Severely aggressive boa...

I posted this in a response to a previous thread of mine, but thought it would be better as it's own question and in the right forum.
I am considering taking in a boa rescue. He's 5 feet long and supposedly extremely aggressive. I'm a little nervous because I only have one boa...who's very small that I've taken bites from, but I'm nervous about taking in this large boa that may not calm down. The guy got him in a trade about a month ago, sounds like he actually has some experience. He says he has 6 other boas and this one is the worst he's ever seen. He said "he'll be a good breeder but that's about it". Is this really a smart idea to take in such a large boa that could potentially seriously injure me? I've mentioned on here before, I'm a rather small female and I live alone, and I'm pretty worried about taming this animal alone, but I don't have anyone with experience close enough to help me. Can seriously aggressive boas be calmed down at an older age like this? Does anyone have any input, or suggestions on how to handle this?

Also, she just sent me a picture of him and it appears he's in a rack system. Do you think that making him a tub with hides like my other boa that this could help? I know my boa that I have now LIVES in his hides, I never see him, and I'd guess he'd become quite angry is I took his hides out. Your thoughts?
http://i51.tinypic.com/f3zupu.jpg

If you don't think that you are comfortable with it, then I would say don't take it. If you are in a position to, maybe go see it in person a few times and see just how aggressive it is. Possibly, if it has been used as a breeder, it hasn't been handled much and might calm down with regular handling. I'm not sure what size of tub he is being kept in, but a 5ft boa should be in something like a 4 X 2 enclosure, or a VE-175 tub, and would probably appreciate some type of branch, poles, or shelf to perch on. If you decide to get him, definitely get a hook, if you don't already have one. I have all of my snakes hook trained so they will be used to it once they reach adult size. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

I had almost the exact same thing happen to my boa when I was a kid. It didn't matter what I did after he hit about that size. He was aggressive. I got bit multiple times pretty much anytime I entered his enclosure. I didn't care so much but my mom finally put her foot down and I donated him to a boa breeder that was happy to take him in. I would seriously think twice and then a third time about taking in a snake like that.

Regards,

B

I would probably be a nervous about it also LGray. When we went to get our boa we went to the breeders house. He took the time to show us quite a few of his snakes. He breeds mostly boas and he also breeds balls. Anyway, he showed us a few of his larger boas that he thought we might be interested in. A couple he said were very aggressive and needed to be worked with. One in particular was a live wire :). He was a beautiful boa and we could have gotten him for a good price but me being fairly new to snakes I didn't want to take on the challenge of trying to tame him. I have my husband to help me with our snakes but I do most of the handling myself. The breeder was telling me some of the stories about his bites that he has gotten (ouch). Makes me a little nervous still thinking that one day my girl may not be so nice one day and give me a bite. Good luck with your decision and I commend your for wanting to give the boa a good home. Keep us posted.

IMO No

This is coming from someone who is a beginner with boa's, but I have held some aggressive ones. The one I got bit by was a sub adult, but was just dead set on giving a whoppin' whenever taken out of his enclosure! Just hated being held, and never would stop moving...Really put a bad taste in my mouth about boa's, but I eventually got one. I would say yes if your ready to get tagged multiple times each time you take him out to be handled. If your ready for a little pain/blood then go for it!