Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey fplks,
2 weeks ago, I purchased a 5 ft albino pine snake from a very reputable pet shop. I held the snake for an hour at the store, kids at the store were holding it. It had a great disposition.
Well they sent it home with me in a pillow case. I took the snake out a few hours later and he has turned into the snake from hell. He was trying to bite me..hissing non stop..just out of his mind.
I put him in a nice 40 gallon tank and left him alone for a week.
Well I brought him out for xmas as a present for my son, and he's worse now than before. Now hes striking the glass, and I tried to get a hook on him just to tail him, and he really is quite intimidating to say the least..
Any ideas?? Suggestions..He is a gorgeous snake and I do want to keep him. I want him to be a snake you can handle, not a snake where you walk pass the cage, hes just going to hiss and strike.
WTH?? LOL
Thanks for any input

oh man, why can't this happen to me? I love attitude! I don't have any advice for your. Except to say this. These snakes can indeed have a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde complex!

The first Northern Pine I ever handled was gentle as could be for the first little bit. Then she cut loose with a LOUD hiss I had never heard before. About peed my pants! And I RUSHED her back to her cage as she began to twist and spazz. Yeah, scary thing! Odd thing is, that snake would only act like that before noon... Seriously! That animal was part of a live collection in college. And she couldn't be used in morning labs but she was tame as a kitten after noon. We documented this time and time again and have no answer as to why she was that way!

Best of luck. Try to handle your animal under different conditions and times and see if there is any change.

LOL..attitude? Bro this snake is the spawn of satan. I just dont get it. I will work with it, but it is my sons xmas gift and if it doesnt come around, I'll sadly have to trade it for something a little more "handler" friendly
Bummer
thanks man

hmmm...yeah, I'd trade it in too. LOL! Being it was meant as a gift to your son. But if it were in MY collection...I'd chuckle and giggle at how cool it was... Till it calmed down after a few months like they always do...DOH! I believe that has to do with how the collection is IN the house with two little kids running around all the time. That constant human activity seems to settle them down that they are used to us. Now, not at first mind you, but over time. And I'm not going to claim your animal will settle down! Merry Christmas!

When I got my black pine she was nice and then all of the sudden a monster. Hissing and the whole 9 yards. But after a week or two she is a champ as far as handling, I can sit on the couch with her on my lap for hours. The only time she gets pissy is if shes buried in her aspen shavings and I reach in and grab her. I guess its startling to her or something. Not sure if that helps. They can go either way.

Generally all that huffing and puffing is a big bluff. After all you look like the jolly green giant to the snake. Skip the hook and tail routine, just reach in and pick it up! When it finds out the huff/puff doesn't work it will just start trying to crawl off of you. Generally any "bites" are simply them bumping their head into you rather than something involving teeth! Absent that you can place a piece of cardboard or something as simple as the remains of a roll of paper towels between the snake's head and the area of body you expect to take hold of. Another ruse involves putting the snake in a bag then putting it down your shirt! Idea being to accustom it to your scent, body heat, and idiosyncracies known only to the snake. A lot of Black Pines act out like that, and lineaticollis are devils incarnate For now put paper around say 2/3's of the tank to discourage the side-wall strikes. In time it should improve... I'm thinking weeks not forever and a day.

Yeah - give it plenty of cover so it can settle in and give it time to get used to it's new surroundings.

Also - I second the suggesting of just reaching in and picking it up and not falling for the bluff, BUT know there are better and worse ways of doing it.

The higher you get on a cornered (i.e. caged) snake, the more freaked out they get. Start at the opposite end of the cage and run your hand as low to the ground as possible, and let it get a few tongue flicks to smell your hand. Then run your hand up under its head and neck until it calms down. After it's calm, then feel free to pick it up.

Best of luck!
-Paul

Yup- make sure it has plenty of places to hide to feel safe/comfortable.

Snakes, especially pits, will stress out big time if they don't have someplace (or several) they can completely hide.

What works great for all of mine is old cereal boxes, mac & cheese boxes, rice a roni, etc. (depending on the size of the snake) The other great benefit is that if/when they take a dump in their hide, just chuck it and put a new one in. (no cleaning)

Then, when I go in to take them out, I just pick the box up and pour them out into my hands. I've never had a single incident with any of them going devil-spawn on me using that method.

However, I've got 2-3 that will do exactly what yours does if they see 'the big hand' coming in to pick them up! It's definitely intimidating, (it's meant to be!) especially with the larger ones!

Two of mine are ALL business, and will put all sorts of holes in your hands, while the others that exhibit the classic pit behavior are all 100% bluff, but definitely put on a show!

People, including me, LOVE this genus because of this behavior! There's nothing like pulling up on a MONSTER bull in the wild full of attitude!!!

//Todd

P.S. Where do you live? I'm in Austin, TX and would be happy to help out if you're near by...

Hey thanks ya'll for the suggestions.
He is one mean s.o.b I tell ya. He was soo good at the pet shop and now..he scares me more than the atrox I handle out here.
I live out in Az so Austin is a little far away. I do appreciate the gesture though bro
I'll work with him tomorrow and let you guys know if there is any progress.
Thanks again,
Steve

What are the temps? Is there a hide for it? Any other animals such as cats or dogs or whatever in the room with it? I suspect something in the environment is askew. You may want to re-look at the set-up and see if there is something that can be done to help out.