Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i'm sure this topic has been covered before, but i don't feel like reading through tons of back log, so--
i have an 11 month old burmese python that i got from a breeder.
he was given to me for free, and i can understand why now. i believe he is bred from the pits of hell. no joke. my nickname for him is "demon snake." he is probably the most aggressive snake that i have ever seen (and i have seen a lot-i used to work in a very nice pet store) anyway, i have been working with him constantly, and am about to give up on him, but i figure i would try this forum. so, if anyone has any advice on taming this beast, it would be greatly appreciated. it's a shame because he is a beautiful snake with perfect markings. you can reach me at josh@threetrackmind.com if this doesn't work, then you might see a post here soon for a free snake. thanks anyone who reads this.
josh@threetrackmind.com

Double check that you are providing all the right husbandry of course (I think you already knew this). You did not say what size this burm was so I will go on the assumption that he is smaller than 8-9 foot?

Other than that my suggestion would be get him a nice tight hide if he doesn't have one (I know a lot of large snake owner's don't use them to include myself, but if the snake is stressed.....). If he didn't already have a hide I would leave him be for about 5 days with his new hide and then I would handle him alot. If he already has a hide and all husbandry has been double checked and triple checked and the snake is in perfect health I would actually OVER-handle the snake. What I mean by this is I would have him out of his enclosure every minute I could afford to get him out. He will eventually get used to the sights, smells, movements, etc.

I would not stop over-handling him until 1) he is as tame as expected when outside of the enclosure or 2) he stops eating for me or obtains a health problem from the stress. Definitely do not put him back in his enclosure if he does bite you as that can lead to him learning that if he bites he gets left alone. Instead handle a little longer before putting him back so he knows it didn't work.

Just a couple of suggestions. I'm not saying they are necessarily the correct things to do, but I am saying this is what I would do. And I'll bet the little turd calms down.
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Bill

I agree on all counts except for the overhandling. These are not cats and dogs (or even birds)...this is a snake that needs the utmost in TLC and quiet. The more threatening you are, the worse the handling sessions will go. If you force the snake to stay out of its security zone, the worse it will be. I have dealth with 100's of burms and I will only say that this sort of training will lead to a lot of stress on the snake. If the snake bites you out of its cage you shouldn't put it back? Really?! That snake doesn't want to be out of its cage and it is trying to tell you something (LIKE, "THIS IS SCARING THE HECK OUT OF ME!!". I agreed with everything you said except the forcing of staying out of its cage and being overhandled...bad advice in my book but then again, we are all entitled to our opinions. Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator of the Wildlife Discovery Center

Good points Rob, although I do believe it best not to put a snake right back in it's cage immediately after it has bitten you. I agree overhandling is not a good thing normally and as my last sentence stated, I am not claiming this to be the "right" thing to do, but it is what I would try in this situation myself. Hell if you never handle a snake because it bites you and doesn't want to be out of it's environment then you will never be handling it if it is an agressive snake. If that is the case then there is no solution to calming an aggressive snake in order to handle it. I have to disagree.
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Bill

I agree with all that you said, but most especially this. Burms can learn or be conditioned surprisingly quickly and if they are handled for any length of time they can soon learn that you are not in fact a threat and will begin to tame down. I have had 100% success with any and all "problem burmese" that came in aggressive by handling more when they act aggressively. I totally agree to not let them learn that to bite means they will be released. Even my worst case aggressive burms tamed down within 2 to 6 weeks of utilizing my tough love techniques of handling more when they get more pissy. By this I do not mean "only handling" or limited to actual handling, but also rubbing, patting and other less invasive or less threatening ways of being in their presence, including allowing them to smell me repeatedly by holding hy hand palm down, flush with the cage floor, under their chin as I pat and rub. They usually won't strike when one is so close and this is a relatively safe way to be up close and personal until the snake becomes accustomed to you. If the snake/s is/are under 6 feet I don't take extra careful measures to not be bitten as the bites are not too painful under this size. But even then, 99 times out of 100, there is no bite as most of the aggression is fear generated bluff.

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>>I would not stop over-handling him until 1) he is as tame as expected when outside of the enclosure or 2) he stops eating for me or obtains a health problem from the stress. Definitely do not put him back in his enclosure if he does bite you as that can lead to him learning that if he bites he gets left alone. Instead handle a little longer before putting him back so he knows it didn't work.
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>>Just a couple of suggestions. I'm not saying they are necessarily the correct things to do, but I am saying this is what I would do. And I'll bet the little turd calms down.
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>>Bill
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True "power" is not to be found in social or economic placement or stature, which are merely illusory, finite, frail and brief.
True power is to be found in one's sheer will and personal determination to achieve one's goals at ANY cost and at ANY sacrifice.

gentlemen.....
thank you all for your advice. i pretty much knew all that you said, i just need to keep at it. i have been handling him, and the last time i did, i felt like i made a bit of progress. i have been keeping in constant contact with him (eg. petting, holding, etc. ) so that he is used to my presence. i usually will handle him for 10-15 minutes, then put him down to let him relax a bit, then repeat. he just CONSTANTLY bites and i have resorted to leather gloves now just to handle him, which is a pain in my putooy. i dunno. there might be hope for him.....either way, i am still going to call him demon snake for the rest of his life, and i stand by him being bred from the pits of hell.......
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