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Re: Burmese python as a pet?
Originally Posted by Zincubus
That’s an interesting point about the unbelievable strength of Boas !!!
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You might be surprised at how strong my large Florida rat snakes are too. One of my large (7') males was in a weird mood one time last year & would NOT release from my arm & hand, which was getting a little blue by the time we were finished. He wasn't trying to bite (he has never bitten me) & I honestly don't know WHAT he was trying to do, but all normal efforts to have him release were an epic fail. I wanted him back in his cage that I had just cleaned & he was having none of that, for a good 20 minutes or so.
So (Linseylou) just imagine what your "dream Burm" could do...when even a large rat snake like mine could choke out a person if he'd been around my neck. You need to be prepared for any & all snakes to actually act like snakes, with no regard for your opinion. This is why we encourage "rules" about safe handling of constrictors- all of them.
Last edited by Bogertophis; 03-06-2020 at 04:51 PM.
Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)
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Re: Burmese python as a pet?
When my boa wraps my wrist with his tail, it is pretty impressive how tight it gets, and he’s only about 4’ or so. It’s a damn chore trying to get him back in his cage!
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For their overall size I think my Dumerils boas are the strongest of all of my snakes. As ground snakes they're naturally heavy-bodied anyway, and when they clamp down it's just impressive.
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I own an 11.5' retic, had her since 2015. I have no idea how messy Burms are in comparison to retics, but even though my retic is super docile and easy to work with (99% of the time), her upkeep and feeding is more work than all my 6 boas (and past snakes) combined. I can get her out of her cage into her holding tub, and out of her holding tub and back into her enclosure in seconds. What takes work is actually cleaning her cage. I keep her on Carefresh atm because it is the most absorbant bedding I've found, and stays easy to scoop up and vacuum. Which saves a lot of time. But, every single time I feed her, she needs a full bedding change. Her cage takes an entire bag of $18 CF, which is super expensive. Luckily, I only feed her once a month usually (twice a month with smaller prey items), but I've taken to building up a large store of bedding bags so I don't run short.
It can take 1-2+ hours to clean her cage. Empty the bedding, vacuum out the little bits, scrub down with bleach water, let sit, rinse out, dry, and put bedding back in. Her urine and urates can take a long time to scrub off of her PVC cage; retic urine sticks like no other. My boas' cages clean so much faster. If Burm upkeep is anything similar, just keep in mind just basic upkeep, even temperament aside. The upkeep alone is enough to keep me at one retic. haha I love her to bits, though, I got so lucky with her demeanor.
As far as boa constrictors. I own 6. 2 are naturally docile, and I can pretty much do what I want to them. The other 4 are varying levels of defensive/nervous. But I wouldn't consider them unpredictable. Although my anery motley still nips me on occasion, it has been restricted to just the first few moments of getting him out. Since the homozygous form of motley has deadly muscle degenerative issues, and I've heard even heterozygous motleys can have slight muscle issues, I theorize this is just a coordination issue. He kind flops around, no matter the way I pick him up, and that's when he nips me. Once he's settled down and has a grip and goes to exploring, he's fine. I'm hoping once he's in a front-opening enclosure he may be less prone to this (I can get him out at his level and not pick him up). One of the other males is more food-oriented than defensive, but a few quick taps from the hook and he's golden. The jungle female doesn't hiss or strike or anything, just tries to run away. She's still making steps, and I've had her since Dec 2016. Went from running away at the slightest touch, and trying to jump off of me, to letting me pick her up with minimal running, and actually using me as a perch. The last one used to hiss at me all the time, but as she's aged, she's become nearly as docile as my 2 docile ones (except in shed and the odd occasion).
All in all, I would say boas are great snakes. I've never had a boa that was a nightmare to keep, even though I've had a couple that were habitual hissers/biters when I first got them. I would also say a bite from the average boa is nbd; a feeding response bite is gonna smart, but not require a hospital visit. Meanwhile, a giant runs a risk of a hospital visit or worse. They're also nice, slow growers, so you can grow with them.
8.3 Boa imperator ('15 sunglow "Nymeria," '11 normal "Cloud," '16 anery motley "Crona," '10 ghost "Howl," '08 jungle "Dominika," '22 RC pastel hypo jungle "Aleister," '22 pastel normal "Gengar," '22 orangasm hypo "Daemon," '22 poss jungle "Jinzo," '22 poss jungle "Calcifer," '22 motley "Guin")
1.4 Boa imperator; unnamed '22 hbs
3.3 Plains garter snakes
1.2 checkered garter snakes (unnamed)
~RIP~
2.2 Brazilian rainbow boa ('15 Picasso stripe BRBs "Guin" and "Morzan, and '15 hypo "Homura", '14 normal "Sanji")
1.0 garter snake ('13 albino checkered "Draco")
1.0 eastern garter ('13 "Demigod)
0.0.1 ball python ('06 "Bud")
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The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to CloudtheBoa For This Useful Post:
bcr229 (03-06-2020),Bogertophis (03-06-2020),dakski (03-07-2020),MR Snakes (03-07-2020)
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