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Un-handlable?

Gintha

Gintha

*stretches* I'm out!
I've been trying to get Hunter used to being held for over a month, and things are just getting worse. =( Last night when I was holding him, he was doing his usual trying to leap out of my hands, and I was doing my usual hand in front of hand to give him a feeling like hes getting somewhere, well the little brat decided he'd had enough! HISS!! STRIKE!! MUSK!! POOP!! Yep, he nailed me with all 4! Is there anything I can do differently to help him get adjusted to being held? I like to hold all of my pets on a daily basis, partially for the freedom from their cages, partially for the attention I believe they need, and partially so I can make sure they feel and act normally and be sure there are no health problems.

I don't hold him tightly or anything, he is free to slither about my hands (if I put him on the bed ZOOM hes off.. and wow is he fast!) I make sure I don't smell like Treasure, or Snowflake (mouse) or Izzy (ferret). I have no trouble picking him up, no strike position or actual striking, and no tail rattling. I can hold him fine for about 2 minutes and then he goes ballistic trying to escape. Any ideas would be great! I worry about stressing him out so right now hes only being held around 5 minutes 4 days a week, the other 3 he is left alone to digest his squeaker.

Once I put him back in his viv however, he climbs up his branch and looks like he wants back out. I know hes probably just wanting out so he can try to escape, but I feel bad for giving him so little attention when I have Treasure out for 4 or 5 hours a day.
 
how old is hunter again? It might be he's still young, or it might just be his personality. Just like those cat's that want nothing other than for you to feed them & leave them alone? :shrugs:
 
Hes an 03, so I don't think its an age issue. I was wondering if maybe hes just unhappy because he's outgrown his viv and can't move around much while hes in there? His new viv was smashed when I went to pick it up, so I have to wait until they get me another one. This one isn't so small he can't move around at all... but he is around 2.5 times the length of the longest side, and he often doesn't look too comfortable to me. Its really frustrating me because I want him to be happy but I also want to be able to hold him ~,~
 
Gintha said:
I have no trouble picking him up, no strike position or actual striking, and no tail rattling. I can hold him fine for about 2 minutes and then he goes ballistic trying to escape. Any ideas would be great!
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Perhaps there is a scent that he is offended by. Are you a heavy perfume/cologne wearer? Or is there soimething that you could be in contact with daily that could be lingering on your person. Just thinking aloud :shrugs:
 
mbdorfer said:
Perhaps there is a scent that he is offended by.
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Made me laugh :grin01:

But it's a really good point. When I smoked I always washed my hands before I handled the snakes.
 
snakessss said:
Snakes dont like colognes?
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I've heard or read that they can react aggressively to "musky" colognes and perfumes. Since I can't cite a source, and I can't find anything googling, take it for what it's worth. :shrugs:
 
I could imagine that snakes are like most things that smell. My cat's give me the stinky wrinkled face when I put on perfume.

Do you have other animals? Cat smell particularly doesn't sit well I noticed. Do you wash your hands before picking him up? Maybe a constant reliable sent that doesn't smell like danger?

I have a boy that recognizes the orange scented anti-bacteria dawn & comes right over.
 
I wash my hands before I pick him up to get rid of mouse, ferret, cat and dog smells. I know its not perfume, as they make me stop breathing (literally)... not allowed near me. Cigarettes, same thing, highly allergic... so I don't even have friends who smoke.

I've started to pick him up and let him wrap his tail around his branch, and slither about my hands with only the head half of his body. He will eventually let go of the branch and let me hold him no problem. But he always makes a bee-line for my hair and once again becomes highly agitated when I won't let him near it. Hes very clumsy and always slides off my shoulders and back, never fallen because I always catch him, but always manages to slip off of me. I'll check his temps tonight, I suppose they could be a tad bit high with the warmer weather we've been having.

Thanks for the ideas so far folks, greatly appreciated =)
 
Roy Munson said:
I've heard or read that they can react aggressively to "musky" colognes and perfumes. Since I can't cite a source, and I can't find anything googling, take it for what it's worth. :shrugs:
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hmm. could be. i wear polo (cologne), and today I had him out for a while and for some reason he didnt sit still even after about an hour of handling. usually he relaxes after a bit but today he was really active. i think it may be cuz of the cologne.
 
There are often some that just come out of the egg mean! No two ways around it, they just are biters. I usually take these off of heat (except for three days after a meal), and work with them for short periods when cooler. I've never run across even a wild adult corn that wouldn't calm down with some work. But that work isn't usually fun! Was the animal fearful and aggressive as a hatchling?
 

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LOL!

Nice picture! :grin01:

You're right though, you just get some that are always a bit more adverse to handling than others. I have a 7 year old that simply never tamed down. She's not especially aggressive, she'd rather run than fight but she doesn't, and never has, liked being handled.

Interesting enough, theres something to be said for it being genetic. I bred her (the grumpy one) this year, and her babies were the most bitey, agressive bunch of hatchlings I've ever set eyes on. Still got one of them now and it's just like it's mother .... :rolleyes:
 
The hatchling pictured came from a w/c female who had a nasty temperment, the male was flighty, too. Got some beautiful locality Okeetees from the pairing, but never bred them together again.
 
When I asked Breedingcolors about him being kind of jumpy, she told me he wasn't like that with her. I wonder tho, I've been quite sick for a couple months, and probably have that "sick" smell to my skin. Could this be whats aggitating him? I don't smeel bad or anything =P Just like medications and IV bags and hospital.. ick.
 
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