New baby boa, gets dangerously vicious after being fed. Is this normal?

[RideRed12]

Alright so I bought a new little baby boa from Garrick Demeyer a few weeks ago at the Iowa Reptile show and sale, and I have to say this boa is great.
Hes real docile yet a little defensive but hasnt bit me yet. Now I have fed him twice and he eats fine, but after he is fed he becomes way overly aggressive. Ill walk in front of his tub and he will strike at the plastic repeatedly. To the point where I think he may have injured his bottom lip because it almost looks slightly curled under. Is this normal?

Heres some pictures of the little guy.

[piper]

I know ball pythons will do this, not very often, but in ball pythons, I have found it to be a defensive/feeding response. In other words, they just finished a big meal and want to be left alone. If the snake is fine otherwise, I would say that is what it is.

[Void]

One of my red tails and one of my carpets gets aggressive when fed. They do it right after they finish wrapping their food. Its like they're saying this is mine back off. After they get it down they're fine. So shouldn't worry too much about it.

[fndjason4]

I have an albino female boa from garrick demeyer and she is very docile except when being fed and in shed. She really only hisses and never strikes. I dont know if this helps, but i think it is probably just a feeding response and not necessarily aggressive behavior.

[BuckeyeBalls]

One of my rtbs is a REAL aggressive eater.

You feed him he will hit it instantly and after that.. He looks outside the tub watching me move, if i get to close he strikes the tub.

To be honest I dont see a problem with this. Open up enclosure, feed them, close it.

I dont really see a problem with them being "aggressive" after feed as u shouldn't be handling them after they eat anyways so who cares if he wants to eat u

[fire-eyes]

It sounds a little aggressive but not too much. It seems they are their most aggressive as babies, then they calm down. This was especially true with mine which was an exceptionally enraged little thing for a few months.

Now at a year and a half he's calmed down a LOT and is very docile. But when it's feeding time, it's game on and he is outright violent. He stays like this for a few hours afterwards, sometimes coming at me if I walk past his home.

I don't think this behavior is unreasonable. They calm down as they grow up too.

[ladywhipple02]

He may still be hungry, too, and, with his cage smelling like mouse/rat, he may be striking at any heat signature that wonders by thinking it's another food item.

Most boas are nothing if not voracious eaters!

[AndrewGeibel]

I'd say bump up a size in the feeding. Sounds just like a great feeding response. I had two boas that were not handleable even during non feeding times and they have both come around to the point that I don't even need a hook to get them out of the cage. Wear long sleeves if you have to and give it some time. I think everything is OK.

[JLC]

I agree it sounds like a bigger meal might be a little more satisfying. And you can try draping a towel or something over his enclosure for the rest of the day after he's eaten. It would probably help him feel more secure to digest, as well as protect him from smacking his face against the tub.

I had a ball do that once, and her jaw looked totally screwed up afterward. I was so scared! Turned out, she'd just gotten her lip hung up on a tooth. After a short time of being left to her own devices, the issue righted itself with no after affects.