Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had this CB pretty girl for a few months now and was warned she was "a nipper" when I got her, she weighs about 300g now. She was raised in a rack system with limited handling for 6 months before I got her and is still in a 3 gallon rubbermaid. She is ready to strike as soon as you open the cage. I manage to get her out 2 - 3 times a week for about 20 minutes. During this handling she is either trying to dash out of my hands like a wild-caught colubrid or is poised ready to strike at anything that moves. She'll strike at someone that walks by 10 ft away, she's struck at the side of her cage while I was working on an adjacent cage. She's hit me twice, but only left a wet spot. She's even hit her heated hide when I was returning her to her cage once. I've worked alot with this girl and very little improvement. I do feed her in a separate box, she eats like a champ, mice or rat pups live,P-K or F-T. I'm considering moving her into a 20 gallon tall glass vivarium already set up in our living room. Do you think the increased exposure would help acclimate her to human presence or just make her more paranoid/nervous? We have enough sweet-tempered BP's for pets, but I would like to get her calmed down enough to breed her with my banded male in 2005 (both PosHetAlb). Sorry for the long post, just trying to provide all the background info. Thanks.
Paul

I would move her into a bigger cage as it would let her get more used to people and would propabley help her to relax. How would you like to be stuck in a tiny box? you would get angy too.

I agree it's getting time to move her to a larger cage, I've just read alot here about how BP's feel more secure in the rubbermaids, and am debating whether to move her to the next size up or into the all-glass aquarium. She does not seem to resent her cage, in the evenings when she's "cruising" around she's not pushing at the edges or struggling to get out, and she usually dives in and heads for a hide when I return her. The one time she bit the warm hide, I think she sensed something warm, so she hit it. Actually, I would like to put her in the aquarium where we can see her better because she's so cool looking. The one we have in there now is pretty plain. Thank you for your reply.
Paul

She's still a "baby" so to speak, I have 7-8 exactly like that in my collection, and all are foracious feeders. In the past, my experience with raising BP's w/ an attitude they've all seem to calm down pretty well into adulthood, just keep feeding her well, and keep your routine going. In my opinion, she'll make an excellent breeder with or without the attitude, but I pretty positive she'll slow down a little as an adult. Good luck!!

I'm sorry. I don't think you can lay claim to the nippiest BP ever. I'm afraid that those lie in MY collection! Like it's been said, these kinds of snakes are not mean or viscios. They just have an excelent feeding response. I'd rather fend off a voracious eater than fight one to get it to eat!
That being said, yes, most will calm down with age. I do think a bigger tank might do you well. Just be sure to provide plenty of hides. I like to keep mine in glass or plexiglass, so we can see each other
I do have two (siblings) who were not healthy as babies. I don't know what was wrong with them. They are physically healthy now, but bitier than sin! Here's what I do. Put on leather gloves and just let them get their ya-yas out. They are still great snakes, and I'm sure if I wanted to breed them, they'd do great. They just happen to be "leather glove "snakes!
Best of luck to you!
GratefulFred
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GratefulFred

ya, hear that...i have one that i got about 3 months ago...he was fine at first...now...forget it...i haven't been able to get him to eat yet...n he strikes at every little move...god forbid i give him fresh water....lol...but once he's out he seems better...i have to use gloves too...i don't have the guts to let my hand in the glove until he's struck at it once...then i put my hand in n he balls up...usually hissing at me...but like i said, once he's out...he's fine...now jus to get him to start eating...fun fun...btw..his name is Battle for this exact reason...

And thanks for the follow-up posts above. I'll probably move her to the glass tank after she finishes her current shed cycle.
Paul

I have a kingsnake that turned into a nipper. He started striking at me a couple weeks after I had gotten him home. He was being kept outdoors until someone told me that could be part of the reason he was so agitated. But if yours is inside and has been inside, that would not apply.

However, on to the gloves thing...My kingsnake would not let me put my bare hand in there. If I did, he would strike. I bought a pair of thick red and yellow leather gloves and he seems to love them...why??? I don't know...have not been able to get any info on that. He seems to have calmed down quite a bit though.

As for moving her, I would definitely say YES. Looking at her girth and supposed size from the pic, I would say she needs more room. I would say LONG instead of TALL on a vivarium, but if it's already set up you can use it for now. I would say she may be stressed out and needs more space to roam and stretch. Kingsnake was like that until moved inside to a larger tank, is calmer now and I may be taking my gloves off with him soon. He took over a month to get acclimated to being here with me

Good luck,
Zoe
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