big step. Only a few days earlier she admitted that she was uncomfortable with snakes but seeing other people handle them and being gradually exposed really helps (looking, touching, holding, catching). It's sort of funny that we think more about how to socialize snakes to people but the bigger problem most of the time is socializing people to snakes.

strange... here's the picture

wow, here is the CORRECT picture.

Looks like a Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)and a respectable size at that.

Peace,
Wayne

we were a few hundred miles outside of N. sipedon's range. I was going with Diamond-backed Watersnake... Nerodia rhombifer

Must be the triangles on the belly.

I double checked, and my northern water snake has more triangles closer together.

Open mouth insert foot, story of my life.

Water snakes are so cool, too bad everyone thinks they are nasty. I even know of a guy who has emptied out the clip of his 9MM at the sight of one.

Peace,
Wayne A. Harvey

Some of our snakes - Click here

it's the first time I've been that far south so there were more than a few times that I saw a snake and tried to call it by a northern name, lol. Unfortunately it was still a little too early in the year to see most snake species but since the ones we did see were all new I left very pleased. I think the coolest was the Texas Indigosnake. I tried to pass it off as a Black Ratsnake at first but the Peterson guide is pretty good at straightening people out who are outside of their normal geographic range

The watersnake above must have just come out of dormancy -- they are generally very defensive but of the three I caught none of them tried to strike and only one musked. Had it drawn blood from me I am sure it may have been a turn off for the people in the group uncomfortable with snakes!

Yeah, I let a large Butlers garter bite me in front of a group, one guy freaked out so bad he wanted to call 911.

educating others is cool, and if it stops one more fool from chopping them up with a hoe, you deserve a merit badge.

Peace,
Wayne A. Harvey

I have told many, many people these things you mentioned in your post, practically word for word. Like the...."let them gently glide through your fingers, as if they were just crawling in a tree branch, in actuality, they're just "running in place" and not even knowing it..LOL!.......so very true, in a short amount of time, in their little minds, they feel as if they are just crawling about, and NOT held captive by a giant monster against their will...LOL!

Very good advice, all the things everyone has mentioned about this, should produce very good results when applied correctly. I can relate very well to ALL of it.

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I've seen a lot of people stress handling the snakes often. Here's my two cents:

I bought an adult snake that would freak out when you hold it. It would thrash, flatten its body, try to get away... If it sniffed my skin while I was holding it, it would turn the other direction and take off. I handled that snake once a month only for several minutes (hey I was working out of town). Even with that little bit of handling, he got used to me. Now I can grab him out of his hide and put him around my neck and he's calm as can be.

Oh - and be wary around feeding time. Most pythons have heat pits and a warm hand moving near their head may invoke a bite. It's just a reflex and it happens with the tamest of snakes.

One other thing that is my opinion based on my experience. I've never heard anyone else mention this so others might disagree. If you have ever watched Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, he talks about calm assertive energy.

I used to very nervous handling my jungle carpet python, I really didn't want to take a bite anywhere, especially to the face. I was nervous and I think the snake picked up on that energy. It seems if you expect a bite, you will probably get one. I was trying to control how much of her head in I let out so it couldn't come back and bite me in the face. I didn't trust the snake, so she didn't trust me. I had nervous energy and that made her nervous.

Now I just calmly and assertively reach in and pick her up and place her right over my shoulder, I'm relaxed and enjoy the experience and start petting her and firmly patting her body as she uses me as her warm, human tree. She hasn't bit me in about 2 years and before she bit me just about everytime I picked her up for about a year and a half.

Now part of it I'm sure is that as neonates they are more nippy and with her greater size she is more confident and over time she has learned to trust me. Additionally, I'm sure that I'm more competent of a handler and read her better.

But I still believe they pick up on nervous energy and calm energy. I don't hesitate when picking her up and move with purpose. I try to relax my body and mind and put off the same energy as I do when I'm working with my dog.

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1.1 Jungle Carpet Python (both gorgeous)
1.1 Ball Python (normals)
2.3 hatchling ball python (normals)
1.1 Ball Python (het for albino)(gonna make my own albino)
2.1 Corn Snake (Okeetee,Sunglow x Snow,Okeetee, )
0.0.1 Gray band Kingsnake (Blairs)
1.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Andean Milksnake (het Inca phase)
1.0 Bullsnake (normal)(my garbage disposal snake)
1.1 Bullsnake (red bulls)
1.1 Black Pine Snake
1.1 Southern Snow Pine (red phase snow, snow)
1.1 Mexican Pine snake
1.1 Black Milk snake
1.0 Western Hognose (possible het albino)
1.1 Honduran Milksnake (het albino)
1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback (Hondo)
0.1 Spouse (WC)(hates the herps,and not real crazy about the dog)

i know that when handling my smaller snakes, cupping them in my hands seems to settle them down a bit too. kind of like a nice warm hide.
mike
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Jayne "The Hero of Canton", Ball Python
Edmund Slackbladder, Mexican Kingsnake
El Diablo "They haven't built a cage I can't get out of" Pueblan Milksnake
(Currently serving 25 to life in a Maryland Supermax)

I have to agree with you. I think that snakes pick up on nervousness because of the erratic movements of the handler. Of course, there are those few snakes who are just nippy.

Thank you all so much for all of the tips you've given me. I never expected there to be so many so soon

I will do my best to administer the techniqies mentioned by all of you, and I'll post updates.

Does anyone here have any Bull Snakes? If so, I could use some tips with that species. I have two, and one is generally ok. The other...forget it. She is the most aggressive snake I have ever encountered. Now, maybe just applying all of the tips I have received from everyone will be enough to calm her down a little, but I was just wondering if anyone had any bull-snake-specific advice.

Also (remember, I'm new to this world), what do the numbers in many of your signatures mean? "1.0 Ball Python" and "0.2 Corn Snakes" and "0.0.1 Boa Constrictor" and whatnot?

I've only dealt with one wild bullsnake and at first I thought it was going to be a feisty catch. As with most wild snakes, to catch it I pinned it at the back of the neck then picked it up while making sure to keep the head restrained not knowing if it would bite. When doing this it hissed loudly and repeatedly, giving me the impression it was going to be a very defensive individual. I don't know if yours is striking or just bluffing with a hiss but after a minute I got the impression that the hiss was a bluff and as soon as I let go of the head it stopped hissing and relaxed. Bullsnakes are one of the few North American species that can hiss loudly and it's generally a bluff. This, of course, won't mean much if yours is actually biting

The numbers are simple:

# of males . # of females . # of unsexed individuals.
I asked the same question a short while back, lol.

Pituophis are Pines (eastern), Bulls (central) and gophers (western U.S.) I have 3 bullsnakes and 6 pinesnakes.
Pituophis are known to have "variable temperaments". Some you can pick up in the wild and are very docile, and with others, no matter how long you keep them in captivity they will try to take off your hand every time you reach in the cage.
Pituophis are mostly bluff. They will hiss loudly, rub they rough scales against each other has they move in place, agitated. They will gape their mouths, vibrate their tails and even strike if cornered. They are slow moving snakes and usually stand their ground and bluff rather than try to make a run for it.
I've found that most of this is bluff, even the strikes. Even when they strike they rarely actually bite. They either miss you all together or just bump you. Sometimes they even bite themselves. Of all of mine I have only one biter and he's getting better each time I work with him.
Even when they bite it doesn't hurt. They have relatively short teeth and lack the jaw strength to inflict a painful bite.
The bites amount to several pin pricks, some may produce a small droplet of blood or two. If you pull back as it bites the pin pricks become scratches and sometimes a tooth will even pull out and feel like a splinter in your finger. This is not as bad as it sounds.
No one has ever died from a Pituophis bite.
I'd suggest getting some cotton gloves and wearing them around long enough to get your scent on them. Wear those gloves and a long sleeved shirt to pick up the bullsnake. This will give you to the confidence to reach right in and pick it up without hesitation, so you don't give it a chance to get an attitude worked up. It will protect you if it does bite, you shouldn't even feel it. After it settles down you can remove the gloves. Also try putting the scented gloves in the cage with him, so it gets used to your smell and associtates it with a relaxed experience. I'd suggest that when the snake finally does settle down, that you continue to hold it for a good period of time to reinforce that experience.
When I reach in, I do so open handed, palm down, and place my hand over the snakes head, touching it and then moving down to the middle/front of the snake and picking it right up. This touching it's head, lets it smell me and conditions it to know that it's being picked up and not being fed.
Pituophis are aggressive feeders and can come flying right out of the cage, mouth wide open at anythings that moves if they smell food or think they are going to be fed.
One other trick is to wear latex gloves when you handle them and let them bite the gloves. They taste bad to the snakes and it discourages them to bite you. The first time I tried this, my Pit bit a chunk of the glove right off my finger and had it hanging out of it's mouth, lol. It did seem to work eventually though.
Pituophis fans actually like the snakes attitudes and usually move up to Pits after becoming bored with docile snakes like corns. Some Pit owners even intentionally avoid handling the snakes too much, so they don't discourage this attitude of hissing and bluffing.
Note the scratches on my hand in the bottom pic...that is from a bite from that snake.
Pic 1 - black pine snake
Pic 2 - bullsnake
Pic 3 - southern snow pine (red phase)(this is the biter)

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1.1 Jungle Carpet Python (both gorgeous)
1.1 Ball Python (normals)
2.3 hatchling ball python (normals)
1.1 Ball Python (het for albino)(gonna make my own albino)
2.1 Corn Snake (Okeetee,Sunglow x Snow,Okeetee, )
0.0.1 Gray band Kingsnake (Blairs)
1.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Andean Milksnake (het Inca phase)
1.0 Bullsnake (normal)(my garbage disposal snake)
1.1 Bullsnake (red bulls)
1.1 Black Pine Snake
1.1 Southern Snow Pine (red phase snow, snow)
1.1 Mexican Pine snake
1.1 Black Milk snake
1.0 Western Hognose (possible het albino)
1.1 Honduran Milksnake (het albino)
1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback (Hondo)
0.1 Spouse (WC)(hates the herps,and not real crazy about the dog)