How long does it take before a snake calms down so you can hold him and not bite

[Devilscat12]

My snake is not being nice.:awcrap: I got him by fedX of 7/16/08.:grin01: He is very fast and beautiful. He ate his first pinkie on 7/20/08. Would not eat on 7/25. Today my Grandma picked him up so I could handle him. When she went to let him go from hand to hand, he turned around with his mouth wide open and bit her.:devil01: We put him in a small trash can and fed him. He struck at the mouse 5 times.:fullauto: Then he struck again with his mouth wide open and down went the mouse.:grin01: How long will it take for him to like me so I can hold him without him trying to get away. My mom's snake never acted that way. My grandma's snake is also good. They were both babies when we got them.

[bekers71]

Your baby is scared so it's trying to defend its self. Hold it every day for about 10 minutes. After a while it will start getting calmer, then hold it for a little longer like 20 minutes a day. It will get used to you but may take a while. Don't worry. :)

[crackerhead]

I agree with Becky but I'd like to add that you should not put the snake back until it has calmed "some". If you always put it down when it's whipping around it learns that such behavior gets it put back where it thinks it's safe. Handling the snake in a calm assertive manner lets the animal know that this kind of interaction is also safe, ie. he isn't going to get eaten. Babies are almost always spastic at first because in the wild everything eats them and their best defense is to slither away very fast. It is totally against their nature to sit quietly in a person's, read that as predator, hand. Be patient it will happen. Good Luck.
Terri

[Suzy]

I've also noticed that with my snake (who is my first), if you act nervous while you're holding him, he knows you are, and he tends to dash around as much as he can while holding him. I only found this out when my dad was holding him. So make sure you're calm and composed before you take him out, and listen to everyone else's advice. :)

[coins]

Isnt it good practive when you get a new snake to just leave it in its enclosure for a couple weeks to just acclimate before handling it? Your snake just went through a traumatic experience (shipping) and needs some time to feel secure in its new dwellings. I would just mark at least 7 days off of your calendar and not mess with it at all.

[Devilscat12]

Thanks for all the advice. He shedded today thats why he was in what I like to call strike mode:grin01:. He is so sweet I think. He's warming up to me and my mom:santa:. Turok is geting calmer which is very good. He loves his little coconut.

[Rich in KY]

Just remember you are much bigger than Turok. He is more scared of you than you are of him. Once he knows you don't want to hurt him he will calm down.

[Devilscat12]

Yah he is a lot smaller than me. But he is pretty big for his age I mean Turok looks pretty big:dgrin:! I hear theres a argument about force feeding. I think force feeding is wrong very wrong! It can make a snake puke:-puke01:. In fact it can kill a snake:cry::blowup::eek:

[Devilscat]

Turok is very small. Here are a couple of pictures taken just a few minutes ago by Megan.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee246/chrstnsnpt/Meganscamerafun070.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee246/chrstnsnpt/Meganscamerafun079.jpg

[Jimmysan00]

Kinda looks like mine. Miami X OkeeTee?