Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am a long time reptile owner but new to Boa's and snakes in general. Please, bear with me as I am way behind on my education but doing all I can to get the knowledge I need. I had a question regarding humane safety and owning large Boa's or any large snake for that matter. The question below was posted to a breeder as I am preparing to purchase from him.
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When a larger Boa reaches full size (8 to 10 feet), is it unsafe to handle these snakes while alone? (I am planning on getting 2 possibly - they are babies now 12 inches long)
I have heard that they suggest not handling large snakes while alone in case of them constricting an owner.
I don't believe everything I hear but one guy near where I live (San Jose CA.) died, as his Boa wrapped around him and constricted. I had to ask myself, was that a one out of a million chance? It made headline TV news. I guess he was a long time owner but lived alone and he was found in his kitchen dead. How likely is that?
I believe it’s like shark attacks 1 out of 100 million chances but want to be informed as much as possible as when talking life or death you can’t underestimate anything. Are there preventive measures I can take to insure my safety besides daily bonding with my animals? Are their products on the market or in the home one can use, if the event a snake starts to constict? I can’t imagine I will normally have another person present when I handle these snakes. With large Iguana’s Melissa Kaplan suggest using rubbing alcohol to get them to release. I know that sounds crazy as being around 4.5 foot Iguana’s for a long time and not getting bitten but knowing how they strike, I think by the time you grab anything it’s too late. I breed lizards and have some large Rhino Iguana's and Argentine Tegu so I am use to handling large reptiles. I realize that Boa’s specially obtained as babies tame easily. I handle all my animal’s daily but I guess I am apprehensive about some safety issues as with large lizards there is some danger but with a snake 10 feet long, I guess there can be death should it choose to coil. Safety comes to mind when I realize the size these will get. I'm new to snakes so I will be reading up a lot. But staying in tune with the saying “Safety First” I think there are things I want to know so I can make this a harmonious and safe environment for snakes and humans alike. Any help very appreciated.
Thanks Steve

As with any animal... Dogs, cats, cows, chickens.. horses, there is always some amount of danger to yourself...And that includes with all exotics.. maybe its even more astute to say so with exotics.. however, I have owned large pythons and do own a boa at this time... I have practiced safety precaution though not always did I have a second person around to help me care for them. You can't always rely that someone will be around to help you. But you can keep common things like rubbing alcohol.. vinegar..or even some type of whiskey thats high in alcohol around. Most snakes and lizards will release their bites and sometimes their coils if that stuff is poured over their mouths... Hot water can also help... some people keep hoses hooked up to deal with this.. That usually does make a snake uncoil reflexively. Fighting the animal does not. The more you struggle the tighter they get... You have to remember that these animals subdue their prey by tightening around the animal everytime it breathes out lessening the space available for the lungs to inflate and gradually starving them of oxygen. Good safety tips are the same for all large reptiles... Make sure you wash your hands before handling to minimize risk of bites through mistaken identity.. IE as food.. Never feed in the snake's enclosure.. take them out into a seperate container for feeding.. Handle often but not too often... Handling too often can stress them as much as anything else... My boa is handled every couple of days... and I've never even heard him hiss...
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Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)
3.1 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzard and 2 het Blizzard)
0.1 Savannah Monitor
13 rats
12 Gerbils
2 Dogs
3 cats
1 Albino Corey (fish)

And, this is just my opinion..............
NEVER feed outside of an animals enclosure!!! It honestly isn't a problem till the animal has some size to it. People's arguement to ouside feeding is...The animal will think you are trying to feed it when you open the cage. Well, the flip side to that is....The animal will think you are trying to feed it while it is being taken out. You have much more control keeping an animal in its cage and feeding it.....Then out.
I realize I am being a bit of a hypocrite here since I do feed some of my animals out of there tank. But, the reason is due to have more than one boa in a tank. Personal experience has proven to me that I am in MUCH MORE danger with the boas that are out of the tank than in. I am in the process of buying a couple more tanks due to this. I really enjoy having some boas housed together. But, with time, I think I will have to sepereate them all unfortunately.

The animals that I am dealing with are around 7ft. I could not imagine doing this with a large animal. It just seems down right dangerous to me.

Two important tools to have are these....
1) 18in long hemostat tongs.
2) A snake hook.

No person should be without. I will use these on my tamest of snakes.

Now, to your other question. If you raise an animal from a baby I doubt you will have any problems. Like it has been said. You will learn it's personality and be able to read it's body language. I can not under stress that!!! Learn to read your animals. You'll be amazed by what they will tell you.

Most baby reaised animals are confident in their owners arms. They will not fling around or hold on for dear life. Just make sure you cultivate that.

And, it is true. You can not always have someone around when you are holding a large snake. But, from experience again, you should do your best. A mature, thick, muscular animal can cause you some damage. All these tricks with alcohol, knives, and such sound great........But, in reality these tools will only help you if you get bit in the "right places". Just to be blunt. It is always good to have someone else around with a large mature snake.

Now, I am not trying to worry you. BCI's really are great animals that are generally very tame. You just need to be responsible and be safe. A lot of these news paper articles are more than not painting a picture of a horrible keeper. You know...One who gets drunk and thinks that it will be fun to take the snake out during a party....Only to get bit in the face. Or, the burmese python owner who secured the animals cage with a piece of plywood and a 50lb weight. Only to find the snake got out and killed their son.

The world is full of stupid people sad to say. The only thing we can try to do is not be one of them.
John
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"To be the best..........You must lose your mind."

First and foremost thing to remember are these are wild animals no matter how long and how tame we think our boas etc are they are wild.
To your question of handling large boas i would have to say that each animal is a case by case assumption, meaning that if you rasie you boa from a baby you will learn there habitats of when to mess with them and how to handle them.Obvious no no's are NEVER smell like there food , always use something other then your hand to feed them with ( tongs forcepts )Being someone that has always handled all of my snakes alone and with no help of others i approach each animal differently.I have had over the years every large constrictor other then a Anaconda including Africn rocks upto 13 ft , Burmese upto 18 ft ,Reticulated upto 14 ft and various other lengths of these animals .What i can tell you is that you will learn ech snake on a individual basis and learn there demeaners when to and when not to handle them who to "trust" ans who not to trust. out of all my large snakes i always handled them alone only time i was ever in a comprimising postion was with a 10 ft albino burm who did strike me and coil my arm luckily just my arm. this happened due to it being a new and unfamilar surrounding IMHO that he wasnt sure of and that the fact i relaxed my guard (and the fact my dog came in the room which may have prempted the strike) luckily it was my hand that suffered the brunt of this bite 14 stiches worth of it .

As to boas my largest was 9 ft and the most docile snake she was raised with great care and attention and was used to do educational shows at schools where she was handled on a regular basis and babied like a child.she would even go as far as to lay on the couch with my Lab beside her and neither EVER gave the other a notion of a problem. After the burmese episode i always kept a spray bottle of vinegar around "Just in case " i would have to say that some no no's would be letting the snake around your neck would be the obvious due to the fact they are much quicker then we will ever be if they decided to coil/constrict for any reason we would be hard pressed in removing it fast enough to prevent damage or death with my snakes i have let them do this but ONLY few times am i stupid some say yes careless, i have to say no due to the fact the ones that did were always in a controlled enviroment or as best i can say a controlled enviroment. You will learn each snake in time and some will even teach you lol but common sense has to be the #1 key in handling / owning any large snake always know that no matter how "educated that you think you are " they are always the wiser animal some will always be aggressive to the point you may get bit when handling some will just be a bite to say BACK OFF some will bite to mean buisness nothing is a given when messing with mother nature except expect the unexpected atall times.
only perfect example that comes to mind is The guy in Vegas with his Bengal tiger he had it for yrs and trusted it and the outcome almost cost him his life and did cost him his career so the moral is spend time with them learn them and ALWAYS respect them and not take them for granted , never let your guard down. while its always advised to have a second person around for the "just in case clause" it can be done without with common sense and precautions and of course a hand gun doesnt hurt lol J/K
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....

Most boa's will not get large enough to where you will need two people to handle them and when they bite (if they do) they tend to just hit and return to there striking position. I have yet to have any problems or get bit, but I do have a pair of imports that are very nervous and strike at me when ever they get the chance. They are about 8 ft now and still growing my guess is they will reach the 12 ft range as there mother was 12 ft when they were born and I have seen the damage thay can do, A friend of mine got bit by the female and he had 14 stitches. I could only imagine what they could do it they got ahold of my face.