Behira - 2016 Female Ivory Ghost - First BCI

Behira is having another growth spurt. She's 3.3kg now.

She took another large rat this week. She's looking good and healthy and is happy as ever.

Behira is over 8 pounds now. She is 3.7kg +/-.

She continues to be a dream snake. Inquisitive, docile, beautiful, a great eater, etc. Her size intimidates some people but her demeanor usually wins them over.

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Aw, she doesn't look scary to me- what a big cuddly girl she is. Don't look now, but she's going for your throat! :O (haha, jkg)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Aw, she doesn't look scary to me- what a big cuddly girl she is. Don't look now, but she's going for your throat! :O (haha, jkg)

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She did! I am Ghost Writing this! dakski is my pen name!

I am kidding too. She really is a gentle giant.

It is funny too. She does not look as big to me in reality as she does in the pictures. I only take pictures occasionally, but see her almost everyday. Wow has she grown. She is heavy! A lot of snake to carry around. That's why I drape her on my shoulders.

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Originally Posted by dakski

She did! I am Ghost Writing this! dakski is my pen name!

I am kidding too. She really is a gentle giant.

It is funny too. She does not look as big to me in reality as she does in the pictures. I only take pictures occasionally, but see her almost everyday. Wow has she grown. She is heavy! A lot of snake to carry around. That's why I drape her on my shoulders.

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I had to do the same thing with my (late) "Snookems"- the 7.5+ foot BCI that I had for many years. She was huge for me, as I'm not :cool: but I raised her right & the bad attitude she arrived with changed to one of sweetness & trust. I know that handling a snake of that size (solo) can be a safety risk, so maybe I shouldn't have trusted her, but I did, & I think that if you expect an animal to trust you, you have to trust them too. Somehow there's a delicate & wordless communication at work. At least that has worked for me, many times- even though I officially urge caution for others.

Anyway, Behira is obviously a cuddly joy to have around...literally. :D

I urge caution with people too.

When fully grown she is as big a snake as I would want and would handle or feed on my own. I should point out that it is not just size, but species and individual snake behavior. Behira, as with many Boas, is calm and gentle.

I also take precautions like not letting her fully wrap around my neck. I handle her regularly and have her well hook trained. All that helps but does not make a bite etc. impossible or me immune from the effects. Snakes, as docile as they can be and without ill will, are still not domesticated. We should not fool ourselves.

I interacted and held full grown boas before getting Behira. I knew what I was in for. Many people do not understand their strength, size, and food response.

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Originally Posted by dakski

I urge caution with people too.

When fully grown she is as big a snake as I would want and would handle or feed on my own. I should point out that it is not just size, but species and individual snake behavior. Behira, as with many Boas, is calm and gentle.

I also take precautions like not letting her fully wrap around my neck. I handle her regularly and have her well hook trained. All that helps but does not make a bite etc. impossible or me immune from the effects. Snakes, as docile as they can be and without ill will, are still not domesticated. We should not fool ourselves.

I interacted and held full grown boas before getting Behira. I knew what I was in for. Many people do not understand their strength, size, and food response.

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Very well said.

I never planned or wanted a snake like the BCI I took in- she was a rescue & just a yearling at the time, & I figured I'd rehome her after I got her calmed down. That just didn't happen according to plan- I liked her a lot, & kept hoping she wouldn't get so big, until finally she did.

When she was up in years, I finally did re-home her with some friends that liked bigger snakes- & she had a couple years with them before she passed away. It was very hard to do, & I don't think she was as calm with them as she was with me- they had a lot more going on in their household that stressed her- just being in a different home is bad enough on a shy snake.

But overall, I'm glad she had so many good years with me, as many as I could give her. And btw, I didn't let her fully wrap my neck either, though if she really wanted to, it would have been very hard for me to stop her. It helps having lots of experience "reading" snakes, but it's not fool-proof.

Behira is doing amazing. She's still gentle and docile as ever, although big and strong.

She has been stable around 8 pounds (3.6kg) for a bit now. I assume she will have some more (dramatic) growth, but I am not sure. She turns 8 this June. She's healthy and lean. I am fine either way. I'll keep feeding her appropriately sized meals and see what happens.

In the meantime, she still enjoys getting out and playing with my friends.

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Great stuff.

Glad to see the boa getting out!

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Originally Posted by Gio

Great stuff.

Glad to see the boa getting out!

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Thank you Gio! She gets out pretty regularly. All the snakes do, but the boas are a big hit with friends. They are really chill and I've converted many people who are timid, or worse, around snakes to being okay with them thanks to the Boas.

Cannot argue with how amazing and fun a docile large(r) snake can be. Yafe the CP and Behira are two of the favorites here. I have friends who ask for them by name to come out and "play."