Aggressive dumeril boa?

I'm strongly considering a Dumeril Boa for my second snake (first was a BP, Chef Roger) and doing some research have come across conflicting first hand experience from keepers so I wanted to ask here what everyone's experience has been. Now I know that each individual has it's own personality, but the ability to handle is important to me when keeping a pet so I want to know what the general consensus is before getting one.

I'm talking general behavior. If you put your hand in the cage smelling like a juicy rodent then that's not really the snake's fault.

My girl comes out and climbs onto my hands every time. She has only bit me once in 2 years, and it was my fault for accidentally scaring her. She has great temperament, and is what you call a puppy dog of snakes!! Imagine the ball python of boas, that's what a dumerils is. The size is also something to consider, females can get up to 8ft long. So if you want one, make sure you've got room for it. I will say with confidence that you should get one, and when you do you will be more than satisfied with how awesome they are!!


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Space would be no problem but I'll probably look for a male since I take care of them alone.
I'm glad to hear that, from what I've seen in videos and read they are very sociable.
I was just reading the comments in the care sheet at Reptile Magazine and some people made it sound like they were retic aggressive.

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Also I wanted to ask you but didn't want to hijack your thread, where did you get yours? I haven't found any available online.

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A while back I found her on fauna classifieds. They shipped her to me from NC. Check Fauana and places like that out. Just make sure to check their black list to make sure you aren't buying from some pos who rips people off.


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People here have always had positive things to say about Dums. One is on my "someday" list for sure.

For negative reports of biting or aggressive behavior I would bet a dollar to the donut that is the owners fault.

Dums love to burrow and completely hide. They are ambush hunters. When they are buried you don't go poking around with your hands trying to find them. You could be asking for trouble. They could be in food/hunting mode, or even just sleeping and react defensively when awakened. This is where hook training pays off, especially if you use Aspen substrate.

I bet more owners will chime in about their tame ones.

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Originally Posted by iLikeSneks

Space would be no problem but I'll probably look for a male since I take care of them alone.
I'm glad to hear that, from what I've seen in videos and read they are very sociable.
I was just reading the comments in the care sheet at Reptile Magazine and some people made it sound like they were retic aggressive.

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That's ridiculous LOL.

For the record, my dum is as docile as my ball pythons, but docile in a different way? She'll most likely find a comfortable position and just stay there, forever. Possibly for hours, if nothing moves or bothers her. I've stacked rings and flowers on my dum's head, and lifted her head/tail with my hands to pose her in certain positions, like a clay model. She doesn't care at all. :P

Of course, individual personalities is a thing, so I would rather meet the dum in person before buying. Or you can buy from a trustworthy breeder who is honest with you about the dum's temperament.

I don't think I could get my little girl to bite me. She's only about 5 months old and I got her when she was about 2 months old. She is one of three of the lounging trio. Her, Caesar and Rosey. She will sit on me for hours just relaxing and every once in awhile she will sniff the area and then go lay back down lol. Such a lazy little snake.

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Originally Posted by iLikeSneks

Space would be no problem but I'll probably look for a male since I take care of them alone.
I'm glad to hear that, from what I've seen in videos and read they are very sociable.
I was just reading the comments in the care sheet at Reptile Magazine and some people made it sound like they were retic aggressive.

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Actually no snake is 'aggressive' except black mambas. Snakes are defensive if they think you are going to hurt them.

And I would put Caesar my SD retic up against any snake for mellowness. Caesar has never bit me and the only time he has been pissed off is when I tried using a hook to touch him on the head. He opened his mouth and hissed at it. Since then I quit and just use a twisted up paper towel which he is fine with for when he thinks its dinner time and gets excited. Otherwise I can just reach in, scoop him up and he will sit on me or stretch out on the bed or couch and relax or explore.

Wow I'm really glad for so much positive feedback because the more I read about them the more that I like them!
I've actually not found anything else negative about them other that one souce. However, like I mentioned before interaction with my snakes is why I'm in the hobby, not just to look at how pretty they look in their cage (I'm looking at you GTP 😍). So I couldn't just get one online, I gotta check out its personallity (not that I've found many for sale online anyways).
Luckily I'm going to Repticon Orlando on the 28th and I just hope to meet one that I just can't leave without 😅

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Make sure if you get a baby, that it is eating well. That I guess is the biggest problem with Dumerils.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Make sure if you get a baby, that it is eating well. That I guess is the biggest problem with Dumerils.

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+1, get a dum who has been eating consistently. 😬

yeah I've read that getting them to eat at first can be a struggle but once they get going it's not an issue.
I'm tottally going for a baby. For the experience and I think it'll give me time to learn handle bigger snakes than my juvenile BP

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Originally Posted by iLikeSneks

yeah I've read that getting them to eat at first can be a struggle but once they get going it's not an issue.
I'm tottally going for a baby. For the experience and I think it'll give me time to learn handle bigger snakes than my juvenile BP

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It's fine if you want a baby, but I just want to give input- I got my dumeril's at 2 years old, and she was still barely bigger, but longer, than my young ball pythons and very easily to handle. They also grow very, very slowly (to the point that I've been getting impatient lol), so you'll really have no problem starting out with a 1~2 year old. Actual baby baby dumeril's are VERY small, smaller than baby ball pythons, and it'll take an entire year for them to even grow up to a young ball python size.

Yeah I kind of did the math on that assuming a size of 6' (72 inches) and they take about 5 years to reach full size that's a little over a foot per year.
Considering they are still basically juveniles though I wouldn't mind getting one that's a year or two old. I first have to check if they even have them at the show, I've tried to shop online to check out prices with not much luck.

On the subject of price what I've seen is $150-$200. That sounds about right?

Yeah my little girl was about 2 months old when I got her and she was only 18 inches. She has been growing like a weed though. I've had 3 months and she is now about 24 inches. Fast by Dumerils standards but nothing like Caesar who went from 2 ft to over 4 ft in 3 months lol. Dumerils are anywhere from 16-18 inches when born to give you an idea.

Price sounds about right. I paid $200 for Luna but she was a fat baby that was eating like a horse so I was happy with that haha.

This is about the best picture I got of her from about a month ago.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...4a952dfc_b.jpg

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Yeah my little girl was about 2 months old when I got her and she was only 18 inches. She has been growing like a weed though. I've had 3 months and she is now about 24 inches. Fast by Dumerils standards but nothing like Caesar who went from 2 ft to over 4 ft in 3 months lol. Dumerils are anywhere from 16-18 inches when born to give you an idea.

Price sounds about right. I paid $200 for Luna but she was a fat baby that was eating like a horse so I was happy with that haha.

This is about the best picture I got of her from about a month ago.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...4a952dfc_b.jpg

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That is a gorgeous snake 😍
I know there are no morphs but some seem to look lighter almost pinkish on top. Is this a trait of some or is something they have when they are youg and then outgrow it.

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No idea. I picked her up from my local reptile shop. I know the owner and when I was in getting food for my snakes, she showed me Luna and we were both amazed by how fat she was for such a little baby. I ended up getting snake food....and her lol.

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Originally Posted by iLikeSneks

That is a gorgeous snake [emoji7]
I know there are no morphs but some seem to look lighter almost pinkish on top. Is this a trait of some or is something they have when they are youg and then outgrow it.

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Some are just lighter than others. They can be selectively bred to have more pink and reds. Check out Dumeril's Boa Lovers facebook page. There's a lot of breeders there.


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Originally Posted by BPGator

Check out Dumeril's Boa Lovers facebook page. There's a lot of breeders there.


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Ditto that. I too am looking for a dum this year and within minutes of posting on their page I made contact with 3 breeders. Funny thing was they all know each other and there is no competition or pressure from any of them to choose over the other.

Good luck.

Thanks guys (and gals?) ! I put a request to join to group.

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Mine is incredibly docile although he has a very good feeding response as well. I recently moved him to a cage at my eye level instead of knee level and yesterday he sprung out of the cage like a jack in the box when I opened it to feed lol. But when the smell of food isn't the air he's buried in the cage somewhere and I stick my hands in and start grabbing, he's fast and tries to get away but lets me do it anyways and has never acted remotely aggressive in the entire time I've had him.

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Originally Posted by BPGator

Some are just lighter than others. They can be selectively bred to have more pink and reds. Check out Dumeril's Boa Lovers facebook page. There's a lot of breeders there.


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They still haven't answered my request to join the group :(

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Originally Posted by iLikeSneks

They still haven't answered my request to join the group :(

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Relax - It took a couple days for me too - besides there is nothing young available until at least July from what I'm told.

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Originally Posted by BR8080

Relax - It took a couple days for me too - besides there is nothing young available until at least July from what I'm told.

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Lol got approved 😅
So many beautiful snakes!!! 😍

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