Your Reptile and Amphibian Resource and Information Site

Back to Pythons-Burmese Forum   Forums   Home   Members Area  

Pythons-Burmese Forum

DwarfBurmese   DwarfBurmese   Timmay   Timmay   DwarfBurmese   Timmay   Texuga   Timmay   Boomalang  
 Member  Message

 #2051651


DwarfBurmese
View Profile

 Aggressive dwarf burmese

Hi all,

I have a 6 month old Dwarf Bumese, who became very aggressive a few weeks ago, about 2 or 3 weeks. I have her for about 1 and a half month, so she was very kind only in the first 2 weeks, more or less.

She is in a small terrarium, the substract is Snake Aspen Bending, she has a hiding place, a "drinking bath", an artificial plant, 12 hours of light (I have a timer), she is eating very well, a small rat, I think you call a "goofer", every 7 days, she’s healthy and shading pretty well... but she bites me as if I was a huge monster who’s gona eat her... :s
I have no idea why, nothing has changed, the only thing I can find as an explanation, is when a few weeks ago, I had to give her a bath because she was not defecating and I was worried, so I give her a bath, which she hated, she started to bite the water and biting everything was moving around her, I had to take her of the bath with a towel, so she wouldn’t bite me...
Today I tried to grab her, with a glove of course, and she started to bite my fingers... Yesterday I was offered a free "musk bath"...

Do you have any idea what is happening with her? Is irt because she is so little yet? Don’t forget it’s a Dwarf Burmese, so she’s about 60cm (about 24 inches).
Will she be more calm when older, or I really need to grab her as often as I can so that she calms down? I think it will stress her even more...

Please can you help me?

Kind regards

Dwarf
08/05/09  07:37pm

 #2051654


DwarfBurmese
View Profile



   Message To: DwarfBurmese   In reference to Message Id: 2051651


 Aggressive dwarf burmese

I forgot to say, the temperatures now don’t go lower than 77º at night, and 84º during the day, summer here is quite hot, so the heaters are turned off. Humidity stays at 60%

Regards
08/05/09  07:41pm

 #2051819


Timmay
View Profile



   Message To: DwarfBurmese   In reference to Message Id: 2051654


 Aggressive dwarf burmese

Just gotta keep handling it. Be careful with gloves though, their teeth can get stuck in them much easier than in your skin, they also can hide your scent more and you might have to go through it all over again without gloves..Also 84 degrees in the day is too cold.. I’ve never dealt with a dwarf burm so I dont know if they have different temperature requirements than normal burms, I would think not..
08/06/09  01:36am

 #2051820


Timmay
View Profile



   Message To: Timmay   In reference to Message Id: 2051819


 Aggressive dwarf burmese

Also wanted to ad that unless it was a couple months without defecating I wouldn’t worry too much about it. They can hold it in for a long time.
08/06/09  01:38am

 #2051836


DwarfBurmese
View Profile



   Message To: Timmay   In reference to Message Id: 2051820


 Aggressive dwarf burmese

Thanks for your answer.

I cannot turn on the heaters because I have other snakes with the same heating cable, although I can manage a way to heat only her terrarium, but if the temperature is low, shouldn’t she be more lethargic? The ideal temperatures for dwarf burm, are about 88-94ºF for the hot spot, and 83-86ºF for the cold area. I have 84 more or less (we work with Celsius degrees, not Fahrenheit, so the conversion is a bit difficult for me...), the more hot the terrarium is, more active they became, so they will bit me even more...

I wanted to hold her in naked hands, but her teeth are very sharpen, and I really like my hands intact... I usually hold her with one glove and one naked hand, and every time I touch her with my naked (hot) hand, she shakes and wants to run away...
I know this is all fear, it’s not "free aggression" because she bite and release, bite and release, it’s like a "go away, leave me alone..."

My only fear is that she grows up being aggressive, and I don’t want a 5 or 7 feet long aggressive snake...



08/06/09  05:14am

 #2052172


Timmay
View Profile



   Message To: DwarfBurmese   In reference to Message Id: 2051836


 Aggressive dwarf burmese

You are right about them being more lethargic with lower temperatures, however its not healthy for them, they need the heat to digest their food and to keep their immune system functioning properly. Keeping them at too low of temps can make them more prone to illnesses and cause difficulty with digestion which is a whole other set of problems..

The only real way you can get her used to you is to keep handling her. It shouldn’t take too long with short daily handling sessions, something like 10 to 15 minutes. Much better to take a few bites from a 2ft long snake then something bigger.
08/06/09  04:30pm

 #2052257


Texuga
View Profile



   Message To: Timmay   In reference to Message Id: 2052172


 Aggressive dwarf burmese

Hi Timmay,

Thanks for your reply.
I’ll turn on the heat pad for her, my other snakes don’t need it...
I forgot to say, the glove I wear is a leather "woman style" glove, quite thin, but enough for her teeth not to cut my skin.
From what I’ve read and heard of these snakes, they are quite nice and quite dociles, I guess mine is the exception... I hope I can change her behaviour...

Thanks again for your help.



08/06/09  07:01pm

 #2052429


Timmay
View Profile



   Message To: Texuga   In reference to Message Id: 2052257


 Aggressive dwarf burmese

No problem, just make sure your husbandry is correct and just keep handling her. Good luck!
08/06/09  11:39pm

 #2058180


Boomalang
View Profile



   Message To: Timmay   In reference to Message Id: 2052429


 Aggressive dwarf burmese

if you are going to handle it with a glove, i’d recommend using a couple of latex gloves on the same hand. if you use any kind of cloth glove it can rip out it’s teeth. the latex will protect your hand when it’s still small.
08/16/09  02:09pm


Back to Pythons-Burmese Forum   Forums   Home   Members Area