I have had my young hog nose snake for about 9 months and suddenly she tries to eat my hand when this was never a problem before. She used to be very handleable. I am sure that this is a feeding response, definitely not a defensive response. I always feed her in a separate container outside of her enclosure. She will not bite if I wear gloves but once they come off the smell of my hands elicits a feeding response. On a few occasions before I have seen her exhibit the classic head flattening and upward flicking of the tongue defensive response common in hog noses. This is completely different. She chases after my hand now and will immediately start to chomp down, not strike at me, when handled. I offer her the back of my hand so that maybe she can get used to the fact that it's not food before being handled and she opens her tiny little jaws as wide as she can to try to eat me! Should I: -Allow her to bite me as much as she wants until she does not associate my hand with feeding? - Handle her every day until she stops? Thank you!
Suddenly she's trying to eat me! Help!
Posted - 30/01/2010 : 11:33:56
