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Psi chick   Concolor1   Repfanatic   ReptileJay  
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 #2073566


Psi chick
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 Attitude problem?

so i got my first milk snake about a week ago at the reptile show. i’m not new to herps at all, but this is my first venture into snakes (frogs and geckos are my usuals).

i got a rather nice tangerine honduran milk snake. female, hatched on 8/16. she’s in a 15 gallon tank at the moment, aspen substrate, water bowl, two cave hides. ambient temps are about 75, and the uth is at 88. she ate about three days ago, and gave me no issues.

here’s the thing.....she’s got a serious attitude problem and i can’t figure out what happened. when i first brought her home i gave her a day or so to adjust to her new environment. then i started handling her to get her used to me. she was a little jumpy at first, but would calm down rather easily. this went on for about two days. then my fiance held her, and she was fine. he put her back in her tank, and a little while later i went to go hold her and she freaked out and bite me. so i let her be. i fed her that night and left her alone for 48 hours. last night i tried to hold her again, and she bit again. this time she was even trying to bite at me through the glass.

what could her problem be? she was fine for two days, now all of a sudden she’s biting and just generally unhappy.

thanks in advance.



09/19/09  12:11am

 #2073770


Concolor1
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   Message To: Psi chick   In reference to Message Id: 2073566


 Give Her a Few Days to Settle Down . . .

Snakes have different temperments (at least she isn’t musking), and doubtless she’s terrified at the size of your hand. At her size she isn’t going to draw blood, so what you’ll want to do is move slowly when you want to handle her, and I would guess even if she protests at first, she’ll settle down as long as she’s allowed to "move" while you’re holding her.

Your experience with lizards and such is showing through with that attention to precise temperatures; I would relax since she’s obviously eating and snakes are way more low maintenance than lizards or frogs).

And now that I think about it, a fifteen gallon is a big tank for a hatchling; she may be reacting to all that empty space... She’ll grow into it, of course, and fairly quickly....
09/19/09  02:29pm

 #2073844


Repfanatic
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   Message To: Psi chick   In reference to Message Id: 2073566


 Attitude problem?

Did you let her be for a week after you got her? You might want to put some more snug hides in her tank and just let her be for a bit. When they’re young they tend to be flighty and nippy. Just be patient and give her time.
09/19/09  05:58pm

 #2080814


ReptileJay
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   Message To: Psi chick   In reference to Message Id: 2073566


 Attitude problem?

I agree about the 15 gallon tank. that’s big for small snake, but not too big you can’t work with it. Aspen is best for these guys cuz its easy for them to burrow. That size of a tank, you might want to make sure there are multiple hides. They will usually burrow to get under water dishes and logs and such. I keep my small ones in ten gallon tanks with one hide and they have burrow holes all through the aspen that you can see from the side of the tank. small milks are almost always feisty. Just get it out of the tank and hold it. if it wants to bite you, let it bite. I brought home a small honduran a few weeks ago, and he bit me everytime i picked him up for the first few times, drew blood too, but it doesn’t hurt when they’re that small. Just let her waste her energy biting you and it will calm down. Like the other person said, they’ll be cool as long as they can move while they’re being held. My honduran hasn’t tried to bite me since those first few times and my pueblan never bites. It’ll chill out soon. If for some reason it doesn’t, again make sure you have several hides, and try blacking out the tank (especially since its striking at the movement outside of the glass). This will help her feel more secure in her cage and that will help to make her more docile. Just give her time and she’ll come around.

My feisty tangerine honduran,



10/06/09  01:15am


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