|
Post by RedSky on Nov 26, 2015 14:29:16 GMT -5
The other half and I are looking for some good gloves to wear to give us confidence and protect us while handling our rat snake. She (we think) didn't used to be too aggressive but has gotten worse with tank aggression to the point that we can't change her water without her striking and us getting anxious about it, never mind getting her out.
Please don't judge but before anyone suggests it, we did look at rehoming her a while ago. I couldn't believe the waiting lists for the rescues I found, and the number of snakes (and other herps) on reptile sites that needed homes... I couldn't do that to her. We are at least her 3rd home (4th assuming her first owner didn't hatch her).
We're building her a new tank, with a dividing wall so I can clean out half at a time, change water, add food etc without stressing her (or me...) out as much. But OH wants to start working with her and slowly see if we can reduce her aggression/fear. She's never been big on being out of her tank, but she did used to come out, then I took over her care and she really doesn't like me. She will actually strike at the glass if I stay near her tank for too long. We are also thinking of moving her to a more quiet section of the house, to try reduce her stress.
Anyway... any suggestions on 'taming' or any good gloves (ideally in the UK) would be great. I know there are a few snake keepers on here. I'm trying to decided on 'animal gloves' (mainly for feral cats/rodents) or welding gloves. But something that protects arms would be nice too. My main concern is I don't want something that may damage her teeth or hurt her if she lands a bite.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2015 21:03:46 GMT -5
How do you feel about letting it go in the forest? Just a thought.
The first time I tried to release my quail in the brush, I took my cage out in the field, and opened the door. I checked on them after about 20 minutes. They were still there, so I took them back home. The second time i did it, they all hopped out one by one. While released bobwhite do not have a great survival rate, they were starting to pick on each other, so the cage I had them in was not suitable. At least they had a chance as they were quail that guys purchase to go quail hunting.
Well whatever you decide to do, hope it is much happier.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2015 22:42:06 GMT -5
Please do NOT release your snake into the wild. If her aggression becomes too much you can take her to an animal rescue, but do not release a potentially invasive species into your area. Have you used a snake handling tong/hook before? Most people I use with rat snakes use those, because, well, sometimes it is just not in the nature of a snake to be friendly. When you are holding your snake and she strikes, do you immediately put her away? Or do you walk away when she strikes at the cage? If so, you are teaching her that she will get what she wants if she strikes. When she goes at you, keep holding her for another ten minutes or just stay near her enclosure for a bit longer. When she calms down, put her away or move from the cage. This will help her learn being calm will get her back in her enclosure. Snake hooks work best for me, and your idea about the split tank is not a bad idea. But she might just be a better look-than-touch snake.
|
|
|
Post by lyles on Nov 27, 2015 7:42:52 GMT -5
Please do NOT release your snake into the wild. If her aggression becomes too much you can take her to an animal rescue, but do not release a potentially invasive species into your area. Have you used a snake handling tong/hook before? Most people I use with rat snakes use those, because, well, sometimes it is just not in the nature of a snake to be friendly. When you are holding your snake and she strikes, do you immediately put her away? Or do you walk away when she strikes at the cage? If so, you are teaching her that she will get what she wants if she strikes. When she goes at you, keep holding her for another ten minutes or just stay near her enclosure for a bit longer. When she calms down, put her away or move from the cage. This will help her learn being calm will get her back in her enclosure. Snake hooks work best for me, and your idea about the split tank is not a bad idea. But she might just be a better look-than-touch snake. I agree, with snakes only release when absolutely sure they are native to the area. Survival wise, snakes live on sheer instinct so there is no captivity imprint with them. With other reptiles, birds and mammals things get more complicated as higher intelligent animals can imprint on a home or become dependent and can no longer survive in the wild.
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Nov 27, 2015 11:02:57 GMT -5
I agree with the others. Never release anything to the wild that wasn't taken from there, and hasn't imprinted on you, home, etc. Check ebay or amazon for your area, or the UK equivalent of craig's list etc.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2015 21:13:23 GMT -5
Snake hooks are your best bet in my opinion. You can use it to move the snake around the enclosure, or to just bring it right out, just takes a bit of practice to figure out where to hook em and how to move em.
I used to have a very tempermental Brazilian Rainbow Boa that I wasnt comfortable handling at all after being tagged a few times. Once I got a hook I was able to use it to gauge her mood and retrieve her safely from the enclosure.
|
|
|
Post by RedSky on Nov 28, 2015 5:50:17 GMT -5
Thanks for all the replies. No way I would release her. For a starter we are in the UK... she wouldn't survive long at all. Poor thing would freeze to death. Nope. And generally, no I wouldn't release an animal anyway. She's my responsibility, this is something that I need to do, because I have to and I want to care for her as best as I can. I looked at rescues all have long waiting lists and I would constantly worry she's not in a good home. Here she has a nice(ish) sized tank, the correct heating equipment, frequent water changes, fed as necessary etc. I wouldn't say she is unhappy. Generally we leave her alone to do her own thing, and she seems content (as far as I can tell). She just doesn't like us going near. On rare occasions I can go in and do a quick spot check, change her water and she just stays in her log (her favourite place) but the rest of the time... nope. I don't want to stress her out or get bitten, so yeah when she strikes I leave her be. I didn't realise she would learn from it, and she doesn't seem to get bored of waiting for me so I'm not sure I could wait her out until she stops striking. I was hoping the gloves would give us more confidence along with the protection so we wouldn't be as jumpy (which doesn't help things for her). We do have a snake hood, but she knows we are at the other end of it. So it's a case of playing keep away and constantly readjusting her on it, or pinning and restraining her, which she hates and just seems to make things worse. Obviously we have times that she needs to come out, such as for a full cage clean and to check her over, but otherwise I'm happy to have a look at pet rather than a hands on pet. I'd just rather it wasn't so stressful for all involved. I'm hoping the new cage will help, if she can't deal with handling, but I would still need some hands on occasionally to check she is okay.
|
|