So sad :(

I wish I could handle a potentially aggressive 5 foot boa :(
http://southcoast.craigslist.org/pet/2470906192.html

Who thinks I should jump on this? I'm very nervous since my boa is very small and generally tame...but the poor thing is probably aggressive due to bad husbandry right?

you could take him and HOPE that its just because hes young or its a husbandry issue. you just have to work with him a little more. i'm betting that after the first couple strikes the owner stopped regular handling. maybe if you take the time he will come around. Leah, youll know if hes too much for you and youll know exactly what to do to put him in the best possible situation.

you got this!

Some snakes are just mean. I have had a couple that even though everything was right they just seemed to hate people. Or some just feed so aggressively on any thing that moves they will even attack your hand.

I got my male boa from a free ad like that, poor boy had such cage aggression, must have tagged my gloved hand at least 10 times.
After a week of settling in, I used a snake hook to get him out of cage, and he was fine once out of cage.
I say go for it :)

How many big boas do you want around? Big cages?
How big is Jake?
Maybe give it a few days to decide.

I saw that ad I wanted to jump on it but I got the kabosh from my wife. :no:

I would ask to see the snake first. The only way you'll know if you can manage it is if you give it a shot. Either way, you'll make the right decision in the end. You know what's best for you, but it could help if you see the snake "at it's worst" before jumping on it.

My son does not have access to any of the snakes. He's 4, and he hasn't even gone near my little boa yet because I don't trust him enough yet. I'm not worried about his safety, and I don't mind having big snakes around, I already have 1 boa.

Here's the deal:
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?

She just sent me a picture of him, do you guys think that maybe if I give him a tub instead of the rack she has him in, with hides and everything maybe that could help? I know my boa LIVES in his hides....he'd probably become a jerk too if I took them away....
http://i51.tinypic.com/f3zupu.jpg

The lack of a hide is probably what is setting him off. But as mentioned, think about it first, then decide.

gorgeous! gotta be husbandry, possibly a nice juicy rat is in order or even a wc

Wish I was close by if you end up not being interested

I was going to say that I would be more concerned about health issues in a CL boa than temperament, but he looks like a healthy (and absolutely gorgeous) snake.

Can you visit and handle him, just to see how bad the aggression actually is? It does sound like the guy is experienced, but you never know. Some people overreact when it comes to aggression and give up on a snake too early on.

Well he lives probably a good hour away from me, so I was hoping to just get my ducks in a row, make a decision and just follow through with it to the best of my ability so I only had to take one trip. She has only had the boa for a month, and I can't imagine calming down a boa in the short amount of time so it doesn't seem like she's tried too hard, or gave up too early. He is gorgeous....I wasn't expecting that.....

From my impression of you, you seem to be very willing to learn and are always offering help when you can. I'd imagine that you'd have no trouble transferring that sort of giving attitude from people to a snake. Especially, being a mother, think about when your child was too young to talk or be able to communicate with you to tell you what was ailing him. It's the same with an animal, you have the ability to help him by figuring out what's making him act the way he acts and fixing it.

Whatever you decide, good luck to you!

I would ask the guy if he would take the snake back if you were not able to tame it down after a month or so, that way you wouldn't be posing a possible threat to your son in the future, or to yourself if you aren't ready to handle a big aggressive snake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lasweetswan

From my impression of you, you seem to be very willing to learn and are always offering help when you can. I'd imagine that you'd have no trouble transferring that sort of giving attitude from people to a snake. Especially, being a mother, think about when your child was too young to talk or be able to communicate with you to tell you what was ailing him. It's the same with an animal, you have the ability to help him by figuring out what's making him act the way he acts and fixing it.

Whatever you decide, good luck to you!

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I appreciate this very much :) I try my best to find and fix problems with anything, including my animals. I think that's why I always offer any info I have to people just starting out with this because most of the questions I see are all things I went through also, and with some trial and error I've found the best outcome for my snakes. My poor male normal Julius, he was my first and went through some crazy stuff before I got his husbandry down pat. He's such a trooper though, and is my sweetest snaker :aww:

The only problem is, my son couldn't have killed me or injured me when I didn't know what was wrong. Best case scenario for this I think is a nice husbandry change to a nice cage with some branches and secluded hides and he turns out to be a happy snake that I can handle....worst case (and probably my worst nightmare) is not being able to calm down the poor thing and having to find him a more experienced home that will take him :(

Go for it Leah. Seeing what it's in, I'm sure with the right setup and some TLC he'll mellow out.