My New Boa

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by darkangel

WELL Mr Man still seems to be in a mad mood. I lifted him out to change his newspaper today. He was in the "S" position so I picked him up with a towel and then with my hand. He was ok for a second but seemed wary, I put him on the bed and he struck at me twice. I was like WOW, so I put the towel over him again, which he struck at, then placed him back in the tub, where he struck at the towel again. :( I know I have nothing to fear with this little guy but I just about flinch out of my pants every time. I hope this isn't indicative of what he will always be like.

---

Almost all boas will tame with time, even WC. Just be persistant and it will pay off. Don't stand over him for sure, he will see you as a huge threat and strike everytime until he is comfortable. I would keep trying every couple days. Even if it just meens letting him sliter on your hands for a few minutes. The higher up he is, the more content he SHOULD feel that he is safe.
Just keep trying and get more pics!!

LOL get more pics eh? I'll try when he isn't trying to take my hand off! So you say I shouldn't try to go above him... should I keep taking him out with a towel? How do you think I should approach him? Thank you SO much for you help!

As I said earlier, let him come out of the tub first and lift him from beneath. In the wild, for a baby snake, most threats will come from above so the natural instinct is very likely that Anything huge coming from above is a threat so they go into defense mode. A bit from a young boa is nothing to be concerned about, its when they get bigger that taming them is a scary thing.

Ok, much thanks. :)

First of all, gorgeous snake you have there! As far as names go, my boyfriend and I name alot of our animals after band members we like, or band members with "cool" names. I have a cornsnake (Azazel) that is named after a demon. A ball python (Toki) named after a cartoon character. The only snake in my collection that we didn't REALLY name is my big 5'+ boa, Marley. His name was originally Bob, after Bob Marley. I've always found Bob to be a plain name for an animal, especially a snake (it's fine with humans, though), so I used the last name. Besides, I like the sound of "Marley," the idea was already kind of in-use, decided to just stick with it.

About the defensiveness of your new boy (or girl, i'll stick with boy), I'd say do NOT use a towel to remove him from the enclosure. I thought that at first with my Kona (he'll be a year old in July), but it did more hurt than good. Gloves, too. The towel method stressed him out badly, it seemed, and I dropped that quickly. I got good advice using gloves, but I've always found them restricting, and I like to FEEL the snake, not worry about dropping him. It causes unnecessary stress to the human, not knowing if the snake is going to suddenly lose its grip on the glove and fall to the floor, onto the bed, etc. You don't want to have to pick up a snake that is known to be nippy after it has just taken a fall, no matter how small or big.

What I do now is just go for it. I took the advice of JoAnna (i think her username here is "frankykeno," but i'm not good at remembering usernames, sorry :( , and now I stand near the tub, take a few breaths, give myself a pep talk and open the lid and reach right in. Her snake, she had to use gloves, since it packed a much more powerful bite than mine could (til he gets bigger), but I've been bitten by kingsnakes before, and that's what it feels like when Kona bites me.

You could definitely just let him come out on his own, too, which is probably a better idea than just reaching in. But, my method has only gotten me bitten once. I just make sure NOT to GRAB him. I reach in, making sure my body isn't looming over the tub, and I scoop him up from underneath. I have quite a bit of room to work with, in the tub he's in, so I can start by having my hand as flat to the bottom of the tub as possible, about 7" away, and slowly/gently moving it toward him and scooping him up. He'll stay defensive for all of about 5 minutes, or less, and then he's actively just trying to get away, which lasts another 5 minutes, possibly a bit more, than he just lounges on my hand. He gave me only one "surprise" bite once since I started handling him like this, and I think it was because I moved my hand too quick and he thought I was going to hurt him.

One helpful tip I've heard from alot of people, both here and in other snake boards/communities is this: Don't be afraid! The best thing you can do is to handle him and be as confident as possible. I know, it may be hard, but if you are bitten, right now, it won't hurt nearly as bad as being scratched by a cat. My cat and I are always rough-housing, and believe me, my hands can barely move after a scratch or two from her, but a bite from a snake like yours, I barely even feel. It's the snake you have to worry about not hurting. Just be prepared to be bitten, and try your best not to jerk away if you are. You can seriously injure him, and believe me, you will feel terrible when you see just a few pinholes on your hand/arm/where ever that go away in a few days, and he's seriously hurt. I've seen it happen, and that's why I'm so accustomed to not jerking away. I've also handled bigger, scarier things (like a massive German Shepherd/mix that didn't like to be brushed. i didn't know, and his teeth nailed me in the back. he got it just so that he could not close his jaws, but it still hurt and the impact i felt, i KNEW it would've been really serious if he grabbed my skin).

Whew! Sorry that was so long! You have a very pretty snake, there, and good luck with him! Alot of handling, good husbandry and good food is likely to make him a very pleasant snake to be around. I just love red-tail boas. Most snakes, no matter how defensive or "aggressive" they seem, can be tamed, or at least will tolerate gentle human handling, and these boas are more likely to accept it than most other snakes. Don't give up hope, just be persistent. :)

Thank you for the great post Rakshasi! I am glad to see members of the forum so willing to help people with boa questions -- I wondered if this part of the forum was as thorough as the bp portion and I have been pleasantly surprised.

I checked on Loki (yep that's what I named the little guy!) this afternoon and noticed his eyes are blue, and he is nearly motionless. I'm pretty sure he is about to shed. This would explain some of this behavior - though I have never been struck at by my bp, he was certainly cranky before his shed. I'm hoping he'll have a slight attitude change afterwards.

The strike itself scares me I think more than even the thought of being bitten. I think since I was a child it has been ingrained in me to fear snakes, and the main fear was being struck at and bitten. So now that I'm older and have gotten over any fear I had of reptiles and snakes, there is still a lingering knee-jerk reaction to being struck at. I know you're right about "just going for it." In fact, I feel like I maybe need to be bitten, just to get over the anticipation of it. I used to be like this about recieving injections -- I would get more worked up over the fear of it than when it actually happened. I think it would be good for me to get bit a couple of times and learn to deal with it. Obviously this is going to be an inevitable part of the hobby, right?

Again I appreciate everyone's advice! The more I hear people talk about boas, the more curious I am about learning Loki's personality.

What a DOLL!!!! I love me some pretty Boas! Congrats on the new addition!!! :sunny: