Re: need helpful advice with my new grey ratsnake

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Posted by CD on June 09, 2000 at 17:55:13:

In Reply to: need helpful advice with my new grey ratsnake posted by carina on June 09, 2000 at 13:22:15:

The snake keeps "going for you" because that's what hatchlings do. To a hatchling snake, everything is a predator, and they are naturally defensive creatures. With time and handling he will calm down.
Grey rats have somewhat of an undeserved bad reputation, but that is due primarily to wild caught individuals, which used to be the majority of what was available. In my expereince with this species, I have found that while they often do not calm down to the extent of a cornsnake, they are not generally aggressive as they mature. Some are quite docile, but others remain somewhat flighty as adults.
As for the piece of skin left on the tail after the shed, you need to remove that. One layer will not really cause any immediate problems, but it can interfere with future sheds, so it's best to remove any any unshed skin as soon as it's found to avoid any possible problems.
Just moisten the unshed skin and gently roll it back towards the end of the tail, it will come off easily.

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: The snake keeps "going for you" because that's what hatchlings do. To a hatchling snake, everything is a predator, and they are naturally defensive creatures. With time and handling he will calm down. : Grey rats have somewhat of an undeserved bad reputation, but that is due primarily to wild caught individuals, which used to be the majority of what was available. In my expereince with this species, I have found that while they often do not calm down to the extent of a cornsnake, they are not generally aggressive as they mature. Some are quite docile, but others remain somewhat flighty as adults. : As for the piece of skin left on the tail after the shed, you need to remove that. One layer will not really cause any immediate problems, but it can interfere with future sheds, so it's best to remove any any unshed skin as soon as it's found to avoid any possible problems. : Just moisten the unshed skin and gently roll it back towards the end of the tail, it will come off easily.

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