Posted by:
ProfW
at Wed Aug 30 20:25:07 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by ProfW ]
Hi, all. I'm looking for suggestions on how to handle a rather odd situation.
The backstory is that I'm a former major ophidiophobe who, about nine years ago, somehow caught the snake bug in a big way. (Sort of like the old joke about former atheists being the best preachers.) Anyway, my small collection eventually consisted of 3 ball pythons, a cornsnake, and a 6-foot boa constrictor. The boa and I always had a bit of a trust issue, but we more or less got past it. I'd take him out and haul him around, and he only bit me a couple of times, little nervous nips that meant, basically, "Look, I know I'm supposed to be a calm snake, but I'm *really* freaked out!"
Now, fast-forward to about two years ago. My marriage falls apart, and the short story is that my ex-wife has had possession of my snakes ever since. Now here's the bad news: The boa, who was never the calmest fellow, has not been handled once in two years, and associates the opening of his cage now only with feeding. And for all of us who have ever seen a big snake crash headlong into the plexiglass in a full-fledged "Gimme that rat!" strike, you know it's not a reassuring sight.
It looks like I may soon again have possession of my snakes. But I am puzzled and frankly nervous about trying to socialize the boa again. He's big, he's twitchy, he's bitey, and I'm not looking forward to messing with him. I believe the operative word here is "fear." (Hey, I'll admit it.)
Does anyone have any suggestions about the best way to proceed? How would you go about re-socializing this snake? Thanks in advance for any input.
Wayne
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 Starting over with a big, bitey snake - ProfW, Wed Aug 30 20:25:07 2006
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