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Suddenly Hissing and Lunging

S

spindelberrygirl

New member
Alright, so I have a 2011 hatchling who was born sometime in September. He was usually pretty friendly, and maybe a little timid but tended to calm down shortly after I picked him up. Well, I recently did a full tank clean up, and had to remove one of his hiding places, which I have not yet replaced. I have also been really busy for the past two weeks or so, and so I didnt really get a chance to hold him much. Then the last few days, as I picked him up, he just kind sat in my hand for about 30 seconds, and then proceeded to hiss and lunge, almost as if he were going to try and bite me (he didnt). I guess Im just kind of wondering if it is likely that he will continue to hiss and lunge, or if he will stop as I begin to hold him more.
 
He's a baby, he will calm down the more you hold him : ). I have several babies that are nicer and calmer on certain days
 
Could be coming up to a shed, which will make him more nervous.

You mentioned that he has one less hide than before. Does he now have only one and is it on the warm side? Overheating can cause them to be a bit antsy. A double-check of the temps wouldn;t hurt just in case.

Other than that, he is still a baby. Odd things spook them and they won't always behave predictably.

Have you changed your hand soap or lotion recently? Sometimes a change in smell means that they don't recognise you as their usual safe human. Mine go absolutely nuts when I cook with or eat garlic. The calmest one tried a warning nip at me when I went to pick him up. Garlic feasts are now timed to avoid feeding days and I always wear gloves when handling to block the smell for a while afterwards!
 
Yes, he does now only have one, and yes, it is on the warm side. I'll look into adding the new one ASAP, and switching the other one over. And although I haven't changed my hand soap, I have been touching animals that I only recently got. I guess I'll see how it goes. Thank you for your help!
 
A temporary hide doesn't have to be anything posh. You can cut a toilet roll tube or kitchen paper tube in half vertically - they love them. Rather like toddlers at Christmas - sometimes they ignore the flash toys you buy them and just want to play with the boxes!
 
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