Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recieved my normal male in jan. i handle him four times a week very gently and calm. he is fine in the begening but after a while he will just start relive himself he is not scared or being handle wrong so i have no clue why he dose this? i will have him out for say 20 min and then he just craps! what can i do to stop this? my female tiger has never doen this and i raised them the same way?

I have learned the hard way not to handle any of my Retics when they have ammunition if I can help it....only way I know to stop it.
-Dino

My female used to do the same thing to me. She no longer gets me, but she occasionally gets other people.

I was informed she was "musking" me. They told me most snakes that are uneasy will either musk you or bite you. I was glad it was musking.

Yes my Boa does the same thing. Well he use to, how big is he? I think it's either something you gotta live with, and hold them when theyre not loaded, or they grow out of it. Either my Boa grew out of it or im just lucky that when i hold him hes not loaded.

...interesting, I've never had a Boa do that....carpets; yes, GTP's; yes...kingsnakes and others...but never a boa...odd.
-dinopolis

Yeah, it sounds unusual to me also.

Kingsnakes are notorious for this. I don't keep Kingsnakes any
more. My Dumerils once pee'd on a sofa pillow, but that is a
little different. None of my current boas, or any of the pythons
I've had, (Burms or Bloods) ever 'musked' me. (Knock on wood)..

Well i guess i will wait to handle him until he is "unloaded" i hope that works and he grows out of it. My male if 4 feet and my female is 3 1/2

Tabitha was 3' when I got her. I would take her out EVERY DAY for the first year. I always took her out and gave her a bath. Generally, she would relieve herself in the tub. Now that she's 17'+, I will take her outside in the yard and she usually goes in a few minutes. You just need mold there "habbits" and not handle shortly after a big meal (15-18lbs per feeding in her case.) Good Luck and have fun!

The exercise your snake is getting while you handle it may have something to do with "moving things along". If you're handling every day and the snake is relieving itself on you every time, then I'd say that's a defensive reaction to being handled. I don't think pythons actually musk like kingsnakes and other colubrids. Musk is different than excrement- less pleasant if you can believe it because a musking snake really goes out of it's way to smear it on you and you'll often actually see the musk glands protruding. If it just happens once or twice a week then I'd say it's exercise. Hey, at least it makes cage cleaning easier if it only lets loose on you!
Lora