Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,

I purchased a female Woma back in November and have been enamored with her ever since. She is around 2ft. in length, born in July of last year, always super friendly, rarely skittish and always curious. Last night, I let her roam around on the floor in my living room for a bit. When I went to pick her up she immediately coiled and did her best monitor huff and puff impersonation. Each time I went to slide my hand near her she coiled tighter and hissed more. It got to the point where she was lunging at me even when I was just sitting there waiting for her to calm down. I'm not worried as I know small animals have a lot of natural instincts telling them to fear something as big as me. It was just strange b/c it was the 1st time I've seen her real aggressive like that and I know Aspidites is known for it's docile nature. I'm curious if I am doing something wrong to cause undue stress or is this a typical child-like pattern? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

It's not unusual for snakes given complete freedom from their cages to react suddenly to recapture. Husbandry 101.

I've had 2 females in the past that were super aggressive.I had to put a trash bag over the front of the cage so they wouldn't launch themselves at the front. I sold them both. I've been tagged since by a male with a super feed response.

She seems fine now. I think it's a matter her getting used to being picked up by me (and the large hand heading towards me) after she cruises around for a while. Husbandry 101? Oh, ok. I've never seen this in any other snake I've had.