Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My snake is now 9mnths old is it too much to expect him to be tamed down by now? I cant even put my hand in the tank to change his water without him striking at me and generally biting me? Today he sprayed poop all over me as well as bite me several times when I held him. I am getting very dissappointed.The pet store man seemed to think he was too aggressive and should have tamed by now. I expected him to be what everyone called nippy and nervous but he hasnt calmed down at all..He is a good eater and seems well adjusted in his tank. He likes to hang out on a branch and refused to use his hides ( he has three diffent kinds to choose from. If Im near the tank he automatically goes into strike position..Did I just get a bad tempered snake or am I expecting too much too soon? Ive had him for about a month and a half. I do use gloves to handle him because he can draw blood.And I do handle him on a regular basis. Any help here would be greatly appreciated..

I've dealt with 2 fairly opinionated carpets as of date. Its been my expereince that if a carpet doesn't tame with handling they will more than likely with size. As with any species you have specimens prone to aggression. The best advice I can give you is be patient.

Handle daily and make sure to touch sensitive areas like the head and tail consistantly. I've found that with my two it has helped a lot to handle them past their 'running' phase. First they get aggressive and bite, then they want to run (I hand-over-hand them and let them wear themselves out) and after that they'll usually take a break for a minute or two at this time I'll let them rest for a minute and then put them back but if they decide to 'run' again I'll let 'em run till they stop again.

I have use gloves too. But I don't think they should be used all the time. If for no other reason than you need to get use to your snake as much as he needs to get use to you. I would suggest weaning yourself off of them. A good time to start taking off the gloves is when your little guys starts 'running'. At first remove one glove as you hand-over-hand him. As you get more confident you can use the gloves less and less.

Anyways I hope this helps,
Darci
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