| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| n/a |
Posted - 19/03/2010 : 20:12:27
So I went to pick up sib just now and she rattled her tail, it made a buzzing noise and it vibrated. should i lay off for now? |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kellog |
Posted - 21/03/2010 : 04:12:38
By the sounds of it you need to return to treating her as though she were a hatchling.....I am sure you remember how to do this so sorry for reminding you  , but these are some notes I made on handling and I guess it is better reminded than forgotten......
I always fiddle with my snakes' substrate whenever I change their water, so every morning...just airing it and checking for poo, but it is a really good way to spread my smell around their viv. Also, when I go to handle them I go in slowly, and again I fiddle with the substrate a bit because that way I am getting their scent on my hands, which I think must help in keeping them calm. It also warns them that you are in their viv so they are not surprised.
Very calmly and confidently scoop her up, using both hands and being careful to support her so she isnt dangling. Hold her firmly and gently as she WILL try to escape from your grip, ignore her tail rattling. Hold her fairly firmly but gently to bring her out of the viv. Once you have her out sit with her and just let her run through your hands, moving one to the other to the other and so on. She may be flighty and scared....it is natural and something both she and you have to get used to. You must just be very calm and steady with your movements. Only keep her out for a bit (with a hatchling you would start at about 5 mins, but I am not sure how long you used to handle Sibs for) Repeat again and again and again....(except for 48hrs after eating of course!)....and you will begin to notice a difference in her behaviour as she gets used to being handled and will begin to tolerate it. I can understand you being nervous if you have dropped her twice, so I am sure your confidence has been shaken. By keeping doing this, she gets used to being handled again and so will you and your confidence will grow. You can then lengthen the amount of time you have her out.
She will be able to tell you are not confident and that will make her more stressed. It is a case of you needing to 'fake it until you feel it'...behave calmly and gently, with no sudden movements, and she will respond positively to that. Her reaction when you go to pick her up will be a fear response...but that will lessen with time.
Now I can talk from actual experience. When I took on Silvesta, his previous owner only handled him a few times a week, with a glove after being bitten, and he was very obviously underfed. When we went to see him the owner got him out with the glove and Silvesta was all over the place trying to escape...I immediately took him from his owner (with my bare hands) and within a few minutes his movements had calmed down. I think he was truly picking up on the vibes of his previous owner that he was scared of him. Since having him I treated him as a hatchling, giving him the week to settle in and then only handling him twice a day for a maximum of 5 minutes, less if he was showing signs of stress. To begin with he would try to escape when I went to get him out of his viv (and caused total chaos spreading substrate everywhere!) but now he will let me pick him up without fleeing from me. The handling sessions have lengthened and he has become accustomed to me running him through my hands and letting him roam my body. I am now able to let him explore a bit, although I always keep a hand on him because he is exceedingly fast and I know that if he decided to he could escape before I could get near him to catch him.
When you dropped her, how did it happen? Did she just slide too quickly out of your hands? It is a really good idea to handle her on your bed at the moment if you are still scared that this might happen.
It really is a case of time and patience and quality of handling rather than quantity. Take it slow and trust yourself...only when you do that will she trust you again. You have only had her since December, so it really is not a long period of time that you have had her. Persevere and dont be afraid....it will be worth it.
xxx
quote:
Originally posted by DannyBrown91
quote:
Originally posted by godzchild9
She also sprayed me with that stinky smell.
I didn't know corns could spray anything lol.
I THINK Godzchild may be talking about being musked 
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| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 20/03/2010 : 15:11:45
quote:
Originally posted by godzchild9
She also sprayed me with that stinky smell.
I didn't know corns could spray anything lol. |
| n/a |
Posted - 20/03/2010 : 14:54:28
Snickers used to rattle her tail at me a lot until she was about four months old. She also sprayed me with that stinky smell.It just means they're frightened. I wouldn't leave them alone per sey, but I would be aware that they are frightened and respect that treating them gently and slowly to help them get past their fear.quote:
Originally posted by Scissors
So I went to pick up sib just now and she rattled her tail, it made a buzzing noise and it vibrated. should i lay off for now?
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| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 20/03/2010 : 09:35:52
As Electra has said did you change your perfume that day? or even your soap? This would cause the snake to think somebody else was entering the faun.
Just enter calmly and even if she begind to rattle or hiss at you just continue towards her slowly and confidently pick her up.
You say that you have dropped her twice, does she try to get away from you when your handling her? This could be a sign of stress if so keep handling sessions to a minimum. Also you say she tries to get out when you open the lid, this isn't because she wants to come out to be handled or explore she just wants to escape. |
| mozacchio |
Posted - 19/03/2010 : 22:37:21
I felt horribly when it happened. I got so disappointed.. It was like i failed as a mum! 
But you shouldn't! It's just one time. Maybe she just felt nervous for some reason. Did you change your perfume or anything like that? Check for changes since the last time..! If there aren't any, then maybe it's just a phase. Don't worry so much! You are gonna end up like me..!
Electra |
| n/a |
Posted - 19/03/2010 : 22:12:28
she's not due to shed, or showing any signs. she's usually good at getting out, sometimes if i take the lid off she climbs out herself, she's not new, i've had her since christmas but still pretty young! she's never rattled before but last time i handled her she dropped a few inches thats all, onto my soft bed aswell. she's fallen once before and she's been fine with me afterwards :/ it was very rejecting i hated it when she rattled. i think i'll try again tomorrow because i ate too much cake mixture, raw eggs don't go down too well so i don't feel like battling tonight! i hope she's not in some cycle of unfriendliness now. |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 19/03/2010 : 20:33:23
Some of my hatchlings rattle, they also strike if they ahve already warned me once (even though I'm changing their water!) just means there scared. |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 19/03/2010 : 20:26:10
Yer more info is needed but it is most likely down to sress and nerves, especially if this is a newly purchased hatchling. |
| mozacchio |
Posted - 19/03/2010 : 20:25:51
Maybe it's about to shed. They get nervous at that time. But if that's not the case, i'll tell you my story. Spaghettino (my corn) did that and got in striking position and i left him alone believing that it was better, but it wasn't. He kept doing that because he wanted to be left alone and he was trying to frighten me. Then i decided to take another path. When he did that, i just kept moving forward to catch him (very slowly) and i discovered that the whole thing was just a bluff! He didn't actually want to attack me! After that he kept getting better and better! Now he doesn't even bother..!
Hope i helped,
Electra |
| elament |
Posted - 19/03/2010 : 20:24:10
Depends on a lot of factors what you need to establish is why she rattled. More info would help like how long you had her whats her set up like have you fed her recently etc. Give us some more info and we will be able to help. |
