boa suddenly bit

hey guys havent been here in a while but some may remember me. just got in a boa about 7-8 feet about a year ago. hes been fine with no aggressive behavior at all then suddenly he grabs at my leg and tightens around. my leg was purple and he held on for a good 20 minutes untill i finally pryed him off. i just fed him 2 xxl rats to ensure he is not hungry. this does not phase me as ive been bitten much much worse but my brother who is 11 used to play with him all the time. the question is should i allow him to handle it? is this a one time fluke ? or may he strike again and terrify my brother for the resto of his life? thanks.

EDIT** my brother is 13:) i forgot how to edit posts lol

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Originally Posted by uro1001

hey guys havent been here in a while but some may remember me. just got in a boa about 7-8 feet about a year ago. hes been fine with no aggressive behavior at all then suddenly he grabs at my leg and tightens around. my leg was purple and he held on for a good 20 minutes untill i finally pryed him off. i just fed him 2 xxl rats to ensure he is not hungry. this does not phase me as ive been bitten much much worse but my brother who is 11 used to play with him all the time. the question is should i allow him to handle it? is this a one time fluke ? or may he strike again and terrify my brother for the resto of his life? thanks.

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It's a snake - even the most even tempered of them can be unpredictable. Having said that, your 11 year old brother should not be playing with an 8' snake.

I would only let your brother handle the snake if someone else is actually doing the handling and he's holding a part of it. Even then, you need to ask yourself if you are 100% able to handle that snake in an emergency.......

I mean it took you 20 minutes to get it off of your leg......what if it wrapped itself around your brother's neck or chest, bit and constricted? 20 minutes would not cut it.....

I cannot tell from your post what you were doing when the snake bit you. Where was it in relation to you? Was it on the floor while you were walking around the room? How long since it's last meal?

It could have been caused by anything by seeing as he held on, likely something to do with food.
Most deffensive bites are just a grab and release while every bite from a boa I have got involving food or just the smell have resulted in constriction and holding on to some degree.

My main question for you is when was he fed last before he bit you and were you handling or even in the some area with any mammals before this? I know of a guy that got "attacked" because he was previously handling his cat as well as a similar story related to me because I was playing with our conure prior to getting Ruby out.

I am going to say it wasn't deffensive from my own observations but I am in terms an expert

As for your brother, you should be able to explain to him that this is a wild animal and it infact still has its natural instincts.

thanks guys. i cant imagine it being as defensive because this was a normal routine of picking him up. he is very used to people, never shy or anything like that. i did feed him 2 weeks earlier with 2 xxl rats. i think i may do a once a week 2 xxl rats. ill start playing with him again and then let my bro hold it:)

he probibly got confused.