Naughty Northwestern

[ConcinusMan]

Me too. I find that if they don't tame down within a month, they never will. Many of the tamest WC ones I've ever had were tame within days or even minutes. After several weeks, it is obvious which ones will tolerate handling and which ones won't. Beyond a couple of weeks, more handling doesn't help one bit.

[EasternGirl]

Cee Cee doesn't try to bite me at all once I pick her up. Like I said, I really think it is her associating my fingers with food more than anything else. She does get defensive and false strike sometimes when I first go to touch her...but then she will usually calm down and let me pet her once she knows it's me. But she is never going to like being held...I can tell that she, and Seeley, are never going to be those types of snakes that snuggle up on me or curl up around my hand. They just wiggle around trying to get away when I hold them. But they always come out to see me...poke their heads out to look at me and watch me when I talk to them...they do interact. Hermes is going to be the one who will cuddle up with me...I can already tell...but he is captive bred. I just accept Cee Cee and Seeley and love them for who they are.

[kibakiba]

I've chosen to accept that if they don't want to be calm with me, that's fine. As long sa they aren't suffering from the occasional pick up I can't force miss snappy to love me and be calm around me, so there is no use in trying. Perhaps she'll eventually get used to me enough that she doesn't have to hiss when I touch her.

[EasternGirl]

Yeah...I can always keep hoping that one day Cee Cee and Seeley will decide to be less skiddish and more trusting...but I figure at least they have adjusted pretty well for W/C snakes. They seem happy enough and they do know who I am...they trust me more that anyone else. They have come to the point where I can put my hands in and pet them and they don't hide...that is a lot for them. I love them no matter what so if this is how they are going to be, that's fine with me.

[kibakiba]

Snapwill come up to me ususally but that's about the extent of her "niceness". She'll come up, nip me and slither under the bedding. It seems like it's a game to her sometimes.

[EasternGirl]

Lol...that's kind of funny. Probably not so much for you since your the one getting nipped. Cee Cee's latest thing is to poke her head out of the enclosure and then sniff at my fingers and nudge her nose around in my hand a bit and then she goes back inside the enclosure...I think she is just looking for food. She is a pig snake! At least she isn't trying to bite my fingers anymore though...

[kibakiba]

Well, surprisingly, Snap doesn't do the whole "bite so hard it bleeds and swells up" sort of thing... She just latches on enough to startle me and feel her teeth against my skin, but not enough to puncture.

[EasternGirl]

Still have never really been bitten...Cee Cee will get me one of these days though...and she has a big mouth so it probably won't be pretty! Anyway...it seems that we are the only two members left on here so I am going to say goodnight Chantel...I'm going to go watch some Angel and then go to sleep....

[kibakiba]

Night Marnie!

[ConcinusMan]

I took a week or two to handle all the babies in order to choose the calmest ones for you Chantel, and it turns out she just hates you. That's so funny.

I'm pretty sure she's one of these three, and I didn't even have to pick them up. They crawled up on me.