| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| acd1984 |
Posted - 16/06/2011 : 17:28:41
Hi guys and girls, i have had my baby royal for nearly a week now and he is settling in nicely, he even fed no problems first time (at home) yesterday, as i have never kept snakes before i would like some hints and tips from experienced owners.
I have researched every aspect but i would like some feedback by real people and not walls of standard text.
any advice on how i can feel more comfortable around him would be helpfull also, as i must have a mild phobia which i didnt know before hand, so my girlfriend takes the lead when it comes to handling. |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| n/a |
Posted - 16/06/2011 : 18:28:09
LOL - yes, bites are the least of your worries - I have one aggressive snake, Ziska the gopher snake, who will calm with time (she's only 6 months) but even she's only bitten once - and it tickled!
Royals are the best snake to start handling; they're such lovely placid slow-moving chunks; they have none of the whippy fast moving 'snakiness' that spooks some people. I started with corn hatchlings, who could JUMP lol. They loved coming out but I was always afraid of losing one (I didn't, by the way.) A royal is shy; it will hide its head and then slowly uncoil and start to explore you. It's a very gentle snake. |
| acd1984 |
Posted - 16/06/2011 : 18:27:57
quote:
Originally posted by Kelfezond
Hello buddy, I have made a few videos over in the video section one of which is education on handling, you might find that very useful.
Your videos are great, makes me want to handle him now but I cant till tomoz as I only fed him yesterday. I think the main problem with handling is it makes me a little jumpy and like you said in the vid I dont want to drop him or hurt him |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 16/06/2011 : 18:23:26
Haha lucy, i'll refrane from correcting you ;)
Yeah the hardest part is picking them, to be honest i'd recommend not wearing gloves I think once you fall into that routine it makes the whole business into a big deal and what you want to do is get your mind off a possible bite which is hard to do when you're wearing gloves specifically for one, beside wearing gloves isn't going to help you against the worse part of a bite, it'll stop the bite hurting but it's highly unlike the amount of pain it causes will be anything more than mildly uncomfortable, the worse part is the strike and making you jump, I get bit loads and every one still makes me jump, I still psych myself up to get anubis out and some days I even give up and leave him be if he's going to cause too much trouble.
However that said, as lucy said alot of people use gloves and if gloves make you feel more comfortable then go ahead and wear them as the most important thing is actually making yourself hold the snake first gloves or not. And as she also said once you have him picked up you're like 99 percent sure he won't bite, unless you do something worthy of being bitten like waving your hand infront of his face :)
Goodluck
Goodluck! |
| LucyB |
Posted - 16/06/2011 : 18:16:42
Hi bigdon23,
I'd recommend the videos.... I'm a new snake owner too and found them very helpful in assessing the snakes body language etc as I am pretty much clueless!
I'm still a bit wary of picking up - once I have them i'm fine, but I still have to psyche myself up before actually picking one up. I know some people wear gloves until they feel more confident and I think if this would help you you should give it a go.... And I also try and keep reminding myself that a) the worse that can happen is that I get bitten and a hamster bite would probably hurt more, and b) ( PLEASE nobody correct me if i'm wrong!!!) once they are out I can just relax in the knowledge that Unless I smell like a rat I'm not very likely to get bitten so the scary bit is over!
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| n/a |
Posted - 16/06/2011 : 18:13:18
Hi and welcome to the forum - congrats on first royal and feed -sounds like you're doing fine. As time goes on you'll get used to your royal - you'll find your confidence comes without even thinking about it. I'm not phobic but I was really nervous about handling at first - what if I did something wrong - I was shaking like a leaf lol. Kelf's videos are really good, and anything you need to know, don't be afraid to ask - it's a learning curve for us all - that's the beauty of keeping snakes because there is always something new. Life is never boring with snakes around! |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 16/06/2011 : 17:57:46
Hello buddy, I have made a few videos over in the video section one of which is education on handling, you might find that very useful. |
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