boa hissy fit

[Kryptonian]

I have been rather busy the last few days abd havnt had time to handle my new boa. I went to get him out and he had one major hissing fit. I wasnt sure if maybe he was just startled so I just slowly touched him with a hook. He hissed at it and head butted it once. I continues to just gently stoke him all over with it till he stopped hissing. I took him out and he seemed back to normal, his usual puppy dog self.
What I am wondering is with a boa his size (5ft) if they are having a fit, and are not in shed since they would be grumpy during this time anyhow, would you just close the lid and leave him alone or do what I did. Which basically I was trying to get the point in his head that a fit wasnt getting him left alone. I know someone who did the opposite and the boa had now learned he can intimidate his owner and remains aggressive where it was not before.
I dont want this one to think he can scare me into leaving him alone. Could it be hes just becoming territorial?

[Patrick Long]

Hahaha snakes intimidating people LOL...classic.


I have a few 07's that are close to 4' and I will pick them up even if they are in a "great" mood.

If he is fine after hes out, I think your good.

[Darkice]

My older redtails will huff at me when picking them up but they never strike.
Its mainly just a show. And if its not just have some bandaids handy

[skaplan86]

Its mainly just a show. And if its not just have some bandaids handy

These are some famous last words. A lot of my friends are still very weary around snakes and if they saw that I had a package of bandaids next to my cage they would probably never let me take the snake out while they are around... hehehe

[Kryptonian]

Well he is becoming increasingly aggressive. I am wondering if it is now that he is settled hes more territorial. I gave him a few days alone and he was very aggressive so I did the pillowcase trick where you handle him in the pillowcase then let him out and he settled down. Then he needed feeding so once agian he had 3 days of no handling and now hes even more aggressive, and I fed him outside of his enclosure. His enclosure is very close to the same one he had with the previous owner, just its a plastic bin where they had a glass aquairium. He now strikes constantly even outside of the cage and the pillowcase trick doesnt work. Hes becoming unmanageable as you cant get near him he will chase you. I am wondering if this might be the true reason he was being sold, and he was just nice for the first while until he was compforatable in his new home.

[pillowtalk6188]

how old is he? you know boas are bad about going through that whole hormonal teenager thing. if you can calm him down and he is fine when you hold him i would just keep doing that. yeah, i have heard similar things that they will learn that you will leave them alone, show him you are in control. you did a good job.

[starmom]

Have you tried a hook to get him out of the cage?

Also, I would feed him inside of his enclosure; I can't even imagine handling a hungry boa who knows it's feeding time Lol!!!

[Kryptonian]

he is 3 and 5 ft long. I tried the hook and it makes him madder. He strikes at it . I still took him out anyway and put him on my bed where he chased me. I got a hold of him and put him in a pillowcase and petted him for a while then took him out, he was fine for 5 mins but then started to become aggressive agian and looked like he was preparing to bite.

[temec]

thats sucks.. guess im lucky.. my red tail is nice and calm and loves to wrap around my wrist

[pillowtalk6188]

how big was the boa when you got him? if you are afraid of the snake it could potentialy hurt you, what about when it gets even bigger? what kind of feeding schedule fo you have him on, what are his temps, are there any females near him? a male durring this season could be frustrated, looking for a female. a large snake can be very hard to handle and an inexperienced keeper could get hurt. the snake is going to grow. you either need to start the hook training very consistantly or get someone to help you. when you use the hook, how are you "training" him? like, what are your techniques?

definately do NOT handle him on feeding day or take him out of the enclosure at all. is he a bcc or a bci?