Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got a strange one for you...

Today we received a VERY docile albino female. Sierra is an angel, she is. This evening when I got home, I decided to take her out of her cage and give her a run around before I went to bed. We sat down in a chair together and she immediately headed for the footstool and then to the floor. She was cruising along the carpet when I decided it was time to pick her up (or risk a fight to get her out from under our couch). She didn't recoil or anything, just seethed a bit. It wasn't a really deep hiss...she didn't threaten to bite me...just seethed on the initial onset of taking away her prividge to cruise. After picking her up, she immediately found something else to investigate. I'm not sure what she was doing or what I should do about it. She's a little over four foot, so she's under 6 months. Her previous owner handled her all the time and she's a real sweetie, so I wonder why she'd be hissing. Do you think, perhaps, she's not used to me yet? Was she scared? Warning me? Should I handle her more frequently to deter this? Will it go away with age/trust? Any suggestions would be great, I've never had to deal with any of my snakes throwing hissy fits

Sam

First off she is still young and small and most young uns will bite. @nd almost all burm will hiss when bothered. They may not bite but they will almost always hiss. All three of mine hiss when I disturb them. DO NOT put her up after she bites you.
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Justin

Being as kind as possible, I'm going to repeat what's going on, as I'm not sure I got through. She is very sweet. As in, she shows NO AGGRESSION. I can confidently say, she will not bite me unless I give her reason (offer her my hands smelling like rats, etc.) I've posted many times on what to do/not do in the event of a burm with a taste for skin. With that said, I'll repeat it again. SHE IS NOT AGGRESSIVE!!! I just need to know what to do about her being a little hissy. She is still young, I know. She was handled quite frequently as a hatchling and as she grew larger. She's no stranger to the hands of a human. She just happened to let out a little hiss last night. So, my question is truly, will handling her more frequently deter this or will it decrease with age/trust?

Sam

Oh sorry bout that I mis read your intitial post. I just read over it real quick and saw what you were realy asking. hahha now I feel dumb. About the hissing I have not come into contact with any big burms that do ot hiss except for one. I am sure handlign more frequently would help to stop it but I am no expert on this matter so I'll hush now.
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Justin

I ignore it. My burm hisses every time I get him out and sometimes when I'm handling him. I just really pay attention to his actions when he hisses in case he gets froggy. Sometimes I have to remember to stay calm and handle him in a calm manner. I've noticed when I get nervous I handle him more roughly and he reacts likewise. Once I realize what I'm doing I calm down and so does he. But I never let his actions dictate handling sessions. So far no bites.

DZ

All three of my burms hiss almost the whole time they are being handled. (never bitten by any of them). I've come to think of it kind of like a cat's purr, automatic and not really indicative of intention. (i've had purring cats bite me and cats also purr when stressed or injured, in case you thought otherwise). So just ignore the hissing, its instinct not mistrust or any larger ulterior motive. sera
s and m reptiles

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3.6 ball pythons
1.2 king snakes (1 chocolate, 2 albino)
1.0 columbian red tail boa
1.1 pueblan milksnakes
2.2 african house snakes
2.2 striped albino applegate gophers
1.0 watersnake
1.2 burmese pythons (1 albino, 2 hets)
2.1 pygmy rattlesnakes
1.1 dumeril's boas
3.3 corns (miami, okatee, snow, caramel, 2 creamsicle)
1.1 jungle corns