Hissing Granite Burmese

[granite]

I recently adopted an 8ft granite Burmese. He seemed very friendly when I picked him up the other day but when I sat him next to me in the pillow case he started to make a hissing sound. The woman I got him from said while she was standing right there that he just does that. No explanation as to why. She said he just expells air from time to time, like a tire leak sound. He also tends to blow bubbles when you handle him. I was curious if there is a cause for concern for this behavior. It makes me kind of leary to handle him now if this is caused from stress. That maybe I should leave him become acclimated. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank You,

Matt

[bjstrosn]

Originally Posted by granite

I recently adopted an 8ft granite Burmese. He seemed very friendly when I picked him up the other day but when I sat him next to me in the pillow case he started to make a hissing sound. The woman I got him from said while she was standing right there that he just does that. No explanation as to why. She said he just expells air from time to time, like a tire leak sound. He also tends to blow bubbles when you handle him. I was curious if there is a cause for concern for this behavior. It makes me kind of leary to handle him now if this is caused from stress. That maybe I should leave him become acclimated. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank You,

Matt

Alot of burms hiss, most of the time it don't mean anything. I think they just like to sound tough, lol. Welcome to the site by the way, you will get lots of info here.

[pythonguy21]

when i first rescued my burm she hissed a lot, but never acted on it.

they are almost testing thier boundries, if you act afraid they can act on it and can intimidate you. if she hissed i continued to grab her anyways, once she realized i wasnt afraid she stopped doing it. if you are intimidated by them it may not be the one for you, but if you can show that you arnt going to be afraid then it will stop.

[granite]

Originally Posted by pythonguy21

when i first rescued my burm she hissed a lot, but never acted on it.

they are almost testing thier boundries, if you act afraid they can act on it and can intimidate you. if she hissed i continued to grab her anyways, once she realized i wasnt afraid she stopped doing it. if you are intimidated by them it may not be the one for you, but if you can show that you arnt going to be afraid then it will stop.

Thank you everyone for the quick responses. This is the biggest, and probably the smartest snake if its just messin with me, that I've ever owned. My other two Ball Pythons are only 30 inches and the snakes I used to catch along the banks of the river where I grew up did nothing more then #$!#$!#$!#$! off my father when I brought them home. Sure they hissed and carried on. I was also struck numerous times as well which was all part of the game. I was only wanting an explanation if he was doing this as a warning or just doing it because thats what they do.. like that lady said. That way I would have a better idea as to approaching him. I handled him for a good 30 minutes before went home with him. He was very active and seemed to love the attention. It was after I brought him home that he would hiss and seem to tense up when touched. I'm going to just wing it and work with him like he doesn't really mean it like people here have suggested and see what happens. Maybe its the traffic flow that keeps him on his toes being that the pen is in out bedroom. The other owners had lots of animals too so that shoudn't be an issue I don't think. I'm still curious about the blowing bubbles though in the event that its a sign of something medical or psychological.

Thank you for the warm welcome. Even though I don't have a Red Tail Boa I really liked the professionalism of the site. It is done very well!

[ssjsmits]

Originally Posted by granite

Thank you for the warm welcome. Even though I don't have a Red Tail Boa I really liked the professionalism of the site. It is done very well!

Thank you! But you don't need a Red-Tail boa. Heck, you don't even need a reptile to be a member. Welcome to the site. Post up some photos of your python when you get a chance.

[Mizbubba]

Are the bubbles coming from the nostrils or mouth? How much "stuff" is involved in these bubbles? If there is a lot of mucus, I would take it to the vet ASAP, as it may have a respiratory infection.

In any case, pay close attention to it for the next few days... if it dosn't improve, or worsens, a vet visit is in order.

[owen]

like mizbubba said...if there are any bubbles, then you should take it to the vet. It could be an RI, also seperate this snake from any others, RI's can be viral

[granite]

Originally Posted by Mizbubba

Are the bubbles coming from the nostrils or mouth? How much "stuff" is involved in these bubbles? If there is a lot of mucus, I would take it to the vet ASAP, as it may have a respiratory infection.

In any case, pay close attention to it for the next few days... if it dosn't improve, or worsens, a vet visit is in order.

We've done just that and your exactly right.. he does have a respiratory infection. I didn't realize that Burms just hiss alot in general and its not in a threatening manner. The darn thing just does not feel good. I brought him out on the floor with me and you could see that he was mainly breathing through his mouth and he had a mucus like substance coming from his nostrils. I took a tissue up to his nose and he didn't even flinch. We got 10 syringes of antibiotic. He didn't flinch with that either. He was active when he was out.. I can go as far as saying he was rather friendly too. The only time he seemed skeptical was when I initally pulled him from his cage.

this is why I hate people. They clearly had to know that something was wrong with the supposed "experience" they've had with reptiles. It was just a husband and wife who collected various snakes and Igs. They're adopting various snakes out because the husband became disabled. Now I brought a snake home with a respiratory infection into a house with many animals, not to mention a new born baby, I'm glad it did fall into our hands because I know we have the means and the will to take care of any creature, especially one that needs the TLC that he apparently needs. It just would have been nice for some honesty in the transaction.

I will keep everyone posted with his progress. Thanks to everyone who has offered the advice it is very much appreciated.

ps.

I named him Gibson.
(I'd like a Les Paul one day )

[granite]

Originally Posted by owen

like mizbubba said...if there are any bubbles, then you should take it to the vet. It could be an RI, also seperate this snake from any others, RI's can be viral

thanks.. and I know. I'm not happy about it but all I can do now is be precautionary. The two Ball Pythons are downstairs and the ig is in the office (next to me). The only place we could fit the enclosure that came with him is in our bedroom. Trust me.. with having a baby and all.. I'm pretty used to washing my hands.

[pythonguy21]

im sure the vet told you to raise the temperature a few degrees, well i guess it would be good to know what it is right now, a little higher temps will put your burms immune system on overdrive. as far as the hissing and flexing i call when they tighten up and flaten out and try to make themselves seem big and bad just go on through it. you need to have decent reflexs and be able to act fast if you feel a change in the situation but im sure you know burms are kinda slow strikers, but push through the attitude and it will eventually go away. i never though my burm would stop doing that hissing and flexing stuff and in the beginning it was so intimidating it was hard to want to get her out of the cage, but i pushed through it and remained confident, and now we have a trust together and it doesn't happen anymore. dont be afraid but dont lose respect for them all at the same time.