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Taming snakes

G

gisele

New member
I'm thinking about buying a snake in town that has been handled a lot by a couple of little kids and it is now vicious. I don't think it started that way but with a combintation of bad and no handling, any snake will become nasty. I was mostly wondering about how to go about taming it, how often this is successful, techniques, etc. I was also wondering what sort of a price is reasonable to offer. I think they got it for 120 (canadian) but are getting rid of it because they can't handle it. Any feed back is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!
 
when you pick him up out of his viv he may strike at you but this dose not always mean hes going to bite. The best method is to just go in an 'grab him'. He will probely be very figity and strugle a bit but he will calm down after a minuit or two. If he dose bite you the bite dose not hurt too much a bit like geting an injection. also keep the wound clean so infection dose not set in
 
I would recommend keeping the handling sessions short at first, and just allow the snake to crawl thru your hands at their own rate. I find this calms a lot of them down, and if they start acting really nervous: starting to get quick, or moving with jerky movements, I put them back. It can take some time.
 
Taming wild snakes

This sounds like a good palce to ask this question. About 6 months to a year ago, I caught what looked like a cornsnake in my front yard. Found it in a pile of wood that we keep for the fireplace. I have it in a nice sized plastic enclouser (sp). I have handled it on a daily basis, and when feeding I feed in a seperate box. The problem I have is when I put my hand in to pick up the snake, I get struck at, and 3 times I have had been blooded. I now wear gloves when picking him/her up, but the snake still doesn't seem to be settling down at all. Any ideas on this?

Thanks
paul
 
Do you approach the snake from above or sideways on? I have read somewhere that if you approach them from above they feel more threatened? I don't know if it's true and I'm sure someone with more experience will clarify it.
 
It takes time...

The snake is a wild caught... meaning it has never ever been handled before, this also means that it may have internal parasites as well as some small external parasites that you cannot see. If you plan on keeping it, taking it to a good exotic pet veternarian would'nt be a bad Idea. I have caught many wild specimens and the easiest way of taming for me is...

After he strikes at you when reaching in his viv' pull your hand out and start the process over again, after a few times he will learn that striking does not detier your hand, and he will try fleeing. Once you catch him after fleeing many times he will begin to comprehend your hand means no harm.
Do this 2-3 times a day for awhile it should work. If he is one of the rare exeptions that refuses to tame no matter what tactic you deploy the your best bet would be to cut his head off and purchase one from your locale pet store. Good Luck!
 
Cutting It's Head Off

:cry: That was not funny... (well it was really) :grin01: I think I can hear the shouts at the screen from here in the UK.... I certainly went mad......
 
Thanks for all the info. I have not been chasing the snake around his/her cage. what I do is set the cage on the table, and then I place my hand inside hold still. the number of times the snakes strikes at me has diminished, but I still can't stick my hand in there with out getting struck at. Usually after about 5 minutes of stricking and tail rattling, the snake will come up to my hand sniffing/tasting me. When I know that I am going to handle the snake, I always wear at least one glove so that the snake doesn't draw blood on me.
 
as for cutting of the snakes head...I would be more inclined to releasing it back into the wild....but good joke...had me chuckling a little bit. :crazy02: :grin01:
 
Update Please

PCar......
How is little nippy guy getting along, did you manage to tame him or is he still grumpy at being picked up?
 
thiefman55 said:
when you pick him up out of his viv he may strike at you but this dose not always mean hes going to bite. The best method is to just go in an 'grab him'.
Click to expand...

:eek1: Would that make you feel safe? If I were a snake, that would just piss me off. lol

Firstly, don't come at your snake "face first", and always use steady movements. Slow is good, but too slow will tell your snake he has time to run, or give him time to prepare for attack. Not just that though, but if you show fear the snake is going to know he's in control.

What methods HAVE you tried? I could suggest some ideas, but if you do some searches here and you'll find TONS of better ones. One I remember reading here was to hold the snake IN the tank for a few minutes at a time. As it gets more comfortable with that, take it out for a few minutes. The snake will learn that after being held, it will be sent back home safely. "Grabbing" it though and forcing it to trust is imo not the best way, but if it works... I'd actually like to hear more comments about this technique... Am I wrong to think this could be counter productive?

The bottom line though is the snake needs to know that you're not going to hurt him, but at the same time he needs to know that you don't fear him. Once you can establish that level of trust, taming the little guy will be easy.

Good luck. :)
 
Jicin said:
Releasing it back into the wild would be best. Purchase a captive bred instead.
Click to expand...

I'm against taking a snake from the wild for several reasons (one being parasites and general health), but if it's been held in captivity for some time, releasing it may not be the best idea either.

Just my $0.02
 
It's a snake. Their driven by instincts. Add to that he's really born in the wild. He'll do fine.

I would wait till spring again though. Unless it's still warm enough for the snake to prepare for brumnation.
 
Releasing a captive into wild populations can be just as devastating as the reverse. ;)
 
Cindy said:
PCar......
How is little nippy guy getting along, did you manage to tame him or is he still grumpy at being picked up?
Click to expand...

I still have him/her. He/She is still nippy when I first pick him/her up, but once in hand, quiets down quite a bit. She/he eats great and is growing good. Probably eating better than it ever did in the wild. Still undecided on whether I am going to release him/her as I have had the snake for over a year now. Because of how long I have had it, thesnake is like a pet to me, even though it bites. :shrugs: Guess we will see what happens come spring.
 
pcar said:
Still undecided on whether I am going to release him/her as I have had the snake for over a year now.
Click to expand...

NO NO NO NO NO! NO BOOTIES FOR YOU! :nyah:

*cough*keepthesnakeorgivetogoodhome*cough*
 
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