afraid of my own snakes ...

[kazariel]

hey there,

4 weeks ago i bought 4 garter snakes, concinnus in fact, i really llove this snakes, i love wathing them and feeding is real fun. i don't have any problems with cleaning their terrarium and doing alll the other stuff i have to do.

BUT i an afraidd of touching them, i am afraid when my big femal comes near my hand ... i just can handle them with gloves cause i can not touch them. they aren't biting, a bit stinky but no biting.

here in germany i never had contact to wild snakes and the only snake i touched before my garters was a tiiger python when i was around 5 or 6 ...

well i red a lot of books abount garters and searched a lot in the net so i was prepared for housing them but then ... i am really scared of touching my sweeties and can't really explain why :(

i didn't know that it would be like that annd i don't wanna give mmy babies away. can anybody give me a tip how to manage this problem?

thanks for reading and sorry for my bad english,

kaza

[drache]

hi Kaza
und willkommen zum forum

I'm not sure what part of it is scary to you
if you're worried about getting bit, I can tell you despite the fact that it's no big deal, I don't like it either. It's not that it hurts, but I still don't like it. I do have one snake I handle with gloves when I first take her out of her enclosure, because she's a biter, and I am better with her if I don't worry about it. After just a minute of handling, she calms down and I take the gloves off

many people get freaked out about feeling the way snakes move - it can seem unmanageable when you're new to it. there's a tendency to want to hold on to them which they respond to by whipping around and becoming even less manageable. The way to "hold" them, so they calm down, is to just support them from underneath. This is difficult to describe, and perhaps some day Steve can make a demo video of Gabby holding a skittish snake. But essentially you keep moving your hands so that the hand that's underneath the rear end of the snake moves underneath the front end as the front slithers out. They tend to calm down faster when they don't feel restrained. this is something you can practice with gloves on.

frankly - I think it's better you wear the gloves until you feel comfortable, because I believe it's better for the animal when you don't feel nervous. and after you handle them with the gloves for a while, you will become more comfortable

please show us photos of your snakes when you can

[ConcinusMan]

That's a new one on me. Most people either loathe the snakes and won't touch them, or even look at them, or they love them, and like to hold them.

[Stefan-A]

I can relate to that. It took a lot of effort of me to get used to holding live snakes. I used to only hold snakes by the neck before I got my first pet snake. The only advice I can give, is to stop using gloves and keep trying. Continued exposure is the best cure.

[Tyrel26]

try putting your hand into the enclosure and letting the snakes move over you, least that way if you pull away you dont drop them :)

my dad was very afraid of snakes all his life (even though he'd never even seen a real one) but now he likes when i visit so he can get to see them AND hold them, took him a while tho

just dont give up :)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I just reach for the midsection of the snake, gently lift up and if it's a bigger snake, slide my other hand underneath. Handling snakes is so second nature to me now that I don't even think about the fact that there is a method to it, until I hand one to someone who's never held a snake before.... they look so awkward trying to hang onto it! Haha....not a day goes by where I have not handled at least 10 different snakes! :D

[guidofatherof5]

try putting your hand into the enclosure and letting the snakes move over you, least that way if you pull away you dont drop them :)
just dont give up :)

Good advice.
This way they learn your smell and feel. Snakes are very tactile.

[jere000]

Hmm this is quite an odd situation, but you don't have to get rid of your snakes because you don't want to handle them infact the snakes will benefit more from you not handling them so if you don't want to handle them it doesn't mean you have to get rid of them.

[ConcinusMan]

True. You don't need to handle them, and they don't need it either. But, at some point, handling becomes necessary.

[guidofatherof5]

True. You don't need to handle them, and they don't need it either. But, at some point, handling becomes necessary.

In my humble opinion, both can benefit from handling:)

[ConcinusMan]

In my humble opinion, both can benefit from handling:)


Perhaps, but I'm sure they can thrive without it steve.:rolleyes:

[Tyrel26]

Im sure they could do fine either way, but mine love to be held, she will actually climb out of the enclosure and then wrap around my hand, she'll stay wrapped around my hand as long as I'll allow; and NO she isn't cold lol shes nosey, always looking around as we walk (as i walk and she rides lol)

[guidofatherof5]

Perhaps, but I'm sure they can thrive without it steve.:rolleyes:

No doubt they can but it's that interaction that make them so appealing to so many.
I have a hard time calling mine pets. They're more like guests. Friends that came to stay for awhile.
I find them to be quite magnetic.

[gregmonsta]

A snake that is accustomed to handling is more likely to thrive in my opinion. It's the best way to combat stress in the snake in the captive environment.

[Stefan-A]

Getting a snake accustomed to being handled makes things much easier in a lot of situations and it does benefit the snake, if you can pick it up to inspect its health or treat it if it's necessary, without having to worry about biting, musking or the snake accidentally hurting itself.

But that's where the benefits for the snake end, in my opinion. I've never seen anything other than varying levels of annoyance, even when owners seem to interpret their body language as displaying enjoyment. A lot of snake owners insist on petting their snakes, as if they were dogs or cats. Sometimes people talk about training their snakes not to be head shy. What's the point? So that they can annoy their snake more effortlessly? They're supposed to be head shy, it's a defence mechanism, like jerking your hand away from a hot stove. I've never seen a snake enjoy having it's back stroked, either. What I have seen, is varying levels of tolerance to it.

If you have to train them to tolerate what you do, you're doing things wrong. In some rare instances, it may benefit them to build up their tolerance to handling, but they're not toys or puppies or little humans.

Sorry about the rant (not really).

[Tyrel26]

Quote "they're not toys or puppies or little humans."

I agree, but one thing that you didn't list is that they are also not collectibles. They are living things and not just a living paint set that you can mix to get cool colors (and no I am not downing breeding in any way, i can tell from the posts that some of the breeders care very deeply for their snakes). I like to take my snakes out of their enclosure from time to time but its not an everyday thing. As you said its to help them build up tolerance to being handled so they don't get stressed every time they see you approach. Maybe the do not enjoy being handled but they are definitely interested.

[jere000]

No matter how much you think your snake enjoys being held it really doesn't.Also the snake comes up to you from his enclosure because he wants out and knows you can take him.I don't train my boas to not be head shy if they are not head shy when they are adults i don't care.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, kazariel :)

[ConcinusMan]

I've never seen anything other than varying levels of annoyance, even when owners seem to interpret their body language as displaying enjoyment. A lot of snake owners insist on petting their snakes, as if they were dogs or cats.

This is certainly the case with most snakes, I'm sure, but I don't know if I totally agree. One of the reasons I miss that old female I had is that I could offer my hand and she would readily seek out handling by climbing aboard. She certainly seemed to enjoy gentle touching and "petting" when it suited her mood.

As far as them coming out to greet you goes, I'm sure that's just a conditioned response created by them associating you with food, but sometimes it's more than that.

[infernalis]

I am going to sit on the middle of the fence with this one, I have a few snakes that tolerate the handling well, so if I get in the mood to "play with a snake" I get out the ones that seem the best able to deal with it.

Most of my snakes are "observation animals" and only get handled at feeding time or cage clean outs.

A couple of them just don't like human interactions at all, so they get nearly no handling.

[Tyrel26]

Lol thats garters for you, they each have their own personality. Which is what makes them so interesting and such great pets.

[drache]

training a snake, eh?
there's people who believe a snake is trainable?
that's a very novel concept to me
my approach has always been to watch them, and to move slowly, so I can learn to avoid spooking them - really, I'm fine with them training me in that sense

[ConcinusMan]

Lol thats garters for you, they each have their own personality. Which is what makes them so interesting and such great pets.

Every individual does have personality unique to the individual. However, certain species have a tendency toward species-specific disposition too.

That's why I say, T. radix is an excellent choice for someone looking for a pet garter but there are other species that are just as good. There are always exceptions (a mean or nervous one) among even the best pet species, and there is always a sweet one even among species with a tendency to be "wild".

Almost every wild CA king I caught turned out to be a tame and excellent pet. I've seen CB ones that were mean as heck. It doesn't seem to matter if the snake is WC or CB, handled often, or not.

Wild caught or captive born, they all have the potential to make great pets, it's just that some species have more potential than others. I noticed with concinnus, there's a big difference between the sexes too. males tend to be flighty and nervous, where females tend to be sweet.

[kazariel]

heres a small update ...

at the moment i'm not scared feeding them and i can handle them a bit, seperating for feeding is doing good. but if one of the snakes moves it head to my hand i start panicing ... but i ithink its getting better and better :>

[kazariel]

here i have some pics of the terrarium and one of the 4 garters ...

hole terrarium:

http://s3.directupload.net/images/100525/temp/ivr2o7qf.jpg (http://s3.directupload.net/file/d/2170/ivr2o7qf_jpg.htm)

left side:

http://s1.directupload.net/images/100525/temp/zc4w9d3m.jpg (http://s1.directupload.net/file/d/2170/zc4w9d3m_jpg.htm)

right side:

http://s10.directupload.net/images/100525/temp/y94rd4fp.jpg (http://s10.directupload.net/file/d/2170/y94rd4fp_jpg.htm)

and this is Hugo, one of my two males:

http://s10.directupload.net/images/100525/temp/4n3wcrh6.jpg (http://s10.directupload.net/file/d/2170/4n3wcrh6_jpg.htm)