my burm is getting really defencive when a hand comes in his cage he has bite my gf and struck at me a few times. I know that when they are in there growth spurt they are more defensive or aggrasive how long will this growth spurt last? when u get him out he is great he has never done anything besides explore when he is out it is just in his cage.
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my burm doesn't like anyone in his cage
kyburm
Apr 14, 2004 11:42 AM
Replies (3)
Coldsteel
Apr 16, 2004 07:11 PM
He might think your a prey item when your reaching in to get him out.You might want to get a 2 foot smooth pole or a cut off broom stick and rub his back with it before you stick your hand in there.Kind of giving him a heads up that your taking him out.Don't use the pole when your feeding him though.After a while he should distinguish feeding time from holding time.Kind of like Pavlov's dogs Ya know.Hope it works.It did for me.
hse_duster
Apr 16, 2004 08:06 PM
My boa is sort of like that, though not as aggressive... I just rub her head or back with my hand and she calms down right away and lets me pick her up...
A tip to prevent this, feed him in a seperate container in the future... I have to say, while this is better, I dont do it (its a hassle with my boa), though if I ever get something like say an anaconda... I'll be sure to make the extra effort to be safe...
toddbecker
Apr 19, 2004 10:52 PM
Feeding large burms outside of their enclosures is estremely dangerous and stressfull. All large boids(burms, retics, rocks, scrubs, and anacondas) should be fed within their enclosure. If you feed outside of their enclosure then you run into several situations. First you have to handle your snake after it has fed. this is bad for several reasons. Mainly, most snkaes stay in hunting mode for quite a while after feeding and when you present yourself to return it to its cage it could very easily mistake you for a prey item. Also, handling after feeding causes a lot of stress to the snake and could lead to regurgitation.
If you use a hook to identify yourself to the snake before removing the snake, the snkae will become conditioned to this routine and will learn that when the hook touches it then it isn't feeding time and should not act defensively. But above all else please feed within the enclosure. Todd
