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Burmese Strikes

Vinny/Birmingham/UK

Vinny/Birmingham/UK

New member
Hello All

Just wondered if any of you know a good solution to stop a Burmese Python, or any snake for that matter striking? I tried to get Freddy, my 10ft Burmese out of his viv today and he hissed when I touched him. (which he always does) But normally thats all it is, but as I picked him up he turned and went for me. Now he shed last week so hes not blue, and he eats well. This is the first time in the 4 years I've had him that he has done that. Any ideas why he did and how to stop it happening again.

Thanks
 
hmmmm the only thing I can say is that with a snake that powerful, I would take the ques that he is giving you seriously. When my female wanted to be handled she came out on her own after I opened the door.. then she was perfectly fine and ready for interaction... when I would touch her to 'wake' her and she hissed, I would wait a few moments to see what she would like to do. In my opinion with a snake that is that powerful... because 10 feet isnt that big but their muscle tone is amazing... you need to respect them... if you dont... thats when ppl get bitten. That being said.... I did have to on occasion 'force' Angel out when she was hissy because I had to give her a bath lol But I was lucky in the fact she never went for me. I wish you luck in that Freddy nevers gets ahold of you. guess I wasnt much help, huh? :shrugs:
 
Whenever he out, he tends to be very calm. But its just the initial comming out. He has on occasion come out on his own but he tends to take the piss with time, normally about an hour! Someone suggested covering his head and then picking him up. Might give that a try.
 
Hello, Im no burm expert I dont even own one, however I'm really interested in them, pythons are just amazing, anyways do you have any pictures of your burm?

did you handle your burm when she/he was a baby? like I say I'm no expert but normally I think lots of handling calms most snakes..
 
you sure you didn't wake her up? Some of the ones I've been around that are normally calm ended up being aggressive for 15 minutes or more after they were initially scared by being woken up. My burm jumps if I wake her up, but that's about it.

I read another thread one time about a guy's burm that was real calm but went crazy one day. The snake had been sunning itself in front of a window and when the guy stepped overtop of it, she hissed and bit his shoe. The accepted explanation, after some discussion, is that it was some sort of defensive or instinctual thing to having that much larger of a living creature be overtop of them if it made them feel confined. Did you do anything different that day than you normally do with your approach or anything? With mine, I'll tap her a few times to get her attention (especially if she's asleep) and give her a few minutes to get used to me being there before I actually take her out. That's a good time to judge what kind of mood she's in at the moment too.
 
Call me crazy but if a snake that big hissed and tried to bite, you would be prying me out of the closet. :crazy02: I have lots of respect for all of you that keep those big snakes. susan
 
To be honest when he went for me I did consider getting rid of him. Its takes alot to try and pick up a snake that big who has just tried to bite you. But I am going to stick at it and try again, even though I am a little wary now :cry:
 
Umm, like people have said when you wake her she might be a little scared, she may grow double her size to 20ft, which is pretty big, but what happens if she strikes then? from what I read not many people take on adult burms they generally end up being released into the wild.. which ain't good...
 
I would never get rid of him and defo not release him in the wild! My neighbourhood would soon run out of cats! :crazy02: It has just shown me that you can never be too careful with snakes and should always treat them with the respect they deserve.
 
Ok, time for some real advice. The best way to deal with a large snake, like a burm, is to "hook train" them from an early age. This is done by removing the animal(s) only with a proper snake hook, NOT your hands. Then transfer the animal to your hands from the hook. This gets the animal knowing, "hook=handling". It prevents the animal from confusing your hand with food as well. This is a proven method that several keepers of large boids have recommended to me, and I currently use it on my 2 boas and anaconda, and so far it works fine. Yes, despite all this, EXTREME CARE is still to be used when handling a snake as large as a burmese python. Even the tamest dog can bite when in the mood, remember that.

Constant handling is also a very negative thing, as it can aggravate the snake. Regular handling, like a few minutes every day to every other day, is good. Avoiding handling during shed cycles, as well as 1-2 days pre/post feeding is also good. Also, as for burm sizes...they vary. Some have been proven to grow much larger than 20ft, but due to the improper care/food sizes offered, most rarely get even close to 20ft.
 
Pet Corn Snake said:
she may grow double her size to 20ft, which is pretty big, but what happens if she strikes then?
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Actually he said his burm was a male, and 20 feet is not common at all in captivity even for females which reach longer lengths then males. His burm will not come close to doubling its size it will only gain a few more feet.
 
I have never kept big snakes, but a friend of mine does. What he does when he plans to handle one is, open the viv, touch the snake for a second, then close the viv for a while. Then he waits for the snake to start moving around before he opens the viv again and picks up the snake. I guess this works. He hasn't been bitten for years as far as I can remember.
 
Nomed said:
Actually he said his burm was a male, and 20 feet is not common at all in captivity even for females which reach longer lengths then males. His burm will not come close to doubling its size it will only gain a few more feet.
Click to expand...

yea, but its not impossible to grow that big, it might be uncommon but it may grow that big..

anyways I dont know much about burms.. soooooo I'm not much help anyways lol,
 
Pet Corn Snake said:
yea, but its not impossible to grow that big, it might be uncommon but it may grow that big..

anyways I dont know much about burms.. soooooo I'm not much help anyways lol,
Click to expand...

I think that's kinda the point ;)
 
Pet Corn Snake said:
anyways I dont know much about burms.. soooooo I'm not much help anyways lol
Click to expand...

read that, then think about your reply please.


And no its almost impossible if his burm is a male and is already 4 years old at 10ft. to grow to 20ft.+

and like i said in the chat vinny I would open the cage, touch him so he wakes up, leave the door open and let him wake up a little more then go to take him out. :]
 
*And no its pretty impossible...

(sorry i just woke up and i cant edit my posts >.<)
 
Chill out peeps. Just to let you know I got him out today and he has been fine. Loving as always. It must just have been an off day for him. Cheers guys. :cheers:
 
Nomed said:
read that, then think about your reply please.
Click to expand...


I think about every post I make, thank you.

and I dont know much about burms.. I do read about them a lot, but it just means I'm no expert, are you an expert?

anymore problems pm me :)

Vinny/Birmingham/UK said:
Just to let you know I got him out today and he has been fine.
Click to expand...

Thats great news :) :)
 
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