Afraid of my girl...

[Skittles1101]

Okay. I'll admit, that I've read threads about people being "afraid" of being bit by their snakes and thought they were ridiculous. I've never had a fear of snakes, I have a pretty decent collection. Problem is my female boa.

My male boa is moody. He either likes me or hates me, but he's not aggressive at all. If he doesn't want to be messed with, he strikes at me, and I've been tagged countless times by him. No big deal. My female was sweet as can be when I first got her! I could handle her with no issues at all. I went away over a year ago for basic training, and left my snakes with friends who took great care of them. But ever since I've been back, my female boa is an evil witch! I mean, she hisses LOUDLY if I even just walk by her tub. Cleaning her tub is like a chore because I need to use the snake hook, which I don't even use on my male that is twice her size! I'm afraid of when she gets bigger. I've heard boas go through stages, and they tend to calm down in the older years, but it's been over a year now and I can't even handle her. I don't have any help at home as far as caring for her because my spouse is afraid of my creatures :roll eyes: and my son is only 7 I won't let him near the moody ones. I hate the idea of getting rid of one of my critters just because they didn't turn out how I wanted, but what happens if she ends up being a huge 9' aggressive girl and I'm all alone?

[MonkeyShuttle]

That is tuff my collection is very young but massive and I've noticed my female boa is moody. When it comes to having an aggressive 9ft snake you can either find someone who wouldn't mind handling her or just love the fact shes a big scary beautiful moody girl . She will also be great at keeping you on you toes lol

[bcr229]

It doesn't matter if it's a dog, horse, or snake, not every critter will be a match for every keeper. I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice geared toward finding out what's stressing your girl to help get her settled back into her former sweet self... but at the end of the day, if it's not working out there's no shame in sending her to a handler who can cope with her temperament.

[Evenstar]

It doesn't matter if it's a dog, horse, or snake, not every critter will be a match for every keeper. I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice geared toward finding out what's stressing your girl to help get her settled back into her former sweet self... but at the end of the day, if it's not working out there's no shame in sending her to a handler who can cope with her temperament.

This is well stated and I agree with it. And I am not the sort of person who advocates giving up your animal even for these reasons. But there are times when that is the best option for all involved - the animal too.

Now, I'm not saying that you should make this decision today, tomorrow, or even next month. Try working with her and see how she seems to respond. It is possible that no matter how well your friend took care of them, they just weren't handled that often. And you smell different now. In your snake's mind, she's now under the care of yet someone else new. Time may solve the problem. BUT handing her over to someone else is a viable option and, as has been said, is nothing to be ashamed of at all.



** Having said that, WELCOME BACK Leah!! We've missed you around here!

[decensored]

I had an extremely aggressive carpet. I got tagged a dozen times in one handling and after that I was petrified of him. I realized that I didn't have the resources to care for it properly. I found someone to take him and I haven't looked back. It might seem cold but the best thing for the animal and for myself was re-home, and I don't feel two ways about doing the right thing.

[Daybreaker]

As others mentioned I'd work with her more and if she shows no signs of calming you could look for a more appropriate home for her: my SSTP went through a super drama queen stage where she would lunge and THROW herself across the room at you and though she was on the smaller side she could be intimidating! But after working with her (and time) she's calmed into a wonderful 13+ lb adult and is more than I could have ever asked for. I'd see if your girl could turn out the same.

[Skittles1101]

Thanks everyone. I can suck it up and handle her now...I mean I've been tagged more times by my boas than anything really. My biggest fear is of course when she's huge haha. I'll give it more time, I don't want to have to give her up unless it's necessary. If she's an evil girl then she's an evil girl and I respect that. I guess one thing I've learned from this hobby is that their personalities could go either way, regardless of how well they are treated. I still curse at my male orange ghost because he's been a jerk since I got him and nothing has changed lol. I bug him to clean him and give him water, and he's my friend when I'm dangling a rat in front of him, but besides that we leave eachother alone lol.

Feels good to be back!

[ispitroseas]

I just got a baby boa and she is feisty! I can dig it. Even though she conveniently likes to strike daddy, but is a sweetheart with mama.
I'm honestly not intimidated, especially at this size. Even when she's larger I've had a lot of art-related accidents that ended up with stitches. IMO snake teeth aren't bad. The sharpness and speed help. I mean, have you ever gotten a good RAT bite?! Friggin awful!

[bcr229]

Baby snakes tend to be nippy, it's instinctive. In the wild they are prey. As they grow up and learn that Godzilla (you) won't eat them, most mellow out. It just takes patient handling and time.

[ispitroseas]

Baby snakes tend to be nippy, it's instinctive. In the wild they are prey. As they grow up and learn that Godzilla (you) won't eat them, most mellow out. It just takes patient handling and time.

Not too different from more "traditional" pets. I have had kittens that have shown no mercy D;