boa hissy fit

I have been rather busy the last few days abd havnt had time to handle my new boa. I went to get him out and he had one major hissing fit. I wasnt sure if maybe he was just startled so I just slowly touched him with a hook. He hissed at it and head butted it once. I continues to just gently stoke him all over with it till he stopped hissing. I took him out and he seemed back to normal, his usual puppy dog self.
What I am wondering is with a boa his size (5ft) if they are having a fit, and are not in shed since they would be grumpy during this time anyhow, would you just close the lid and leave him alone or do what I did. Which basically I was trying to get the point in his head that a fit wasnt getting him left alone. I know someone who did the opposite and the boa had now learned he can intimidate his owner and remains aggressive where it was not before.
I dont want this one to think he can scare me into leaving him alone. Could it be hes just becoming territorial?

Hahaha snakes intimidating people LOL...classic.


I have a few 07's that are close to 4' and I will pick them up even if they are in a "great" mood.

If he is fine after hes out, I think your good.

My older redtails will huff at me when picking them up but they never strike.
Its mainly just a show. And if its not just have some bandaids handy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Darkice

Its mainly just a show. And if its not just have some bandaids handy

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These are some famous last words. A lot of my friends are still very weary around snakes and if they saw that I had a package of bandaids next to my cage they would probably never let me take the snake out while they are around... hehehe

Well he is becoming increasingly aggressive. I am wondering if it is now that he is settled hes more territorial. I gave him a few days alone and he was very aggressive so I did the pillowcase trick where you handle him in the pillowcase then let him out and he settled down. Then he needed feeding so once agian he had 3 days of no handling and now hes even more aggressive, and I fed him outside of his enclosure. His enclosure is very close to the same one he had with the previous owner, just its a plastic bin where they had a glass aquairium. He now strikes constantly even outside of the cage and the pillowcase trick doesnt work. Hes becoming unmanageable as you cant get near him he will chase you. I am wondering if this might be the true reason he was being sold, and he was just nice for the first while until he was compforatable in his new home.

how old is he? you know boas are bad about going through that whole hormonal teenager thing. if you can calm him down and he is fine when you hold him i would just keep doing that. yeah, i have heard similar things that they will learn that you will leave them alone, show him you are in control. you did a good job.

Have you tried a hook to get him out of the cage?

Also, I would feed him inside of his enclosure; I can't even imagine handling a hungry boa who knows it's feeding time :O Lol!!!

he is 3 and 5 ft long. I tried the hook and it makes him madder. He strikes at it . I still took him out anyway and put him on my bed where he chased me. I got a hold of him and put him in a pillowcase and petted him for a while then took him out, he was fine for 5 mins but then started to become aggressive agian and looked like he was preparing to bite.

thats sucks.. guess im lucky.. my red tail is nice and calm and loves to wrap around my wrist

how big was the boa when you got him? if you are afraid of the snake it could potentialy hurt you, what about when it gets even bigger? what kind of feeding schedule fo you have him on, what are his temps, are there any females near him? a male durring this season could be frustrated, looking for a female. a large snake can be very hard to handle and an inexperienced keeper could get hurt. the snake is going to grow. you either need to start the hook training very consistantly or get someone to help you. when you use the hook, how are you "training" him? like, what are your techniques?

definately do NOT handle him on feeding day or take him out of the enclosure at all. is he a bcc or a bci?

What are you feeding your 3 year old, 5 foot long, boa? Do you think he could be hungry???

Two of my boas are half his age and they eat every 10-14 days...

The previous owner had him on a med - large rat once a week I have done the same. His temps are low to mid 90s on the hot end, mid to low 80s on the cool. He is bci. I just touch him with a hook so he knows I am there.

I found he really hates the hook. Just touch him with it and hes pissed. So I have tried a new technique. I take his cage which is a huge palstic bin ( i think is made to hold a fake xmas tree) and put it up where he can see me. I move around doing stuff and he watches. Then I take his hide off him,(upside down plastic storage bin) an i let him see my hand through his cage. He watches for a minute then looses interest. Then i finally take a piece of luandry and put it near him so he can smell it and he is calmed down and can be taken out. The luandry seems to be familiarizing him with my scent so hes not so nervous. Seems like alot but so far it is working. I think he is just scared so with time I hope he calms down and gets used to me coming into his cage.

handle him frequently, i have a female tiger retic, that is the devil, but i take her out and i make sure its on my terms, she is getting better but still nasty as sin. and she is coming up on 2yrs old

Alot of mine hiss and throw a fit. Dont let them win, if you want them out and they are not in shed or have just had a meal just take them out. But you are right he is probably not use to seeing the hook. I believe most of the time it is a big bluff. Over time he will adjust to you and you to him. Good Luck.

Well he has reverted to evil agian. I leave him alone for a couple days and he turns on me, Now hes even worse than ever. This time I opened his cage he wasnt in his hide, he stared at me and then just lunged at me. So I thought if i just leave him to watch me as I did some stuff he would settle, no instaed whatever side of his cage I was on, he would follow and repeatedly strike at me and hiss. I wanted to change his water and dry up his cage, he had been dragging water out of his bowl and shavings in but i couldnt, He came flying out of the cage at me as soon as I opened it agian. I had to throw a towel over his head to get him back in and he tried biting through that. I am now scared of him, he just sits ans stares and hisses and strikes non stop.
Is there any disease that causes them to be so extremely aggressive, like how rabies is with dogs?
I think he is to dangerous. Had he been a dog Id have him put down. But some people like aggresive snakes so I am now trying to rehome him.
this sucks since now I no longer like boas, and am afriad to try to ever own another. I have a baby female who is nice but now i worry, what if she becomes aggressive too?

you dont have to worry about zoonotic diseases with a snake bite. alot of snakes are territorial, so when they are in their enclosure, they can get quite upset when you handle or mess with them in their territory. i have a tiger retic, who is satan herself in her enclosure, but when i get her out she calms down quite abit. the trick is, if you want a snake out, bring it out. make them come out on your terms, not let them stay in on their terms. once they know your feel, smell, and whatnot, and you just let them win, they know they have complete control over you. when you wanna bring your boa out, bring him out. granted in order to do this, you are probably going to get bit a few times before he realizes, im not gonna win. but be consistent and keep bringing him out.

this is vital info... somepeople have tried using thick leather gloves when handeling agressive snakes.. but as mention fear is not the answer.. persistance is!!! Good luck

all species of snakes can have bad tempers. In my experience with boas i have never met a mean one and im around allot of boas. Sometimes they are just to territorial for their own good. I suggest u keep ur baby at least so you can still have experience with good tempers in the species.