My new Dumeril Boa

[L.West]

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.

[EL-Ziggy]

Very nice snake. Congrats on the new addition.

[cletus]

Gorgeous snake!! Congrats!

[L.West]

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

[DLena]

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.

[L.West]

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

[GoingPostal]

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.

[Dutti]

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

[Kcl]

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.

[DLena]

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...