Do Red-Tail Boa's stay sweet and gentle as they do when they or 3 months old?

[Angel3wolf]

I have a red-tail male boa that i got when he was 3 months old and
I have had him now for 2 months and he seems to love to hang out with me
and never wants to be put up and wants to be held alot. He is so sweet and loving in his on little ways. So I want to take a poll on this to see if everyone else that has one are they like this all the time.

[darkangel]

I've actually heard they tend to calm down with age... I have an 8 month old baby that is nippy and defensive, so I'm hoping it turns out to be true.

[Brandon.O]

From what ive seen They only get better with age and handling.....

Most larger snakes do.....smaller colubrid snakes can still be kinda nippy even as adults....boas are super mellow usually.

[cameron16]

I have experience that they do sometimes calm down as they get older. But it doesn't happen all the time, just keep handling the boa and it should be fine.
With my year and 4 month old hypo he is still really aggressive and i try to pick him up when i can.

[Phanpy]

I guess small snakes are like little dogs. Yippy and mean. Same how big boas are mellow like great danes.

[frankykeno]

Well with our limited experience with the 3 boa's I'd say they stay pretty mellow as far as temperment. However, that has to be balanced with the knowledge that a big snake is a big snake and good natured or not you have to respect that every minute you are handling/feeding/cage cleaning. Boa's also have amazing feeding strikes both in range and pure power so it's not something to play around with especially with a big female.

I think it's like any snake really, you learn to read the snake, you make sure you are a smart handler using smart precautions and always...respect the snake for what it is and what it isn't.

[ladywhipple02]

BCI are pretty mellow snakes, really. The babies can be a little nippy and defensive---but I think I might try to bite if a giant creature swooped down out of the sky and grabbed ahold of me!

It's odd to think about, but even snakes have personalities. Some are so sweet... and some have a major 'tude. You could get a nippy baby who is just scared, and chills as he gets older. Or, you might have a nippy baby who simply likes to nip, and continues being nippy for his entire life.

Another thing to remember---and Jo said it well---though we've taken them out of the wild, these snakes still have the instincts of a wild animal. If something takes them off guard or scares them or irritates them, they won't hesitate to defend themselves and/or tell you to BACK OFF! Always show the respect due to a hunter that was perfected millions of years ago.

[frankykeno]

I am a huge, mean, killer snake...move!...I can't see the game!...now I missed a goal! HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS


Yes I'm very....hmmmm this is a lovely blankie...errrr...VERY mean big snake...ohhh nice pillow too!....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


Just had to share these pics of the big boa for fun. She was and remains a wonderfully good natured snake but she's now around the 8 foot mark so Becky tells me. 8 feet of big bodied, strong as a bull snake is nothing to mess with when she's not in the mood to be messed with. Lovely as boa's can be, never forget for a moment that you have to respect that many feet of raw muscle power.

P.S. I didn't set up that blankie pic. I had been laying down resting while my husband had the big snake out. I got up to get a drink and I guess she figured she'd grab my nice warm spot on the couch! LOL All I did was put the blanket over her, joking to Mike that I'd "tucked her in", pretty much expecting her to slither off immediately. The crazy big girl just lay there, totally relaxed, occasionally flicking her tongue for the better part of an hour. At that point I basically dragged her big, lazy butt off my darn spot on the couch!

[Ginevive]

Well with our limited experience with the 3 boa's I'd say they stay pretty mellow as far as temperment. However, that has to be balanced with the knowledge that a big snake is a big snake and good natured or not you have to respect that every minute you are handling/feeding/cage cleaning. Boa's also have amazing feeding strikes both in range and pure power so it's not something to play around with especially with a big female.

I think it's like any snake really, you learn to read the snake, you make sure you are a smart handler using smart precautions and always...respect the snake for what it is and what it isn't.

Great post, Jo! You hit the nail right on the head.

[cassandra]

I love that picture of "Rauri" (I can't remember her girly name! doh!)...=D

There are, of course, variances even within boas (athough mine is a slightly different species to the standard "colombian" or "red tail"):

My BCC girly is 2 yrs old, @5.5' and couple 3-4lbs and CLINGY! We handle her regularly. She has never tried to strike either of us...she even takes a while to strike at prey (but oh boy when she does...*CRUNCH!*).

She'll relax eventually when she's out, but Carmen will probably (unfortunately) be a clingy snake (clingy = strong, death constrict grip), which will not be good when she's 9-10' long. =P