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ratsnake woes

E

embers

New member
I have a large male rat snake (has been with me 2 days now) that came together with a large female. I cannot walk past the tank without him striking like mad, and I spend two hours tonight changing newspaper and trying so hard to get the female out without getting nailed. I am in need of a loaner snake hook, really (mine is in storage in Eugene, and I need to get the female out right away as I suspect her to be gravid... and well, they need to be separated!). I have put out a request through my local herp club that my family belongs to. In the mean time, I am looking for ideas... How would you, without the "right" tools, go about removing this snake (that is fast and not giving me half a chance or opening at all) from his cage if you were in my situation?

I fear that the male has a RI, and in order to get him vetted, I need to first get him out of this cage, right? Furthermore, I need to get the male outta my way so I can clean and do some tank maint. He is seriously having none of this, and I did my absolute best to convince him otherwise, but it was all in vein.

Thank you in advance!
 
Will he come out if you leave the lid open (with you right there) and then be easier to catch out in the open? Could you throw something over him in the cage? (T-shirt, towel) Could you put on gloves, let him get one hand, and pick him up with the other??

Nanci
 
You should read the story of Sir Killsalot. Maybe I can find it when I get to work.

Nanci
 
I tried to get him to come out of the tank - no go.
I tried the gloves, and he just let go to go for the other hand, and man oh man is he fast about it!
Not enough room to cover him with anything (too much obstruction with the climbing/hiding material).

While I know that he has not been handled, he was highly inquisitive of me and seeking (not recoil, no hiss, etc). So what the heck, I fed him. He was in heaven! I thought that while he had a rat maybe I could get in there - but no way. He is on feeding response amplification to the max, and I think that is at least a good part of what I was seeing anyway. So yeah, I broke a few rules (feeding with two snakes in a tank, feeding only after having him two days, etc), but it just felt like what I needed to do, and I think that I was right.

I am switching my approach and I am going to try and get the female out, not him. I have LOOOOONG tongs that I am going to attempt to use to change the newspaper in his tank once I get the girl out, otherwise I am just going to leave him be for a few days (spare trying to clean the waste).

I may be whistling a new tune by tomorrow, but this is my plan so far...
 
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