Bitten... and a question.

[Morph]

well i decided that dinky has had enough time to settle in and decided to try and handle her again... so i went to pick up the hide, put my finger in to pick it up.... what a mistake... must have looked just like food. so i got bitten.

she has been in her tank now for over 2 weeks without being disturbed in the slightest but she is still hiding and only coming out at dawn to eat.

Is there anything i can do to make her morecomfortable or could it be that she prefers hiding.

if its just her personality then im not concerned but im worried that maybe she doesnt feel safe.

any thoughts/suggestions?

[adamanteus]

Perhaps if it were a little cooler in her hide and warmer elsewhere, she might be tempted out to bask? As long as she's feeding I wouldn't be too worried though.

[CrazyHedgehog]

I have 27 garters.... all with different personalities..

My Oregon red spot is as bold as brass, comes out, stays out and tries to stare you out....

My Chequered on the other hand do a cartoon disapearing act if they think you have seen them venture out!

as James says, as long as its eating, all should be ok.

[garterman07]

rico is like that, he comes out and just stares you down. he comes out of his hide sits on his perch and will watch you. if you move across the room he follows you with his head, and he loves being handled, i have never had him musk not even when i caught him. but when i caught him though he bit me on the nose... but yeah if you snake is just chillin in its hide i wouldn't be worried. its just a shy one. if your heat lamp is going in the middle of the cage try and add it to the opposite side of the cage that the hide is not on and then wait to see if she comes out and basks there then she will get more mobile and hopefully feel safer venturing...good luck mate!!!

[KITKAT]

well i decided that dinky has had enough time to settle in and decided to try and handle her again... so i went to pick up the hide, put my finger in to pick it up.... what a mistake... must have looked just like food. so i got bitten.

she has been in her tank now for over 2 weeks without being disturbed in the slightest but she is still hiding and only coming out at dawn to eat.

Is there anything i can do to make her morecomfortable or could it be that she prefers hiding.

if its just her personality then im not concerned but im worried that maybe she doesnt feel safe.

any thoughts/suggestions?

Can't tell you how to get her to be more outgoing, but I can tell you how to get her not to bite fingers.

Wear latex surgeons gloves that you can get in the drug store. Latex is bitter. Once she bites the glove, she will learn not to bite. After you have handled her for a couple of months with the gloves on, and assuming she learned her lesson, you should be able to take them off.

[Morph]

Thanks for the comments and advice.

I decided to do a 24 hour recording so that i could see if there was any particular time (if any) that she comes out and enjoys the open space... It solved my problem.

About 5 minutes after i turned the TV off to go to bed, she came out and started basking! I've come to the conclusion that she doesn't like the sound of the TV so i've moved her into the bedroom and she is now happy to bask even when i put my hand into the viv.

Problem solved and hopefully 1 happy snake

[drache]

that's so cool
oh, you tech savvy folks
you get to have all the fun
I've noticed that my snakes are sensitive to sound and vibration

[Morph]

that's so cool
oh, you tech savvy folks
you get to have all the fun
I've noticed that my snakes are sensitive to sound and vibration

i spent a lot of money on infra-red wireless cameras for my tiger salamander studies and after the study finished i realised i had £700 worth of wireless cameras with no use. handy for placing in the hides to make sure the garter is happy.

sound just hadnt occurred to me before now... i'm glad i found out

[adamanteus]

I've come to the conclusion that she doesn't like the sound of the TV so i've moved her into the bedroom and she is now happy to bask even when i put my hand into the viv.

Just coincidence Snakes have no ears.

[Morph]

true but they can still feel the vibrations.