Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently had an interesting experience that lead me to think about Burms and their danger they pose to keepers. I had the pleasure of removing two 10-12' burms out of cages and cleaning the enclosure and then putting them away. Im sure a lot of you do this type of thing all the time. Well to me this was an "experience". The longer I have been keeping snakes the less I trust them. I was a little overly cautious when moving the two burms. I like surfing this foruma and enjoy living vicariously through you guys. IF i had the space and money to care for a burm I still wouldn't get one....why......FEAR. Im afraid of the worst case scenario. And im afraid of having a Burm that ends up being unfriendly one in general. I wouldnt want to feed and care for an animal that was stressful for me to interact with. So in the event that I may clean the cages of the Burms again I wonder....
In bites or "feeding responses" however you call it...are they always explainable in hindsight? Seems to me that whenever you reach in a burms enclosure you should be on guard and cautious. Of course when a Burm is hissing or moving his/her head in those quick short movements snakes do with their head and neck right before striking, you should be on guard. Anytime you or the environment smells of its prey/food you should be on guard. Anytime the Burm is hissing or thrashing you should be on guard. So what about when you pull the big slug out into the yard with none of the previously mentioned factors occuring? Say you just have the snake out and you have been handling it for a while or letting it cruise? Do bites ever happen in these scenarios? If to be really smart you should always be on guard how can handling a large burm ever be a safe enjoyable thing. All of this applys to snakes in general, I figure it's all the same boa or python. Any stories of completely unexplained bites or responses? Any comments or criticisms? I used to live witha guy that had a huge female and in three years nothing ever happened, is that just the kind of thing that builds up unrealistic confidence or casualness in keepers?

firstly, you should always have a second person present when handling large snakes. That extra set of eyes may save you from one of those bites, and in the case of an over reactive feeding response the second set of hands and arms will definately be beneficial if you get tagged and wrapped. Secondly, if you really have that much fear of being bitten, then large snakes are not for you. Now, that being said, Burms in general are very calm snakes. Yes, there are some that are flighty, quick to strike. But with burms that's not the norm. I've not worked with to many adults, but the few I have worked with were very tolerant of being handled. You need to be around them enough to be able to read them. If they seem nervous or uneasy leave them be till they settle down. Things like cage cleaning can wait that long LOL. Be patient and consistant with them and you'll be rewarded in ways only a snake keeper can appreciate. Hope this helps some.

Quig

"I like surfing this forum and enjoy living vicariously through you guys. IF i had the space and money to care for a burm I still wouldnt get one....why......FEAR"

"wouldn't get one"

"wouldnt get one"

I definately agree with the hook idea, and I used one while I cleaned the cages.

you currently are caring for a retic? How long do you plan to keep this tic?

You would have seen this in the body of one of them

"Im smart enough to know a full grown normal retic is not the type of snake I want to own, but also responsible enough to feel like I was probably meant to see what I saw and do something for him".

This snake was on it's death bed. I took it in to save the poor things life. I have already coordinated with a local herp rescue person. As soon as he is solid I will be finding him a home. I wondered due to the neglect if maybe he would stay smaller, but I have since been notified that thats not likely. Definately didn't adopt him with the idea I would be keeping him.

Ok that makes a little more sense. Your right. I didn't read the other posts. I had just read a few of the more recent ones that I saw. good job on the rescue. Hopefully you will find it a good home through one of your contacts

Just as the post above mentioned, if you are that nervous while handling a large burm, then you definitely should stay away from owning them. I have only come across one burm that was ever really hard to work with. This animal got this way through irregular handling. If you donot put enough time into handling your animal then you could possibly end up with an aggressive burm. As a general rule you should always have 1 person per 3-4 foot of snake. However, this is gnerally not possible so always have atleast 1 other person there. If it's a possible feeding response issue, then a snake hook is a good way to help the snake realize that food isn't coming in, so to cool her heels.

I hadn't considered the snake hook, then my burm is only five and a half feet long now.Guess I better invest in one. Thanks.

Quig

Snake hooks are useful for all size snakes. The snake hook can be used to keep an even smaller snake that might have an obsession with biting. Smaller burms have feeding responses too and it's best to not get bit at all by any size animals if you can help it .

Yea, I think a hook is one of them things you should always have around. When I first started with snakes I was like "what do I need that for", Then after a few years I got a set of hooks and was like "how did I live with out them?".

It's just like working on a car or building a cage, The right tools make it that much more enjoyable.

And that is what it's all about.

Have a good day

For my 9 1/2 foot Burm, I sometimes use a hook and sometimes don't. It all depends on what kind of mood she's in. If she's being a little hissy, I let her calm down a bit and then use the hook. If she's calm (which is usually) then I let her start to come out of her cage on her own and then take hold of her. Knock on Wood, I've never had a problem with her. Regular handling is a must WITH another person there. I NEVER attempt to take her out for any reason without another person there. I am not nervous to do so, or scared by any means, but it's a very safe practise for that possible *just in case* moment.

Circusfan