Any advice about taming a young snake? Will my young house snake ever settle down?
 

First time snake owner .....

I have a very young Zambian House snake, about 14 inches long. He has tried to bite me on only one occasion. I have had him for about 2 months. Most times, when I pick him up, he struggles for the first 5 seconds ... really struggles.

He is so fast in his cage that, if I don't catch or surprise him & grab him in the first few second of my entering the cage, he just sprints around the cage trying to get away from me. He is impressively fast. He's the greyhound of house snakes. Thank goodness he is so small and manageable.

Does anyone have a few hints about getting him to settle down?

I try to pick him up about 4 or 5 times per week for a few minutes each time. I assume the best approach is to handle him as often as possible (???).

He tends to calm down if I am holding him and holding him far from anywhere that he can "jump" to or lunge at to escape. This strategy requires me to stand when holding him. If I were to sit down or place him on my hand in my lap, he would bolt for sure. If I stand and keep him and my hands far from anything else, then he just slithers around in my hands and through my fingers. I just support him and let him move around as much or as little as he wants.

Has anyone else had the experience that younger snakes are more flighty or skittish but then move a little more slowly when they mature?

Thanks for any advice,
John

No experience with house snakes, but you might be stressing him handling that often - I like to think of 1 human day = 1 snake week, and try to limit handling to once a week or less.

With young snakes I have always sat down to handle, as they will often make a bolt for freedom. Also check the time of day - are house snakes naturally active during the day or night? My snakes are nocturnal, and so are easier to handle about dusk when they are just waking up, not during the day when they want to be asleep, or in full night when they are already active.

Thanks for your advice. Very helpful.