diff --git a/ippisite/ippidb/tests/tests.py b/ippisite/ippidb/tests/tests.py
index b38c3d412631752b2db24bd3668205eaba056948..06aaa3758b941432282f25cb6ce65cb3054d3260 100644
--- a/ippisite/ippidb/tests/tests.py
+++ b/ippisite/ippidb/tests/tests.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ iPPI-DB unit tests
 """
 import json
 import re
-from ssl import SSLError
+import requests.exceptions.SSLError
 
 from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
 from django.core.management import call_command
@@ -773,7 +773,7 @@ class TestConvertSMILESToIUPAC(TestCase):
                 self.assertEqual(
                     convert_smiles_to_iupac(smiles).lower(), expected_iupac.lower()
                 )
-            except SSLError:
+            except requests.exceptions.SSLError:
                 self.skipTest("SSL connection issue with the CACTUS WS, skipping")
 
 
diff --git a/ippisite/ippidb/tests/tests_contribute.py b/ippisite/ippidb/tests/tests_contribute.py
index 4638c6576fd697ca28620a014973cb04b2137a50..41860a63810b368d0ea5962a2e480358b23bd4c7 100644
--- a/ippisite/ippidb/tests/tests_contribute.py
+++ b/ippisite/ippidb/tests/tests_contribute.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 """
 iPPI-DB contribution module tests
 """
+import requests.exceptions.HTTPError
+
 from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
 from django.contrib.auth.models import Permission
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
@@ -22,7 +24,10 @@ class BibliographyIDTestCase(TestCase):
         b = models.Bibliography()
         b.source = "DO"
         b.id_source = "10.1016/j.bmcl.2013.03.013"
-        b.save(autofill=True)
+        try:
+            b.save(autofill=True)
+        except requests.exceptions.HTTPError:
+            self.skipTest("Connection error, skipping test")
 
 
 class ContributionViewsAccessTestCase(TestCase):