Boa acting weird

I fed my boa on Wednesday and he has been acting weird. Yesterday I tried to pick him up but he did not want to be picked up and he was trying very hard to bury himself under the substrate to get away from me. So I let him be, today he didn’t do that but he’s barely flicking his tongue when I’m holding him and he holds his head up in the air almost as if he’s looking for food? And yes I did not handle him for 48 hours after feeding. He’s never done this before.

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Originally Posted by svtvenom

I fed my boa on Wednesday and he has been acting weird. Yesterday I tried to pick him up but he did not want to be picked up and he was trying very hard to bury himself under the substrate to get away from me. So I let him be, today he didn’t do that but he’s barely flicking his tongue when I’m holding him and he holds his head up in the air almost as if he’s looking for food? And yes I did not handle him for 48 hours after feeding. He’s never done this before.

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Wish I could help but my snakes act weird time to time and will do the same kind of things... A few days go by and they are relaxed and back to themselves.


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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

Wish I could help but my snakes act weird time to time and will do the same kind of things... A few days go by and they are relaxed and back to themselves.


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Same here...

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Same here...

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It’s weird. It’s like he’s like looking for something lol


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Snakes see ghosts!!! My boas will sometimes stare at stuff up in the air. Kind of creepy but after about 10 mins or so, they go back to doing normal snake stuff. Sounds to me like your boa is having 'one of those days'. My snakes will sometimes have bad days and i just leave them alone. If he is trying to bury himself when you try and pick him up, he is clearly letting you know, he wants to be alone. I didnt see my GTP for like a week and finally after he shed, i was so happy, i pulled him out on his perch to having bonding time. Well he was cranky and hissed at me when i put him down on my hand on his perch. Then crawled across my hand to his plant and back into his cage. I have also had Caesar the retic do that as well as my boas. They let you know when they want to be left alone, you just have to learn the body language and actions.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

...Sounds to me like your boa is having 'one of those days'. My snakes will sometimes have bad days and i just leave them alone. If he is trying to bury himself when you try and pick him up, he is clearly letting you know, he wants to be alone... They let you know when they want to be left alone, you just have to learn the body language and actions.

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So true. They definitely seem to have their "off" days too, when they just want to be left alone. The tell-tale signs are the same, but every snake is a little different. It's just a matter of learning your animal.
My King, Django, for example will "push" my hand away if he doesn't want to be handled. By that I mean he will thrash the part of his body where my hand is when I touch him. It still impresses me how strong such a slender snake can be. Tyson, my BP will do this on occasion, but much more gently. Juice, my Borneo STP, is more of a hisser. But it's always pretty mild, he hasn't impressed me yet, hahaha.

Anyway, since they can't verbally tell us they want to be left alone, they show us the only way they can. Depending on the species and sometimes the individual snake, the number of "warnings" will vary, so it's best for us to do our homework and learn the animals.

Lol Caesar shoves my hand away when he is having a moment. Dottie hisses at me. Yes a hissing BP lol. And she will hiss loud but thats it, just cruises by, hiises loudly if you bug her and keeps going haha. Crazy BP. And Pat hisses too i found out whe he is having a day. I actually had Rosey hiss at me a few days ago but i think she was pissed off because Caesar freakin climbed down the cage stack and into Rosey's cage right on top of Rosey and sat on her. I noticed and grabbed Caesar and put him in his cage and closed the door lol. After that, Rosey was kind of pissed and hissed fairly loudly at me so i closed her door to and let her be alone.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Lol Caesar shoves my hand away when he is having a moment. Dottie hisses at me. Yes a hissing BP lol. And she will hiss loud but thats it, just cruises by, hiises loudly if you bug her and keeps going haha. Crazy BP. And Pat hisses too i found out whe he is having a day. I actually had Rosey hiss at me a few days ago but i think she was pissed off because Caesar freakin climbed down the cage stack and into Rosey's cage right on top of Rosey and sat on her. I noticed and grabbed Caesar and put him in his cage and closed the door lol. After that, Rosey was kind of pissed and hissed fairly loudly at me so i closed her door to and let her be alone.

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Rosey was just pissed because you caught them before she could get some. LOL

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

Rosey was just pissed because you caught them before she could get some. LOL

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That would be epic. I could have made a new hybrid!! We got bat eaters, carpondros and boacondas. But not sure how a live bearer and an egg layer would work lol.

And nah, i think Rosey is just tired of everyone invading her cage. Vicky ALWAYS goes into Rosey's cage and sits there. Now i catch freakin Caesar going in there. Poor Rosey is probably bent because she doesnt want her house to be the party house haha.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

That would be epic. I could have made a new hybrid!! We got bat eaters, carpondros and boacondas. But not sure how a live bearer and an egg layer would work lol.

And nah, i think Rosey is just tired of everyone invading her cage. Vicky ALWAYS goes into Rosey's cage and sits there. Now i catch freakin Caesar going in there. Poor Rosey is probably bent because she doesnt want her house to be the party house haha.

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And they didn't bring any [emoji482]

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So the first pic is what he does he just stands up and stares. It’s not always like up towards the sky, sometimes it’s just straight out. The second pic is when I put him back in his cage he follows my every movement. Is he just hungry? Lol. Also are there any tips to getting them back into their cages? It’s like he sees his cage and wants to go towards it but then when I try to put him back in he’s a pain in the butt. Right now he is in a tank with a locking top screen but my T10 is coming in a month.



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Yup, just hungry. Rango and Louie both follow me like a hawk when i walk by at night. Normal behavior.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Yup, just hungry. Rango and Louie both follow me like a hawk when i walk by at night. Normal behavior.

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He’s 500g and I give him a 50-60g rat every other week. Am I not feeding him enough? I know boas will always eat but he does it the entire time I’m holding him lol and I don’t want to get a food response bite.

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Originally Posted by svtvenom

Also are there any tips to getting them back into their cages?

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Looks normal to me (the staring up and straight out)
And haha yeah boas do that (not wanting to go back into the cage or being difficult to get back in). I usually try to keep the snake below the cage door so they can crawl up into it (they like to go UP). Looks like that might be a glass tank which would mean top opening? That can be a tad more annoying to get them to go down into the cage. You can try setting the body in there while his head is trying to crawl back up your arm and then just push him off your arm. Sometimes too if you can get their face at or in the opening of a hide box, they will be happy to crawl down and into a hide (this works for many species).

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Originally Posted by svtvenom

He’s 500g and I give him a 50-60g rat every other week. Am I not feeding him enough? I know boas will always eat but he does it the entire time I’m holding him lol and I don’t want to get a food response bite.

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I never go by weights really. I just make sure the food leaves little lump. And I'm going to guess that is a small rat you are feeding, so every 2 weeks is fine. I would stay on that until he is big enough for medium rats, then push it to every 3 weeks.

Does he look skinny to you guys? The cage opens from the top and it’s a slinging screen. It’s very annoying lol. Sometimes I literally have to almost drop him to get him to go back in the cage. I tried to put his head near the hide box but he just starts going nuts as soon as he’s near the cage lol.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e0fc81f2eb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bdf26292bc.jpg


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Originally Posted by svtvenom

Does he look skinny to you guys? The cage opens from the top and it’s a slinging screen. It’s very annoying lol. Sometimes I literally have to almost drop him to get him to go back in the cage. I tried to put his head near the hide box but he just starts going nuts as soon as he’s near the cage lol.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...e0fc81f2eb.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...bdf26292bc.jpg


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Looks good to me.

Behira started on small rats about that weight as well (about 5 months ago). She's now over 750G (estimate - 710G a month ago but hasn't had a good poop since to get a good weight despite eating two rats over that span).

She has a similar build and acts and looks healthy. When she stretches straight out, she can look kinda thin, but she isn't. She's just getting long and hasn't filled out completely yet!

Everyone on here says she looks great (and the Boa peeps here have taught me much of what I know).

Keep us posted, but looks good!

Looks nice and healthy to me


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Originally Posted by svtvenom

Does he look skinny to you guys? The cage opens from the top and it’s a slinging screen. It’s very annoying lol. Sometimes I literally have to almost drop him to get him to go back in the cage. I tried to put his head near the hide box but he just starts going nuts as soon as he’s near the cage lol.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e0fc81f2eb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bdf26292bc.jpg


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Nah, his body condition is good. Boas should have a nice, squared-off shape. His behavior seems normal...sometimes they just wanna check stuff out!


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When your boa outgrows the tank get a PVC or melamine reptile enclosure with either drop or sliding doors. It's a lot easier when dealing with a larger snake to get it back into its home when it climbs in willingly because you can position its head below the door, versus having to be stuffed down into a tank.

Looks fine to me. And like BCR said, it is much easier to trick a boa into its cage if you position the doorway just above their head. They think they are going up higher and dont realize you have tricked them until about halfway in, then they might try and double back. You just have to be fast and shove their rear half in and close the door before they get back out or squeeze your arm with their butt lol.

The tank I have opens on the top with a sliding screen lid so it’s really difficult lol. My AP T10 is coming in a month so I won’t have this issue much longer. [emoji16]

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Looks fine to me. And like BCR said, it is much easier to trick a boa into its cage if you position the doorway just above their head. They think they are going up higher and dont realize you have tricked them until about halfway in, then they might try and double back. You just have to be fast and shove their rear half in and close the door before they get back out or squeeze your arm with their butt lol.

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Give them a hide. Even the adults. Position the opening to the hide so that it's just a few inches from where the boa's head enters the enclosure. The boa usually climbs in, spots the hide, and makes a beeline straight for it.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Give them a hide. Even the adults. Position the opening to the hide so that it's just a few inches from where the boa's head enters the enclosure. The boa usually climbs in, spots the hide, and makes a beeline straight for it.

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True but mine seem to have learned that open door>hide. They usually will stick their head in and then double back to try and come back out haha. The babies, it works well with though.