Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My burm is a few months old now and is roughy about 4 feet....hes pretty gentle but has gotten a bit hissy lately. I can remove him from his home with no more than a small hiss but when i place him on the floor to run around he turns into one pissed off snake. When i walk by he doubles up on himself just to get a snap at me...Why is this? Is it because hes still fairly small and sees me as a predator?

Do you have any other animals whose scent might be on the floor? The scent could trigger him to do that and because he is still small and not yet comfortable having something so big walking by him.

Actually ya i do have dogs that occasionally walk on my floor...so maybe thats it...My albino seems to be fine on the floor, but i guess my norm. just get stressed. Ill keep on handling him so he can calm down and get used to it. Although i do want him to be comfortable running around on the floor...just for the opportunity to strech and explore lol.

You gotta understand, burms hiss a whole lot, plus your guy is just a little baby everything is new. If he feels more comfortable in your hands than keep him that way, this also helps him to get used to you. also make sure your not holding him after feeding, otherwise just keep workin with him, he'll be fine.

In addition to the other thoughts, that age and size is the burmese equivalent of the "Terrible Twos". Its very common for burms to go through pissy periods while they are growing up. It will usually last a few weeks to a month then settle back down again. Id expect it to happen a few more times at different ages and sizes.

Ya i figured it was a burm phase. IVe been handling him regularly, so hopefully he will calm down. He does pretty good in my hands so hes not so much a mean snake...just a nervous one hehe.

There are definitely some "nervous burms" out there compared to others that are more aloof. My albino het granite male is always suspicious of anyone or anything and hisses his head off when touched. Ive learned that that is just how he is. Yours may be the same way.

My guy is 6 feet now but when he was about 4 feet he would do the same thing. Further, if he got himself a nice position anywhere out of my hands he turned pissy as all hell. For instance once he got himself up under the baseboard heater. A while later it was time to go back in the cage and he wouldn't hear anything of it. He has passed that phase now for the most part. I'm glad to hear you have the same problem, so I know my guy isn't schizophrenic or anything. If he is anything like mine it will pass as he grows up.
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Haha...ya i figure he will grow out of it with proper handling..but im glad some others shared the same phase. Thanks for the replies