RT Boa or Burmese Python that is the question

[ladywhipple02]

Why is interacting with it so important to you...

As for trying to "piss it off" to test for temperament...Its a snake if you succeed in pissing it off it might bite you...brovo! you pissed off a snake and it bit you what does that prove? You poke and pester a snake long enough and it will poke back. I have animals that will bite you if you sat there and tried to piss them off, but I would hand these animals to a 4 year old with no worries. If your worried about getting bit...I'd suggest a different hobby..Because sooner or later you will get bit.

I think you missed this portion of his statement. It seems to me that the only reason you wish to interact with the snake first is because you want to see if it will bite you... you want to "piss it off."

I'm in total agreement with Freakie Frog, as well. If you're worried about getting bit, this is not the hobby for you.

[frankykeno]

Yep Becky I literally watched that big girl tail hook furniture and happily drag it around with her and she was just passing the 6 foot mark back then. Big female boas are powerhouses with very long strike ranges and a punch behind that mouthful of teeth. I was always amazed that Sonja ended up with such a nice temperment considering the string of bad owners she had before we took her in, fixed her up and sent her off to you.

While I adore boas and we are in the process of adopting a big 8 foot female boa from Jamie, I don't think they are for everyone or to be taken on lightly. This is 8 feet of solid power, much more than I'd consider handling alone (I'm barely over 5 feet) and even though Tequila (the snake from Jamie) has a good even temperment...you just can't be dumb about the potential or disrespect that power.

[rabernet]

Well Yes of course, I only used that as a quote.
Unfortunately my choices are very limited since I do not know any local breeders around here and I wouldn't buy a snake online without interacting with it first, and lets not forget how stressful the shipping proces can be to an animal stuck in a box and being tossed around on conveyer belts in the shipping process.
As far as feeding record they said they have one. As you can see there isn't much choice here .

The majority of my collection has been shipped to me. I don't find them to be overly stressed from the shipping experience when they've been properly packed.

The sellers send me enough pictures to decide if it's a snake that I want. I make the opening of the box and putting them away for acclimation as quiet and as un-eventful as possible.

Actually, you have lots of choices, you've just chosen to eliminate one of them.

[rabernet]

Yes I would. Don't you people really see the purpose of this experiment?
I certainly hope that everyone of you testdrives their new car and does some research before you purchase it .

Please tell me that you are not serious about kicking a dog to see if it would bite you. I would HOPE it would bite you for kicking it. Geez Louise!!!!

No - you are not ready for any other animals at this time. You show so little compassion for them that you'd intentionally stress them out in the store, kick a dog, but you worry about stress from shipping? You've got to be kidding me!

[rabernet]

Still it's a chance to be taken, and I know for a fact that any animal gets stressed out in the shipping process, I've worked in the shipping industry and have seen packages being kicked around .

And trying to invoke a strike or kicking a dog isn't stressful? You are contradicting yourself.

[littleindiangirl]

Yes, freakie and lynn have it right. Snakes aren't like dogs, and dont know that they should not bite the hand that feeds them. They can't be trained to not bite in the same sense as a dog, but they can learn to not see you as a threat through interaction.

Expecting any snake to not bite you when your messing with it is pretty rediciulous. If it sees you as a threat, it will either fight, or flee. This does not mean that one "test" of yours, with the snake deciding to flee, does not mean that the snake will always choose to flee rather than fight.

I think health and background are far more important than temperament when it comes to snakes.

I suggest you throw the whole personality-specific side away. Understand that they are working on some very simple instincts, and they always have the possibility to bite you, but also always have the possibility to be a calm and "sweet puppy pumpkinnoodleface".

You just wont really know their temperament for sure until you have that animal home with you, settled and eating.
[edit]
I just saw the kicking dog comment, I meant no comparison with my post.

[frankykeno]

Another factor anyone must take into consideration is there are SNAKES, not puppies, not kittens, not social pack or herd driven animals. If you expect for one second that a snake that doesn't bite you today will never bite you....well have fun with that.

Do they bite all the time, no...rarely if ever in my case (1 bite ever and it doesn't even count), but I'm ready every single time I crack a tub to deal with a bite or an attempt to bite. Doesn't mean I'm scared of the snakes or think they are "mean", it just means I know they are snakes....not puppies...not kittens.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I tried to piss it off while it was still in it's own enclosure .

Yes I would. Don't you people really see the purpose of this experiment?
I certainly hope that everyone of you testdrives their new car and does some research before you purchase it .

I don't see the purpose of such an experiment but I am glad you do, tell me how it goes for you when you experience that with a burm

[rabernet]

You're not kidding about that Joanna. Petco had a nice looking DARK reduced pattern baby, with good weight on it, and was female that bit the snot out of me on Monday.

I didn't buy it - not because it bit me (you and I both know that those tend to be the best feeders), but because it was Christmas eve and I don't like to impulse buy. I walked away from her because I know I've got two coming (being shipped) in January and hopefully lots of babies this spring.

[drugaria]

You people are missing the whole point and are miquoting everything I say in this thread.
FIRST OF ALL where in the world do you see that I harmed that snake or any my snakes. I'am tired of this nonsense people !!!!!!!!!!
All I did was a simple test for deffensive aggression by waving the palm of my hand in front of him.
SECOND OF ALL you guys have no idea on how I'am raising my snakes yet you waste no time in making impulsive judgements and get upset when a new member chalanges your point of view.
That is why like many others here I hate forums because at the end it is always the same old thing. I will admit that I've learned a lot of things from this forum. However most of the responses in this thread today have proven to be detrimental to the values of this forum and I honestly feel that I have wasted my time here with this question.