I guess some lessons I have to learn the hard way...

Doing anything different than normal when working with a hungry boa is a bad idea... :rolleyes:

I got my first boa bite about 20 minutes ago by making a very stupid mistake. I didn't use hand sanitizer before reaching in as I always do and instead of just lifting the hide as I always do I paused for some reason, which was when she bit me. Yeah, I feel pretty stupid right now.

I feel bad for my thumb. I burnt it yesterday on a soldering iron and now I got a snake bite on top of that. :P

If you just reach in there, you're gonna get bit some more!

Maybe get a piece of styro-foam to put in your boa's face to let it know that it's not getting fed. It won't draw blood(LOL) if the snake bites a piece of styro-foam or a roll of paper towels!.

lol, you poor thing, that's like adding insult to injury.

I've had her several months now and this the first time she's bit me. I normally don't have a problem just reaching in, but pausing with my finger near her mouth was a dumb idea. I still don't know what made me pause. :rolleyes:

She's just a little worm right now, but I am going to be hook training her soon. It's hard to do much with her now because of the hide she is using. She really likes the repti-shelters and you basically have to lift it to get to her, which is what I was doing when I got bit. She'll out grow the opening eventually so it will have to go at some point.

yeah, when you see her dragging the hide around it'll be time for a new one, I'm warming rats right now, and have 2 1/2 yr old rtb who is notorious for tagging whatever gets near her

If you just reach in, it won't be your last bite!

I generally tend to just reach in with my boa, and the only time she has ever bitten me was while she was already out of the cage LOL. But I do have a hook so if I see her eyeing my hand when I'm going to get her, I tend to chicken out and use the hook to get her out :P :rolleyes:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by llovelace

lol, you poor thing, that's like adding insult to injury.

---

I LOL-ed too. Poor thumb.

Paper towel roll is the best anti bite tool ever.

My girl struck at me for the first time yesterday; it was feeding day but instead of opening her tank and then picking up the rat, I was holding the rat when I opened the lid of her tub. She made a grab for the rat and I pulled back, and I guess she thought I was taking it away so she shot out of her tub! Missed my hand luckily. :P Lesson learned to never open the tub with food in my hand again!

I love a nice full roll of paper towels to let the snake know I'm there. I just rub on their head for a second kind of like using a hook. Then I use my other hand to rub the body and then remove the snake. I only do this with my boa normally, but I've also used them with angry females. Hook training is probably a better idea ;)

What, no pics.....

Nope no pics. :P

I should have taken one though. She got me pretty good, I could see lots of teeth marks, but they are mostly healed now.

What is all this talk of snake hooking and paper towels? I just got my red tail today and she is about 3 months old. After she is acclimation I'll still have to worry about picking her out of the tank? I thought they were supposed to be pretty docile? Even if I feed her in a different container is this a big deal with reaching in to take her out or do maintenance?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cehmz

What is all this talk of snake hooking and paper towels? I just got my red tail today and she is about 3 months old. After she is acclimation I'll still have to worry about picking her out of the tank? I thought they were supposed to be pretty docile? Even if I feed her in a different container is this a big deal with reaching in to take her out or do maintenance?

---

People use paper towels or snake hooks to train their snakes that it's not time to eat. I think generally you just genetly touch them with it. I personally wouldn't recommend feeding your boa in a different container unless you are leaving her in it over night. I found with my BPs that I more likely to get bit moving them back into their cage.

Boas generally are very docile, but they tend to have wicked feeding responses and will strike first and question later if they are hungry. This is why people use paper towels and hooks. My boa is a year old and I've had her about 4-5 months and this is the first time she bit me. I'm not worried about her yet because she is so small. I was stupid for leaving my finger near where I usually place her rat pups. She's normally a super sweet heart (in fact she's been sitting on my head for the past 10-15 minutes. It never hurts to err on the side of caution though, especially when they get to be 5-7ft or bigger, which is why I will start hook training mine once she out grows her hide. :)

Boas are generally pretty docile from my experience. I just find it a good practice to have a routine with snakes that can get kinda large. Mine is 7 yrs old and hasn't struck at anyone but the routine is still followed.
They do tend to have a wicked feeding response and moving them from a feeding tub back to their enclosure would more than likely increase your chances of getting bitten unless you leave them in it overnight. They are fantastic snakes and you will probably find keeping one a rewarding experience.

Awesome thanks guys, I guess I will feed her in her cage, my ball has only bit me once and it was when moving him back to his cage after feeding, too soon after I was dumb. My ball is on aspen though so Im a bit worried of him getting pieces of aspen stuck on the prey item and eating it. I've heard its not really a big deal but what do you fellas suppose? My new boa I will def be feeding in her cage, at least for now as she is on reptile carpet for the time being. Was thinking of switching her to newspaper or maybe aspen as well but I'd need a new bag of aspen as the bag I have is used for my ball and he had mites, I just dont want to risk the cross contamination so a new bag will have to do if you guys suggest putting the boa on aspen too.


Thanks in advance I know that was long winded!

I keep my boa on Cypress, but Aspen should work. I use news paper for my balls, but I had them on aspen for a while and never had a problem. That's not to say problems can't happen though. If you feed f/t just make sure they aren't really wet if you thaw in water.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kinra

I keep my boa on Cypress, but Aspen should work. I use news paper for my balls, but I had them on aspen for a while and never had a problem. That's not to say problems can't happen though. If you feed f/t just make sure they aren't really wet if you thaw in water.

---

Thanks, my ball is on aspen right now. The boa is on astro turf at the moment but I may move to something else perhaps cypress like you use. I thaw my pray items in a zip lock bag and run under warm water so any moisture on them is just the way they came or what ever is natural on a mouse/rat.

boas are notoriously cage aggressive due to their wicked feeding response. hooks are a great idea to let thme know its not feeding time