red tail question

[shiftto5]

allright so this is the first time ive actually posted a thread.anywaz me and my girlfriend are getting married so are pet shop gave us a early wedding present. a beautiful little red tail boa(male) and we bought a little (female) red tail a few days later. my question is actually about the male. every time i go to feed him he puffs up and down like he is nervous. and then last time i feed him like two days ago and he ate the mouse tail first so can that cause any problems? thankz
trent

[cassandra]

Hi Trent! Welcome to B-P.net. =) Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!

What do you mean that he "puffs up and down"? Is he hissing or Sing up, looking like he's ready to strike? Could you be more descriptive? =)

Eating a prey animal backwards happens and no, it generally shouldn't be concerning. In my limited experience, if I'm feeding multiple items and and my snake eats the first backwards, I'll make a judgment call on whether I'm going to feed the subsequent prey item.

Another question that one must ask based on your description; are you keeping these two boas in the same enclosure? If so, many of us here would highly advise against that method. Please let us know and we'll be happy to explain why, but if you have them in separate enclosures, then never mind! =)

[fishmommy]

WELCOME!

First off, eating the mouse backward is not a problem for them. All snakes will do this once in a while and though it makes them look retarded, it's not a health issue.

Ok, so are you housing these two snakes in separate enclosures?
How long have you had them?
Puffing up and down sounds like a defensive response, which would mean your snake is stressed. This could be because he is still new and getting used to you and the enclosure. If you are housing them together, this could be part of the problem since that will cause quite a bit of stress also.

Are your temps and humidity within proper ranges? This is another source of potential stress.

again, welcome to the board! Boas are fantastic animals
You're very lucky to have a wife/girlfriend who shares your love of snakes

[fishmommy]

Ha! me and Cassandra posted at the same time!
sorry about the repetition

[cassandra]

Ha! me and Cassandra posted at the same time!
sorry about the repetition

*flex*

I win.

[shiftto5]

the snakes are in seprate enclousers. as far as the puffing she dosent hiss or act like shes going to bite me she just looks at the mouse and starts doing the same motion a gaboon viper does when its mad just without all the hissing. again thanks

Trent

[fishmommy]

that sounds kinda neat....you should get some video

[cassandra]

...she just looks at the mouse and starts doing the same motion a gaboon viper does when its mad just without all the hissing...

Welp I'm out of the running for advice as I have no idea what a gaboon viper does when it's mad, hehe!

[Thor26]

ya u should vid that hes just probably getting used to you and the new surroundings and stuff. Are you feeding outside the cage?

[shiftto5]

yeah i take him out to feed him. but the thing is hes had time to adjust to the cage and his surroundings. at least i think he has. and this is the link for what a gaboon does when he is angry so just Imagen a red tail doing that just without all the hissing http://youtube.com/watch?v=RiKsbB3_olU

thanks
Trent