Got a new BCI today

Update time!

Cas is doing really well so far. He's taken 3 meals, all F/T hoppers, no trouble at all. The 3rd one, I caught him with his head up the front wall waiting for it and grabbed it as soon as it was into the gap I lifted the lid on the tub. Pretty powerful for his now 110 grams, but not yet more force than a ~1,350 gram adult BP. That'll change with time, I'm sure.
So far, I've found 2 poops, so everything is working good. No signs of mites (pre-treated with the P.A.M. before I bought him).

Due to some shuffling with the other snakes I needed to do, he's now upgraded hanging out in a 37-qt 6-latch sterilite gasket bin with reptile prime, still in the quarantine room. I'll drop a picture or two from mobile after this post goes up.


Now, oddball question for those of you who have had baby boas. Did any of them have any odd aversions to textures or touch?
He's just under 2 months old now, and he seems to not like touching arm hair on myself or my husband. If he touches his head to it on accident, he recoils from it and acts offended for a second, and then just moves on like nothing happened (and avoiding the arm/arm hair). If you set his front half onto the top side of an arm, he will gradually but promptly start lifting his whole front half a quarter inch or so off the surface of your arm, just past where he would touch the hair. He leaves his back half touching, but doesn't sit still there (nor much of anywhere else at this point). And if you bring an arm instead of a hand up under as he moves forward, he will back off from moving forward and just side-eye it like a dog poop on a sidewalk that you almost stepped into. It's the strangest thing.
It doesn't seem like it's a sign of any sort of problem, more like an odd quirk of personality and inexperience with the texture on his part. He does seem to be reacting less strongly the more we gently get him into contact with it, so I think it will go away with time, if not with him gaining size. Just wanted to know if anyone else has seen this in baby boas before?

The pics I promised!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7a0985c1f9.jpg

He decided he wanted into the cup. It was empty, so why not. He promptly climbed back out after realizing there isn't another exit. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ea0161e3f0.jpg

Other "odd" quirk. He ignores his hides more often that not and just makes a noodle pile against walls or in corners. From posts I've seen here, not a super uncommon thing for a boa, although maybe less common in a baby... he uses them for a day after eating and then patrols around or curls up in the open like this. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cf4fd7512c.jpg

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That's very strange, I've never seen or heard of a snake with an aversion to arm texture...if anything, it makes for better traction, which is a good thing for
animals that hang on without hands & feet. What a quirky personality...love to have updates (to know if he outgrows it)? That would be like a wild snake
hesitating to crawl on grass? :rolleyes: As if he's hyper-sensitive to touch?

Pretty girl, hope you have a great amount of fun with that new boa!

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

That's very strange, I've never seen or heard of a snake with an aversion to arm texture...if anything, it makes for better traction, which is a good thing for
animals that hang on without hands & feet. What a quirky personality...love to have updates (to know if he outgrows it)? That would be like a wild snake
hesitating to crawl on grass? :rolleyes: As if he's hyper-sensitive to touch?

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I would guess he's sensitive. I don't really know. He has no issues in his bin climbing all over ceramic, plastic hides, the bin itself, plastic plant, nor a grapevine branch or reptile prime. He's touchy about his tail, twitches away when touched if he isn't anchoring with it, but that's fading and normal for young snakes I've seen from my others anyway.

The Complete Boa Constrictor pdf/book makes mention of their "scales" and says they aren't really scales and are just tough skin folds, so I had wondered if that may contribute if he can just feel it better than other species.

I also wonder what his breeder kept him on. Probably newspaper or Kraft paper.. I had newspaper for the first 2 weeks to make sure mites weren't present (pre treated with the PAM), but switched over to reptile prime a few days ago. He doesn't seem bothered by it, so maybe he will just get used to odd textures or whatever. If he hadn't had loose substrate all his life, hair may be a really odd or new sensation for him.

I can't imagine it will bother him as he gets bigger. Surely it just won't register when he gets more size than 110 grams. (It would be a comical sight.. 5 foot boa refuses to touch arm hair)


I had an odd thought though. I normally have pretty "cold" hands. Several degrees cooler than most of my body. I wonder if it may be the temp difference in the 2, hand vs arm... all of the snakes are more flighty with my husband since he doesnt handle them as much and is less confident about it, so I hadn't considered that it could just be him warmer than me... random speculation here.

I'll definitely keep this thread posted on any changes.
And I'd love to hear if anyone else has heard of something like this or if it may just be a quirky snake.

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Looking really good,I love my sunglow too, there colours are so cool.
I had a shaggy rug that my snakes really hated and would kinda like do the same and try lift different body parts of it.they must have some sort of sensors on the tummy. even when they on a flat surface they flatten them selves out to get get some sort of grip.
little boas are so cool, really glad he's nice and chilled already, keep them pics coming

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A lot of my pythons react pretty strongly when they graze their face to the side of my arm. I always figured it was just like a quick sensory overload from my heat.

Cas is such a beautiful snake! Am I remembering correctly that you picked him up from an expo? Was it Jacksonville?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PiperPython

A lot of my pythons react pretty strongly when they graze their face to the side of my arm. I always figured it was just like a quick sensory overload from my heat.

Cas is such a beautiful snake! Am I remembering correctly that you picked him up from an expo? Was it Jacksonville?

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I kinda figure that reaction comes from relatively poor eye sight and not expecting the touch even when they did it themselves. My 2 BPs will do it, as does my albino honduran milksnake.
Cas and his aversion to hair is less reflexive than that unless in combination with an accidental face-touch by him.

I did get him at an expo, but I'm not anywhere near Jacksonville. I got him at the Lone Star Reptile Expo in Arlington, TX.

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He's enough of a handful by virtue of being active that it is tough to photograph him and hold him simultaneously. But here's a relatively clear face shot from last week. :)https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a4aead8f87.jpg

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by PiperPython

A lot of my pythons react pretty strongly when they graze their face to the side of my arm. I always figured it was just like a quick sensory overload from my heat.

Cas is such a beautiful snake! Am I remembering correctly that you picked him up from an expo? Was it Jacksonville?

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Might be a reaction to the hair on your arm?