New snake questions

[shaft6977]

First a little background info...

Last Thursday I received a 3 month old male BCI from a semi-local breeder. He lives about 2.5 hours away and he FedExed him to me overnight. He told me that the snake was a very enthusiastic feeder, although he was feeding live. He told me to wait until Saturday or Sunday and attempt to feed him then (that would be 10 days since his last feeding). I was under the assumption that when receiving snakes in the mail that one should wait around 2 weeks to interact with them to give them time to acclimate to their new surroundings. I put him in his enclosure (ExoTerra 36 x 18) on Thursday and instead of heading straight for a hide, he spent the entire day and half the night checking out the place. I noticed the next day that he was coming to the front and just watching me when I was in the room. I opened one of the doors and he slithered right on to my hand and never acted stressed in any way. We did this same little routine on Saturday as well and then he gobbled up a FT hopper on Sunday. My corn snakes never were this forthcoming and I always had to wait the 2 weeks after receiving them before trying handling or feeding. Are most boas like this or is this an anomaly? The last boa I had was 17 years ago and he wasn't as seemingly easy-going as this one is.

[Eavlynn]

We have 2 boas, and they are sweet little gals, but neither of them have come directly up to us, or out without being picked up. It sounds like you have an absolute darling, with a very outgoing personality. I'm a tid bit jealous congrats!

[shaft6977]

Thanks! Since it was an Internet purchase, I was a little nervous that I was going to get some rotten devil snake that was going to be a pain since I wasn't actually going to be there to see it before buying. I guess I just lucked out!

[Eavlynn]

Not only is your boa super sweet and quite fond of you, but you had it shipped with no idea of the temperament ? Where can I get some of that luck you've stumbled upon? Haha. Photos of your little baby are a must! That way I can visualize the object of my jealousy

[John1982]

I was under the assumption that when receiving snakes in the mail that one should wait around 2 weeks to interact with them to give them time to acclimate to their new surroundings.

Half right. The interacting bit might actually prolong acclimation but that depends largely on the individual animal. I've always found boas to calm down rather quickly but I've met a few demons along the way too. My most recent pickup thinks she's the baddest thing on planet earth and I'm looking forward to earning her trust over time.

[shaft6977]

[Eavlynn]

Aww, what a gorgeous little thing! She's marvelous!

[John1982]

Digging those freckles.

[shaft6977]

Thanks guys! I'm pretty happy with him so far.