Rescue redtail help please

[aarooooon]

I recently got a boa from a local man who took 6 adults that were found in a rub dumped in a park. The one I picked seemed a bit nervous but was ok to handle. Having no experience with the breed personally i had my reservations about giving one a home but always wanted one in my collection.

It wasn't long before I discovered he/she had mites and needed to be treated asap. I used mite off spray which really annoyed the thing which caused it to strike at me. I wasnt able to cover all of the snake and since he/she has become very defencive, making it difficult to undertake basic care needs.

I'm unsure of the sex but I'd guess its male, its about 6ft. Cleaning it out today it was in a strike position the entire time and had 3 goes at biting me.

Question is can or will it calm down? Is there anything I can do that might help gain his trust other than careful minimal handling and persistance.

I dont want to give up on the poor thing but in need of some advice and reassurance lol. Anyone had experience with this kind of of thing?

[AbsoluteApril]

Some are simply bitey. However if it was dumped in a park the prior owner probably wasn't handling it much so there is a good chance it will calm down over time once it realizes you are not a threat.

Leave it alone as much as possible for a few months to give it plenty of time to get used to the new surroundings, smells and activity levels only taking out for cleaning. I used to sit by the cage and read a book so the snake would be used to seeing me. Some people don't like the tshirt trick but I'd still suggest it (leaving something you've worn in the cage for a few days here and there so the boa gets used to your scent). I hook train my boas, lightly touch them on the top of their head with a hook, it usually knocks them out of feed response and then they know they are going to get picked up. They will usually go from the S-neck 'I'm going to get you' to turning and starting to move away, so then I can reach in and scoop them up from underneath and they aren't going to react defensively (not always... haha). Be prepared for a squirmy boa, it probably won't like being handled too much at first, keep interaction to small times and gradually increase. If you have someone there that can help, that is always good. You (or the person helping) can use the lid of a tub or a roll of papertowels as a 'shield' barrier, sometimes it's very handy to avoid a bite if the boas decides it's had enough and starts to get defensive/aggressive. You can also use a shield to help when first getting the snake out (that's what I do when removing a protective momma from her litter).

Be prepared that it may never calm down.

I'm not a fan of those mite sprays (I use provent a mite which treats the cage, not directly on the snake). Boas don't like being sprayed generally.

Good luck!!

[distaff]

Strange to think someone went to the trouble to acquire six boas, and then dumped them.
I would have thought a Craig's List ad, at the very least.
Hope the mites get cured fast. He might be bitey in part because of that?
Pleased to hear he has a better home now.
Good luck with him.

[JoshSloane]

First off good job on helping out a homeless snake. What kind of enclosure do you have the animal in? It's very important to get husbandry standards up to basic requirements before we begin treating mites. Aim for a 90 degree hot spot, ~80 degree cool side and ambients temperatures at least in the mid to high 70s. When dealing with mites you will want to only be using some type of paper substrate like paper towel, newspaper or butchers paper. Cypress mulch and any other shredded substrate gives mites the opportunity to hide and breed.

As for mite killer, I really like Natural Chemistry Reptile Spray. It is a non-toxic mixture that can be applied directly to the snake, the enclosure and substrate. Do not spray it onto the snake. Rather take a cloth, soak it in mite spray, and let the snake slither through the cloth multiple times. Before you do this I would soak the snake in a warm bath, with just a tiny bit of unscented dish soap. When I say a small amount, I mean a miniscule amount. It just needs to be enough to break the surface tension of the water so that the mites drown. Soak the snake for 20-30 min. While doing this, spray down the entire enclosure, and let the spray dry. Remove snake, apply mite spray as described above and put the snake back in the enclosure. I would do this every two to three days until all mites disappear, and then keep going for one or two more applications to take into account the larval stages. You will also want to spray some of the area around the outside of the enclosure.

As for defensive behavior, this absolutely normal. This animal has obviously been in a horrific environment and living situation, and will definitely have some resounding effects from it. But with time, patience and frequent handling, there is no reason the snake cant calm down. Yes there are some that might maintain an aggressive edge after years of abuse, but 'most' can become very tractable.

[aarooooon]

Thanks for taking time to give me some advice on this firstly. He is currently due to mites in a 50L really useful box with newspaper substrate, its a little cosy and I will move him to a suitable size viv when im happy he's free of parasites. Indeed my hotpot is set to 90 and have a cool end at around 75-80, He has a good size water bowl he can almost fully submerge in.

So far he hasn't tried to bite me when i have hold of him, only when i try to touch or pick him up. I used rolled up newspaper today to distract his strikes so i could put him back in his tub. But all this is stressful for the little guy.