I Am Scared Of My Boa

[Eazyyyb]

Hey guys, so I have this male RTB that I have had for pretty much his whole life. He is currently 2 years and some odd months old and about 4.5 feet. And boy he has an attitude. When out of his enclosure, he is very squirmy, and darts around randomly it seems like, which makes him hard to handle because of his hide, and almost every time I try to control his movements, he tries to bite me, or at least hisses/puffs at me. I try to handle him as much as I can, but he doesn't seem to be mellowing out. My other RTB is a complete sweetheart, and I wish I didn't dread handling my other one. Any tips, stories, etc? Also he is in an AP 3 tier rack, with a 92 degree hotspot, ~80 degree ambient, and 60%ish humidity.

[John1982]

How are you reacting to the bites? If you're putting him up right after a tag, he's training you. Always try returning him to his enclosure at a positive point in your interactions. Even if it's just a minute after the last tag, that's 1 minute of how you want him to act. Then you can go for 2 minutes, 3 minutes, etc. The same goes for the squirminess. Try to wait until he's a bit calmer before returning him home, for an increasing duration each session.

[John1982]

That's my preferred method anyway. Some folks go for the forced, basically dominating, long duration handling sessions but I'd rather build trust over time.

[Eazyyyb]

How are you reacting to the bites? If you're putting him up right after a tag, he's training you. Always try returning him to his enclosure at a positive point in your interactions. Even if it's just a minute after the last tag, that's 1 minute of how you want him to act. Then you can go for 2 minutes, 3 minutes, etc. The same goes for the squirminess. Try to wait until he's a bit calmer before returning him home, for an increasing duration each session.

That's my preferred method anyway. Some folks go for the forced, basically dominating, long duration handling sessions but I'd rather build trust over time.

I try to never put him back right after he tags me. And okay ill try doing that, i don't want to be forceful either. Thanks for the advice!

[John1982]

You also get the occasional snake that simply refuses to relax no matter how much time and effort you put into them. Best bet with these is to just set them up as a nice display animal and reduce handling to the bare minimum - then everyone is happy.

[JoshSloane]

I agree with John regarding certain snake's individual attitudes. It is definitely disheartening, but sometimes no matter how hard you try there are some reptiles that just are completely intractable.

However, that doesn't mean that you still shouldn't try to develop some sort of trust between you two, and maybe things will calm down in the future. I have had snakes that have never even struck at me, and some that were unbelievably aggressive.

I recommend getting some type of work gloves to wear when ha fling the snake. Reduces your flinching when struck at, and has seemed to work for me in the past.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you have breeding age males in with females, there is always the chance that the male is getting hormonally revved up when in proximity to females. I've noticed that my males get extra ornery this time of year. We usually see that respond in burms and retics, but it's just as plausible for boas.

[Herpenthusiast3]

Setup sounds good. Is the boa bcc or bci? What do you keep your humidity at and how often do you feed? I agree with the above stated of not letting the snake train you but instead continually building trust. Good for you for taking it to the forum instead of writing him off as "aggressive" =)

[Marissa@MKmorphs]

My biggest bci is also the one I trust the least. I spent years trying to get her to accept handling, but she is unpredictable, cage and food aggressive. We have moments where she tolerates handling well, but those are few and far between.

You might have more luck with yours, but my Pandora gets bare minimum human contact, just for health checks and routine maintenance. I have plenty of animals that handle well, so it's okay that I have a few display animals.

My girl is now just over 6 feet, about 12 lbs, and is a very beautiful snake to stare at.

This was her in the holding bin a few months ago.....so pretty, but every animal is unique, you know?




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[Eazyyyb]

I agree with John regarding certain snake's individual attitudes. It is definitely disheartening, but sometimes no matter how hard you try there are some reptiles that just are completely intractable.

However, that doesn't mean that you still shouldn't try to develop some sort of trust between you two, and maybe things will calm down in the future. I have had snakes that have never even struck at me, and some that were unbelievably aggressive.

I recommend getting some type of work gloves to wear when ha fling the snake. Reduces your flinching when struck at, and has seemed to work for me in the past.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you have breeding age males in with females, there is always the chance that the male is getting hormonally revved up when in proximity to females. I've noticed that my males get extra ornery this time of year. We usually see that respond in burms and retics, but it's just as plausible for boas.

thats a good idea i might get some gloves, and the mating thing sounds possible too, he is right above my female

Setup sounds good. Is the boa bcc or bci? What do you keep your humidity at and how often do you feed? I agree with the above stated of not letting the snake train you but instead continually building trust. Good for you for taking it to the forum instead of writing him off as "aggressive" =)

He is BCI i try to keep humidity around 60% and i feed every 2 weeks

My biggest bci is also the one I trust the least. I spent years trying to get her to accept handling, but she is unpredictable, cage and food aggressive. We have moments where she tolerates handling well, but those are few and far between.

You might have more luck with yours, but my Pandora gets bare minimum human contact, just for health checks and routine maintenance. I have plenty of animals that handle well, so it's okay that I have a few display animals.

My girl is now just over 6 feet, about 12 lbs, and is a very beautiful snake to stare at.

This was her in the holding bin a few months ago.....so pretty, but every animal is unique, you know?




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Gorgeous animal!

[Herpenthusiast3]

Is your other boa a female? And has this boa had this disposition its whole life?