Hi there!

I am a new large snake owner and have had my 5 foot red tail boa for about 6 weeks now. She seems friendly and has never struck or shown any signs of aggression. According to the woman I bought her from, she used to be used in an educational program for kids so is used to people. When handling her, she initially doesn't want to come out of her cage, but once she's out she's very curious and then doesn't want to go back in! I keep her around my neck and she's very active moving around and trying to check out the scene, but doesn't really seem tense unless she feels she's about to fall. She is so active that I actually have to be careful that there is nothing nearby she can hook her head around or slither into because she tries to get into whatever is nearby. Not sure if she's trying to get away from me or just being curious, lol.

I am actually a dancer/performer and hope to do performances with her in the future. I get worried since she is so active when I'm handling her that she might wrap around my neck. Basically I'm trying to learn how to handle her properly so she doesn't get into any awkward positions or try to get away while she's on me. I try to be gentle with her, but I want to be able to take the lead so I am guiding her, rather than the other way around. I supposed it will just come with time as we get more comfortable with each other but thought I'd post to see if anyone has any tips on this.

Side note, a lot of times when she's on my neck she will start climbing vertically straight into mid-air, she gets pretty high and will stay there for a little while. Is this normal and does it mean anything?