My new Dumeril Boa

I am so excited that I found my new Dumerils Boa. He is soo gorgeous. I have to wait on my new AP cage to arrive before the breeder can ship him but wanted to share his picture.

This is my first Dumerils so I am pretty excited. He is a yearling.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...s9k9f61uq.jpeg

Very nice snake. Congrats on the new addition.

Gorgeous snake!! Congrats!

I need some advice. I haven't gotten my new snake yet due to waiting on my new cage to arrive.

After speaking with the breeder - he is describing my new Dumeril's Boa as a yearling. He said he doesn't hold his snakes so this little guy tends to be "jumpy".

I'm a little worried about taming him down. What do you all suggest. The breeder said his weight is about 450 grams so he is still pretty small. I strictly keep pets and definitely want to be able to hold him. My fear is that he will be a demon seed. LOL I've never been bitten so that in itself frightens me.

Any suggestions from you guys on how to do this?? I really like his colors and really want him.

Thanks

Dums settle down pretty quickly. Give him a week to acclimate, a good meal, two days to digest, and gentle handling. I hook train all my snakes, just to avoid food confusions.
I've brought my 7ft girl into school (HS) as an ambassador. She's extremely tolerant.

I think I am going to hook train also. Any suggestions on where to get a good hook.

He sent me a video of a feeding to show he would take f/t prey. It was weird though, the snake almost seemed afraid of the prey and kept defensive striking at the rat.

I am a worrier and am probably over thinking this. I have vision of this horrible acting snake arriving at my house. LOL

Jumpy doesn't mean bitey, my dum is pretty fast moving now but not aggressive in the least, just on the go all the time. They are known for being very docile and even if he's a bit jumpy now I'd bet he'll settle down quickly.

I got my Dumerli Boa as he was a month old. He was shipped to me. When he arrived he was thirsty, cold, and hungry. He drank from the water that i prvided to him immediatley and ate a live mice the next day. He eats only live. He is now 315 gramms at the age of 6 months. He will eat only when he is hungry. If not hungry he will strike defensively at the mice. Currently he is on large mice. Dumerilis are very shy and not aggrassive. They like very much to burrow themselves. I would never use a hook to handle my snakes. I suggest to you to touch him carefully with your hands from the beginning. If he bites you, no problem. clean it and handel him again with your hands

My poor baby dumeril's boa had to have daily injections for 3 weeks out of the approximately two months I've had her. Not once did she show any signs of aggression. To make things even harder for her, she shed during the first week and was back in shed by the third week. She was still friendly every time we took her out for injections, likes to climb up arms, flick tongue at faces, etc. The only thing she did was frequently try to pee on us post-injection to show her displeasure.

Despite the fact that every interaction with us ended in a negative stimuli for weeks and she hadn't really had any interactions with us before that since she wasn't eating consistently, she has still been an extremely pleasant tempered snake. Every snake is an individual but if she's at all representative, they deserve their reputation as one of the best tempered species. Right now we're letting her shed before we handle her again, but she's beautiful and a pleasure to interact with.

Hook training is not mean or hurtful to the snake. I feed in-cage. The hook has no odor because I keep it wiped down with F10sc, and, obviously, no heat signature. A light stroking or tap let's the snake know it's not feeding time. My cages for my bigger snakes are 6x2.5x17. I am 5'4". The hook helps me position and lift so the snake isn't pulled, dragged, rough-handled. I see no glory in being bit when it can be avoided.
I have snakes that are 7+ feet and heavy. My female dum is a sweetheart, but if she's in the far end, under her ledge and I need her out, using the hook to direct her head to the cage opening is so much better than grabbing a coil and dragging.
But each to his own...

Maybe I can get to the upcoming reptile show this weekend. I wanted to get a hook and a longer pair of tongs. Want to be prepared before he even gets here which will be in the next couple of weeks. So excited.

I currently use Uline Indented Kraft paper in my setups - will this be okay for a dum?? I know they tend to be burrowing animal but others have said as long as they have hides (which I will put three) in his cage he should do fine.

Your thoughts about the paper substrate?

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Originally Posted by L.West

Maybe I can get to the upcoming reptile show this weekend. I wanted to get a hook and a longer pair of tongs. Want to be prepared before he even gets here which will be in the next couple of weeks. So excited.

I currently use Uline Indented Kraft paper in my setups - will this be okay for a dum?? I know they tend to be burrowing animal but others have said as long as they have hides (which I will put three) in his cage he should do fine.

Your thoughts about the paper substrate?

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It doesn't hurt to try it, but my dum doesn't work with that lol. The first couple days I had her home on paper towel substrate with 2 hides, she would try to burrow under the paper towel and just scrunched it all up in a ball. I would put in new paper towels, and it would always be scrunched up within a couple hours LOL. So I just went "screw it" and got her aspen.

Also, you can ask the breeder what they mean by "jumpy"... if your dum is actually striking defensively, or just flinching and fleeing. Most likely they are just fleeing. Mine is almost 4 years old and is always nervous and tries to get away when I reach into her cage to pick her out. But once she's out, she's as chill as a log.

I don't have a dumeril, but for what it's worth, I've always heard that they are very docile so I think taming down won't be an issue. Regarding hooks, I suppose you could use one just to manipulate a bit, but "hook training" to avoid accidental feeding response bites need not involve an actual hook. I usually use a paper towel tube to just gently tap/touch him the moment I open the viv. The idea is to condition him to associate being touched like that with the absence of food. Viv opens, snake thinks , "oh boy food?" But then, "wait, I'm getting touched with a thing, There's no food".
However, if you really want a hook, you can get a 24" mini paint roller (the kind that take the skinny little 5" roller covers) for just a few bucks at the hardware store. Probably save a bundle over snake hooks at an expo.

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Originally Posted by dkatz4

Viv opens, snake thinks , "oh boy food?" But then, "wait, I'm getting touched with a thing, There's no food".

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LOL this made me laugh for some reason

Basically most snakes learn this by being touched with a hand... You'd really only need a hook if you have a snake with such a strong feeding response that when you open the viv, they're already poised to eat their food.

Mine's on paper towels for now. She doesn't like it nearly as well as the coco fiber we offered her for a bit, but with the respiratory infection she had to be switched back. She's eating on them and doesn't really burrow under them, so take that for whatever it's worth. I do plan to switch her back to a burrowing substrate eventually because it is a natural behavior for them.

Who's the breeder you got the dum from? I'm shopping around for 1.

I am researching so I can be prepared about getting my first pet snake and I do not know if I should get a Dumeril Boa or a Grater snake
which breed is more docile and chill?

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Originally Posted by manspider11

I am researching so I can be prepared about getting my first pet snake and I do not know if I should get a Dumeril Boa or a Grater snake
which breed is more docile and chill?

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You might want to start a new thread. Do your own research and decide what you want to handle, because these are very different species you're comparing LOL.

Dumeril's boas are docile, but be prepared to care for and cage a 6~7 foot, strong snake. They're also rocks and don't do anything except lay around all day. Garter snakes are more active.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by L.West

Maybe I can get to the upcoming reptile show this weekend. I wanted to get a hook and a longer pair of tongs. Want to be prepared before he even gets here which will be in the next couple of weeks. So excited.

I currently use Uline Indented Kraft paper in my setups - will this be okay for a dum?? I know they tend to be burrowing animal but others have said as long as they have hides (which I will put three) in his cage he should do fine.

Your thoughts about the paper substrate?

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I use for my Dumerili Aspen snake bedding. He just loves it and burrow himself all the time letting only his head out. He has a hide box also. I feed him inside his cage. So he might swallow some of the Aspen snake bedding. No problem with that

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Originally Posted by BR8080

Who's the breeder you got the dum from? I'm shopping around for 1.

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I'm getting him from John Berry out of Atlanta. He didn't actually breed this particular snake though. He bought it for one of his projects but now has went a different route and offered him up for sale when I inquired.

I'm not aware that he has any other for sale though.

That's my biggest issue with Aspen bedding - I don't want him to ingest it while eating.

Also, I've heard stories about mites and such coming in on the bedding - not sure how true that is though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by L.West

That's my biggest issue with Aspen bedding - I don't want him to ingest it while eating.

Also, I've heard stories about mites and such coming in on the bedding - not sure how true that is though.

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I feed my Dumerili live prey in his cage as it happens in the nature. He refuses to eat outside his cage. He makes the rules. And believe me, snakes are much more comfortable eating in their cages. No matter what Substrate you use he could swallow some of it while eating. It happens in the nature also. If you use a carpet it will hold bacteria and be hard to clean. Maybe paper, but he can,t burrow himself and he won,t feel happy and secure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by L.West

That's my biggest issue with Aspen bedding - I don't want him to ingest it while eating.

Also, I've heard stories about mites and such coming in on the bedding - not sure how true that is though.

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They can digest rodent teeth and bones, even bird beaks- they have no problem with some aspen bedding. I feed all my snakes on aspen and they ingest some. If you're really worried, you can put a plastic lid or something into his cage and feeding him on top of that.

Also, look up harlan teklad aspen. It's shredded small and I've been using it since last year. A lot better than the big chunky aspen you buy at petco, that was actually causing problems for my snakes LOL.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by L.West

I'm getting him from John Berry out of Atlanta. He didn't actually breed this particular snake though. He bought it for one of his projects but now has went a different route and offered him up for sale when I inquired.

I'm not aware that he has any other for sale though.

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I wonder if it was a Paul Mitzelfelt dum, they work together on stuff and seem to be THE guys to go to for quality dumerils.

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Originally Posted by BR8080

I wonder if it was a Paul Mitzelfelt dum, they work together on stuff and seem to be THE guys to go to for quality dumerils.

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I'm not sure about that. This is my first dealing with John. He came highly recommended to me when I started my search for a Dumeril