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Grumpiness in Pituophis shedding time

L

LittleGrayTiger

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Last year I came unexpectedly into a free baja gopher snake; his history is mostly blank but there are some circumstantial bits that may point to him being a wild caught but long term captive. I have literally no idea how old he is other than "not young".

He's usually handleable on his terms. Oh I've been hissed at and tail-buzzed, but never bitten if I respect boundaries. He went into blue last week and was ULTRA grumpy presumably because he was totally blind. Put on quite a show.

Well this week he's gone clear again, but no shed yet. Last week I had to bother him to change his water and this week I had to spot clean a rather spectacular poop mess. He's less grumpy now that he's not blind, but isn't exactly "himself" yet. His temperatures look good, but his cage is quite dirty in places and needs a total cleaning. Which I've avoided due to his baja gopher rage.

What are the odds he's basically just pissed about regular circumstances (hungry, blind, now in a dirty cage) vs growing spicier due to a lack of handling? I've placed an order for a snake hook because that enclosure is going to get completely changed/wiped down at this point even if I get bit a bunch. But I don't want to miss something as dumb as "handle him more than a couple times a month".

To put all this in perspective, all my other snakes are ball pythons, NA ratsnakes, and one pint size B. imperator. Nobody is as fast or as talky as my baja gopher. :p
 
If he is an adult, wild caught animal, I would handle him with confidence. Just gently pick him up even if he huffs and puffs. Do not hold him too long, but a few minutes twice a week or so will be fine. But it is possible that because he is wild caught adult, he may never really calm down for you. Good idea to buy the hook.
 
If a snake doesn't like handling, forcing it on him isn't going to help. (IMO, of course).
Being familiar with the species helps a lot in these situations, and learning the quirks of an individual snake takes time. With Pituophis, a confident approach, as Tim said, is generally best. If you become hesitant due to the display, he may decide to take it up a notch. Confident does not mean grab, and he won't appreciate being restrained (so don't, if it can be avoided).
Personally, I try to minimize contact with snakes that don't tolerate it well...but, with the right approach, time, and patience; many aggressive, WC snakes can become tractable. They may never become "tame"; which is where learning their quirks and behaviors comes into play. Nothing wrong with putting something off for a day because the snake isn't in the mood (or is in a mood, whichever way you prefer).

Sometimes, with aggressive Pits, I would just give them food. It generally distracted them enough to allow me to lift/move them; and only rarely would they spit out a rodent in order to resume the display. (If he's too stressed, he might not take the rodent, though - if that happens, let him sit for an hour or so)
 
Totally agree with Harald. Never force handling and never restrain behind the head. This group of snakes likes to creep backwards when held. The tighter you hold, the harder they try to creep backwards out of your hands. Hold them sort of loosely on top of your open palms.
 
I'm not huge on handling my snakes. Like I LOVE the snakes I have that let me do so and get them out once every week or so, but I'm happy with enough handling to check health, clean a cage, etc. I'm very glad to mostly leave the guy alone; he's exceptionally entertaining to watch! I will try moving more confidently, maybe I'm too slow and that's scarier to him? I usually put my hand under the snake's back 1/3 and sort've reel him out without actually closing my fingers around him.

He's currently housed in a typical reptile setup; two hides, water bowl, temperature gradient (Heat tape), shredded aspen in a 3x2x10" cage. It's what I happened to have the day I was offer the snake. Separate from confidently approaching, would the baja potentially be less stressed on grump days and in general if I got him a larger cage with more furniture? That really bad day where I had to wipe poop off the ceiling (Whyyyyy how did you do this??) and he was being spectacular he completely crammed himself in the corner while he put on his display. 2 feet away from me isn't far. Would he potentially feel less cornered/ethreatened on bad days if he had a 4x2x2 with more things to climb/hide in? He's a bit over five feet long if I remember measuring him right. All my cages are various brands of those PVC units with plexi drop down doors. I just want him as content and relaxed as I can provide.

Just as a general update he shed last night in one big beautiful piece. And of course acts like he totally isn't that fireworks snake from the past week, nope, sweet as pie if a little nervous. I hope he enjoys all that brand new bedding. :p
 
Potentially less stressed? Perhaps. Certainly, he would put the space to use, if you were to put him in a large cage...but I wouldn't make that choice based on stress levels at cleaning time. One thing you might try is a hide box you can close (such as venomous keepers use). Simply close & secure the hide, remove it from the cage & you have time to clean without worrying about stressing him. Alternatively, you could just move him into a sterilite tub (or cardboard box) to hold him during cleaning.
 
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