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  1. #11
    BPnet Lifer dakski's Avatar
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    Re: BI acting strange

    Quote Originally Posted by olivv View Post
    The only bite I've ever recieved was from my baby Florida Kingsnake, Alice

    Boy is she fiesty. She thinks she is real big and strong but really she looks like an angry spaghetti noodle and it's hard not to laugh when she puffs up and hisses at me. Once she's out, she's usually fine but she's a baby and probably WC. Very defensive.

    Bear on the other hand, a bite would probably hurt and it's definitely a little intimidating. I think I'll start feeding him at night. Should I feed him this Thursday, or next Thursday? Most of my adult snakes eat once every two weeks.

    I'm hoping he'll grow some more too. He's pretty small for being 4.
    BI's on medium rats should eat every 2-3 weeks. If you fed this past Thursday wait until the following Thursday to feed. Probably best for him long term to feed every 3 weeks, but 2 weeks is okay.

  2. #12
    BPnet Senior Member CloudtheBoa's Avatar
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    First things first...if you got him on the 17th, you should not be handling yet. Give him 7 days (from the last time you interacted with him) to settle in, then offer food. If he takes it, then 48 hours later at minimum to allow digestion you can take him out and start him on short handling sessions. You don't want to be handling a new snake before you establish it's going to eat for you. Many WILL, but you never know ahead of time if they're going to be one of the few stress sensitive ones you put off of food by handling.


    Second, yes! A dog scratching at the enclosure, especially a new arrival absolutely can cause a snake to get on edge.


    My snakes have their days, yes, but a boa crawling off you onto a chair and refusing to come off sounds like pretty typical boa behavior to me. Even my most docile and most socialized boa will not hesitate to get himself entangled in a chair, and I have to tickle him to get him to get off. I gently get his head/neck area in my hand, and tickle his tail up and down. His natural instinct is to move away, and they typically crawl right over my hand and off the chair. If the try to turn back onto the chair, I simply move my arm away so they can't reach it and generally my arm/hand returns to being their preferred mode of escape. lol I don't unwrap them, or try to force them off of anything. They tend to get more abstinate that way so I use their natural semi-arboreal instincts against them to make them think they want to do what I want them to do. XD


    I have also had a day with that snake once where he was absolutely terrified over something...never found out what. But I went into the snake room to use the bathroom, which usually went over no issues, and he was trying to crawl backwards up the wall of his cage, hissing loudly at me, and whipping his tail around. This snake has never acted scared of anything in the 9 years I've had him except that incident. The next day, he was fine. Point is, snake have off days, and you just gotta work around it sometimes.


    I handle my snakes at night with no issues. No heightened feeding response, no heightened defensiveness, or anything. But I also don't feed them at the same time of day every time, so they haven't come to expect food at any specific time.


    If it's any consolation, a bite from even an adult boa really isn't that bad so long as it's a defense bite. I've been bit a handful of times by my 6.5' male and while he was younger. Even while at his current size, I got bit on the arm once. I didn't even know he bit me. The only reason I did was because I happened to look down at my arm. Now, a feeding bite is a different story. Even a small boa wrapping you can be painful and burn, but generally once you get them off and cleaned up that's about the extent of the pain. 10/10 would rather be bit by any of my boas than bit or scratched by a cat.


    I personally feed mediums every 3-4 weeks, but I adjust per individual. If they're a fast-growing snake with a lean physique, I *might* go 2 weeks. If they're a more stocky snake, and seem thick even on 3-4 weeks I'll either move down a prey size and continue 3-4 weeks, or space feedings out a little more. Or a mix. But 3-4 weeks is my starting line, and you'll learn how to adjust feeding after you own him a few years and see how he shifts throughout the year.
    8.3 Boa imperator ('15 sunglow "Nymeria," '11 normal "Cloud," '16 anery motley "Crona," '10 ghost "Howl," '08 jungle "Dominika," '22 RC pastel hypo jungle "Aleister," '22 pastel normal "Gengar," '22 orangasm hypo "Daemon," '22 poss jungle "Jinzo," '22 poss jungle "Calcifer," '22 motley "Guin")
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    1.0 garter snake ('13 albino checkered "Draco")
    1.0 eastern garter ('13 "Demigod)
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  3. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to CloudtheBoa For This Useful Post:

    bcr229 (09-21-2020),dakski (09-21-2020),olivv (09-21-2020),Toad37 (09-21-2020)

  4. #13
    Registered User olivv's Avatar
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    Thanks to all.

    I'm going to let him get settled for two weeks, at least get one meal in him, plus at least another 2-3 days before I handle him. I'm sure by then he'll be so much more comfortable around me as I will him.

    Since I've realized the dog was stressing him out I've put a barrier up so she can't come anywhere near his enclosure. She's awfully nosy.

  5. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to olivv For This Useful Post:

    CloudtheBoa (09-22-2020),dakski (09-22-2020)

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