Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got this Irian Jaya Carpet Male. He is by far the jumpiest snake I have ever handled. If you touch him anywhere he jumps for his life and tries to run like a mad man. I am handling him every day to try and mellow him out. Is this normal? My female is much calmer. They are a bit young to breed right now but hopefully some great babies from the pair eventually. Lets see some pics!!

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1.1 Colombian Boas
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
1.1 Dumeril's Boas
1.1 Irian Jaya Carpet Pythons

Looks like you picked up a really nice Irian! Regarding calming him down, I would start slow -- especially if it's a snake that you recently purchased. Let him settle in for a while and get used to the new scents and surroundings, and make sure he's feeding well. Too much handling, too soon, can be stressful on the snake and interrupt his feeding pattern and possibly even cause it to become sick.

Once he has a chance to acclimate (7-10 days), start the handling sessions in very short intervals. Try holding him for 5-10 minutes at a time every other day for the first week or so, and gradually bump up the amount of time you handle him and days between waiting. I didn't think you would ever want to have him out for more than 30 minutes. If you do this routinely, I'm sure he will soon grow out of his flighty behavior.

Good luck!
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Will Leary
Reptilicus Reptiles
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Thanks for the help. This is what I am in the process of doing now. For the last cpl days he actually calms down a bit after the first few minutes. So some progress at least. I actually got him to eat for the second time yesterday and I got him to switch over to rat pinks from the mice hoppers he had been getting. I had to scent the FT rat pink with a FT hopper but it worked. Thanks again.
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1.1 Colombian Boas
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
1.1 Dumeril's Boas
1.1 Irian Jaya Carpet Pythons