Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a 10 month old who i handle on average of once every 7 to 10 days for about 2 or three minutes at a time.i handle him only enough to clean his cage and inspect his health...up untill now he has been totally unpredictable as far as being aggressive...there are times that he is a total pussy cat and other times he strikes..iv had him since he was about a week old ,(about the size of a pencil)..and id say he bites or tries to bite once every 3 times being held..untill recently,i didnt worry much about being bitten because if it did happen,it felt no worse than getting poked by a thorn bush...actually much less painful than that...most of the time no blood was drawn..and he seems to be bitting less an less now when i take him out..actually ,he hasnt tried to bit me for about 5 months now..maybe 6..that is untill yesterday.in the 6 months since i have last been bitten i guess he has grown quite a bit and has gotten some nice sized teeth..seeing him everyday you kinda dont notice his growth but when he bit me ,,man did i notice a difference..he hurt enough for me to not want it to happen again ...and this is only a 10 month old..i shudder to think what he will be capable of when full grown..he went from no blood being drawn to a small blood stream traveling down my arm..and not only was the strength of his bite different...the way he bites is different now...he sinks his fangs in and grinds them back and fourth...anyway..i have no intention of never handling my snake again,nor do i want to wear gloves when handling him...although i do understand that these snakes are kinda look but dont touch snakes,i dont think once every 10 days for 2 or 3 minutes is not acceptable.i think it is a good idea for the snakes heath to inspect him for disease or problems..if i am wrong and you guys think that this is too often please tell me...anyway my question is this...is there a good or lets say"best time" to handle a green tree,a time that would be less likly to result in being bitten...im curious if some of the professionals here ,who keep many snakes,have noticed maybe a time of day or year that they are less aggressive...maybe a time in relation to feeding...like right after or before ,that he will be least aggressive...i dont think i have an aggressive snake because like i said .he has not even tried to bit in 6 months..i was just wondering why he decided this time and maybe if i did something wrong,,also if there was a better way to pick up/hold the snake to keep from getting bitten..i mean i dont wanna hold the snakes head like he was venomous..i just wanna know if there was a way to handle the snake to keep him from striking..from my experience with other herbs i noticed that babies ten to be very skittish and usually grow out of biting..are green trees the same???will he grow out of biting to an extent like monitors?

try to handle him during the day, and try to read his mood. If he looks pissed, or acts agressively, dont touch him. Try again the next day. Unfortunately, getting bitten comes with the territory, though certainly there are ways to minimalize it. Maybe you could try using a hook rather than your hands, or just handle him long enough to tranfer him into a temp for cleaning. Im sure as time goes on and you handle him and get him accustomed to light handling he should come around, but hey, like us they are all individuals. Good luck -Jay

thanks for the advise jay....i guess ill just give it some time...as far as using a hook,i have a problem with that..unless the animal is venomous i really dont like using hooks.besides,hes my pet and i like to hold him in my hands...if im using a hook he seems more like just some specimin than my pet.naw ill let my hands take a little bit more of a beating for now...thanks again

I would certainly take Jay's advice to heart. Hooks aren't a bad thing, and if you have a moody chondro, you'll definately understand that. I have a few animals, that NO AMOUNT of gentle handling will calm them down. Using a hook is an absolute necessity with some animals.

Would you want to handle this guy with your bare hands? Probably not.

Brandon Osborne

You know I'd kill for that biak Brandon! LOL I'd take the hits and handle him. What a beautie! I also agree with the hook Idea. A real good idea would to be hook him out of his cage then let him come to you. All reptiles are less aggressive out of their cage and that's why I reccomend this. Let him come to you or take him on the hook to your hand. NOT your hand to the animal. I've had alot of success doing this.

JOhn

Monitors grow up of bitting? LOL what kind of monitors are you refering to as the norm is they don't unless you are willing to give them TONS of time. Anyways Adult chondro bites are nothing to worry about. A bit of blood and maybe a bruze. Most arboreal snakes are nippy. Handle during the day as when it get dark feeding response really kicks in!

John