Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just brought out my 08 female Black Pine from brumation and holy crap is she angry! This is my first year of doing it with the BP, I also have an 08 Bull that I just took out and he's just as mellow as can be! Anybody experience this? Should I try to handle the BP or wait a few weeks?

Snakes go through moods jus like any animal- just like us. Holding it for 20 min or so 2-3x a week will help it calm down. One of my female bulls has never really gotten rid of her attitutde (and I have stopped working with her on this)- rearing up, rattling her tail, hissing at me as I go by her cage- she is great fo demonstrations. She doesn't do it all the time but does like to his and rattle her tail when she sees me. Her attitude has endeared me to her a great deal, I'll never get ride of her. Her name is "[bleep]y".

I have found Black Pines to be moody (at least some of them). I have a couple of very angry ones that I do not handle recreationally unless they are having a "good" day. I have a male Northern that's angry a good 80% of the time, but the other 20% he can be handled relatively easily.

I have found that if I use a snake hook to lift the snake out of its enclosure, it will often calm down considerably.

Tim

Third Eye

Damn pissed off right out of the egg! Nice pic!
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- Matt

1.0 Black Milk '04
1.0 Andean Milk '06
0.1 Eastern King '97
0.1 Bullsnake '09

Thanks guys, I just took her out of her cage today, with glove, lol she hissed a little and calmed down. When I put her back she hissed again but not too bad. Thanks for your input. Jeff...

This picture is priceless! When I first saw it I thought the little snake was crawling out from between two rocks.

Tim, that picture speaks a thousand words! My male was pissy for a year, then settled a bit, the female I got last season is a tigress!
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Todd Hughes

Interested to know if your cranky Pits are WC or CB. All the Pits I've kept and still keep are Gophers and I've only had one cranky one--- this WC intergrade (from a region in E. Lancaster where every single Gopher I've found out there seems to have a similar temperment)that was supposed to be a Christmas present for my wife! She never calmed down and eventually escaped.

reako45

I bought her from a gentleman named Larry Dyer from the classifieds in KS. So I'm not sure...

"was supposed to be a Christmas present for my wife! She never calmed down and eventually escaped."

Too bad, what did you do with the snake?

The worst I have are two CB Bullsnakes from WC parents from Potter County. They still rear up, hiss, and they dont mock strike they bite-walking by them is enough to get them going. If my hand goes in and they are close I get bit, just picking them up they go for fingers. Maybe (hopefully) they will grow out of it. My close to the same age Stillwaters are just puppy dogs compared to them.

All of my WC snakes are jumpy/nervous but none have ever bit me. If any of my Pits have more than an 85F hot spot they are more nippy/jumpy. The snake below was one of the nippiest snakes when I picked it up, but again it was 102F outside.

WOW! That one's a beauty!

My experience is that Bullsnakes never truly hibernate per se, while Pines go into a fairly deep "sleep". My hibernaculum usually stays between 48-52 degrees F; the Bullsnakes move around slowly and the Pines are out like lights! When hibernation ends the Pines are always the crankiest for a day or two until they're fully warmed up. My Theodore Black is an absolute monster at that point; the rest of the year he is like a legless lap dog!

Thanks, she seems to be mellowing although she did bite me today should get better, I'm trying to handle her everyday.