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Disclaimer:
I am not in any way claiming that this method will work for everyone
in regards to socializing their snakes. I have had mixed results with
this method and learned that some snakes apparently just can't be "tamed."
This is of course only one of several possible ways to try to socialize
your snake; no method works 100%. To be honest, I feel that there really
is no such thing as a "tame" snake. The most you can expect
from a reptile is tolerance towards you on their part. Any animal with
a mouth is capable of biting especially if it is startled, cornered,
scared, hurt, hungry, or feeling defensive. A snake that is unable to
flee a situation it feels is threatening has only its teeth left as
a defense. Do not get a snake for a pet if you are unable to accept
the fact that the snake will bite you at some point in its lifetime.
Determining Generic Temperament
Snakes can be considered a hit or miss category when it comes to socializing
them. First, you should take into account the generic temperament for
each species of snake that you are dealing with if it is possible to
do so. Remember this is a generic temperament and will not always hold
true for each individual snake. For example, black rat snakes are usually
semi-aggressive especially when cornered, but there are those individuals
that are quite "docile." You can also have an aggressive snake
in normally docile species such as corn snakes. Some snakes, such as
kingsnakes, run into all three categories: docile, semi-aggressive,
and aggressive. Once you know what the snake's general temperament,
you can then begin to work on finding out what it is like individually.
A good way to start is to go through a socializing process and pray
(sometimes a lot) that it will work because sometimes it does not work
out with the snake.
Socializing Process - Expectations
Socializing a snake takes time. Be patient and do not try to rush it.
Do not ever expect to socialize a snake within a few days time. It can
take anywhere from 1 - 6 months or longer to properly tame a snake -
if you can do it at all. You should realize up front that when dealing
with snakes, especially nervous ones, you will receive bites and you
must be able to deal with it in a proper fashion. With an overly aggressive
snake, if you can reach the point of being able to handle it with gloves
and it is not constantly trying to fight its way free or striking at
everything that moves, you should be grateful that you were able to
get even that far. It may be the best you will ever accomplish with
that snake. If you expect to ever hold an aggressive snake with the
same carefree attitude that you can with most corn snakes, consider
it a lost cause and stop right now because you cannot. An aggressive
snake can never be trusted even when it is on its best behavior. When
you least expect it, they are very quick to remind you (and somewhat
painfully at that) that, yes, they are still aggressive in their mind-set.
Stage Zero
To start you need to acquire a pair of work/garden gloves made of a
medium weight type of material (not too thin, but not thick either).
You will want to place the gloves into the snake's cage and leave them
there for 3 days. What you want to accomplish with this is to permeate
the gloves with the snake's scent.
Stage One
You will want to set up a schedule of days and times to work with the
snake using this glove method. The minimum you need to work with is
3 days a week with 1 session each day lasting 10 -30 minutes. After
a few days have passed, remove the gloves from the cage. Put the gloves
on and gently, but firmly, pick the snake up. What we are trying to
accomplish here is to associate the snake with the fact that the gloves
are "non threatening" and his scent being on the gloves may
help to reinforce this idea. The gloves also provide you with some protection
should the snake ever try to bite you. You will want to handle only
this individual snake wearing that pair of gloves. You do not want to
introduce strange smells that may alarm the snake. You most definitely
do not want to handle mice and rats and then try to pick up the snake
with those same pair of gloves. Stage 1 may last for a two-week period.
This introduction period may teach the snake that the handling process
is to be expected and you are not going hurt him nor should he have
any reason to be nervous or afraid enough to strike out.
Stage Two
After the second week, you will still want to stay with your established
schedule. The only change you will make is that after the first five
minutes of the session you will remove the gloves and handle him without
the gloves for the rest of the session time allotted. Here we are now
trying to get the snake used to your own smell. Hopefully, the snake
by now will have associated to the idea that the gloves are non-threatening
and that you will not hurt him. The snake should also be relatively
comfortable with some handling. Now you want to be a bit more careful
in the handling of the snake since you will be removing the gloves and
therefore lose what little protection you had from biting. If the snake
is a fast learner, stage two will last only 1 week. If not, then try
for two weeks. If you still have problems go back to stage one and start
over.
Stage Three
This is the last stage and by this time, you should be able to remove
the snake from its cage without any nervous behavioral signs (tail buzzing,
striking, musking). If you are unable to accomplish this task, go back
to stage two and try again. If the snake has reached this level of confidence,
you will begin removing the snake from its cage without the use of the
gloves. What we want to accomplish here is to get YOU comfortable with
handling the snake without having to keep a constant eye on what it
is doing. This does not mean that you can completely ignore the snake,
but that by now you should (at the occasional quick glance) be able
to fairly judge the snake's temper by its reactions to things such as
quick movements, children, large close crowds of people, etc., and be
able to act accordingly. Some snakes do not mind being touched by many
people. Other snakes become very nervous with large groups crowding
around, but do fine with small ones. Try to adapt yourself to the snake
you are using or just handling. If all you have available is a snake
that prefers small groups and your program is with a large one, try
to arrange it so that there is no crowding around the snake and that
only 1 or 2 people at a time be allowed to pet the snake.
GOOD LUCK!
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