Lol, is it normal to fear your baby boa?

[neur0tix]

i'm still freaked out every time I go to pick her up, just because i can never tell if she's going to bite me! i never once had any of my BP's strike me, and when my boa does... she hangs her mouth open for like 10 seconds warning me not to go near her.....

I never make sudden movements, it happens just from picking her up normally....

were you guys freaked out at all at first when you had ur first "somewhat aggressive" snake lol... comared to a BP this is quite more then i am used to!

[fire-eyes]

Yes, I was afraid of mine when I got it. It didn't help that it turned out to be exceptionally mean, much more so than most babies. When I first got him out of the bag, he seemed okay at first:

http://fire-eyes.org/gal/v/ob/n/rep/...H3368.jpg.html

However once he got out of that bag, it was pure rage. Hissing and striking, it seemed more like lunging and jumping than just strikes. He hated me and my large camera + flash.

I couldn't corral him easily, the "distract with one hand, grab with the other" trick didn't work on him, he'd just lash out at both. I ended up snagging him and gently tossing him into his new home and he proceeded to slam into the glass door like a jackhammer. It was nuts.

The first week, I was really afraid of him. He kept at the jackhammer thing for days, any time he knew I was around. I started holding him for a few seconds at a time, it was pretty intense. Hissing and strikes, but it eventually calmed down to just hissing and no strikes. The long story short is that it took 5 - 6 months but he did calm down, and today at about 1.5 years old, he's a sweetie:

http://fire-eyes.org/gal/v/ob/n/rep/..._0089.jpg.html

What I suggest is that if you are afraid or nervous, the snake WILL pick up on that, and then it will get nervous and afraid, it is a nasty circle. You'll have to practice building your own confidence and just grab it. Let him hiss and threaten and even bite you: But do your best not to allow to see that it bothers you.

The idea here is to break it of the idea that all of these things will make you go away, and that does mean you'll be taking a few bites here and there. Would you rather do this when it's an adult?

It's a challenge but it is rewarding. Persist!

Additional thought: My boa is very tail insecure. He gets very upset if he doesn't have a firm hold on something such as a finger or hand, or even a random object like a deodorant stick. I'm not sure how common this is with boas, but especially when they're small, they will feel much better if they can get a good tail grip on something. Provide it.

Tail insecurity, it's kind of cute? http://fire-eyes.org/gal/v/ob/n/rep/...H6568.jpg.html

[jefrow]

My baby boa acts mean but its all show lol. Good thing about them being babies is if you get bit it wont hurt bad

[BuckeyeBalls]

You scare your boa. Plain and simple lol. Your big its small.

Reach ur hand in and she scares u and you pull it out makes it worse. Im telling you

Just reach in put ur hand over her head with your palm flat. Pick her up. Let her bite you. Sounds silly. But show her ur not afraid of her.

If u are.. Then act like ur not. Reach in grab her and pull her out. You will be glad u did it now and not 6 months from now

[BuckeyeBalls]

Heres my 2 boas the day i brought em home from Tinley. Good ol Jeff Ronne put them in a sock. They were all balled up together so I put em in the boaphile to let em untangle.

Well when i came back they were not to happy.



Here is the female hypo a month later. She still hisses, strikes, bites

[neur0tix]

First time she bit me felt a tiny sense of a needle prick (can't call it painful, lol) and the second time she just kinda knocked her face into my hand (lol) both times didn't hurt remotely, just scared me... I noticed when I squeeze when I grab her (even a tiny bit) is when she does it.

I'm just afraid she is going to get meaner and meaner... I am sooo used to my sweetheart BP's

[neur0tix]

I swear to god they sense fear... I took her out just now, she seemed fine about it. Now she's sitting on my lap coiled and my heart is beating like im having a heart attack ahah. She's just staring at me in the S position. my every movement seems like a giant mouse to her.

[BuckeyeBalls]

I swear to god they sense fear... I took her out just now, she seemed fine about it. Now she's sitting on my lap coiled and my heart is beating like im having a heart attack ahah. She's just staring at me in the S position. my every movement seems like a giant mouse to her.

Ok...

Ever been around a (girl/guy) or friends and you try to impress them by acting like ur a badass and not scared of nothing? Tends to end up with you getting hurt cuz u tried to show off and do something stupid.

Same thing here. Pick her up like ur not afraid of her. Handle her like your not afraid of her. When u move. Move with confidence. If you goto grab her and stop and jerk back. Your reinforcing that if she hisses/strikes u will retreat

[majorleaguereptiles]

Let them bite you. Get used to getting bit by babies because it's nothing. They don't even break skin, so it's a great time to get them used to being handled and taken out of their cage. Better now, than later like said before.

[brian abrams]

Right on with the advivce! I've even had a few balls that were the same way! When you have enough balls, you will too! My cinny girl was as bad as any snake I've had, and it took awhile to break her, too!