Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I understand that tail wagging occurs in a number of different species of snakes, and that it occurs for a number of reasons (defense, luring of prey, spreading of pheromones, etc). In the case of my 8' female columbian red-tail, however, it only occurs while she is feeding. If it was everytime she was out of the cage or even if it occurred just prior to her striking the food (always f/t of course), I would assume it was defensive. If she did it all the time, I would assume she was spreading pheromones as she has been locked up with my male on and off for 2 months now. However, the only time she ever "wags" her tail is during the process of constricting or swallowing a prey item.
She is a large boa who spent the first 6 years of her life as a display animal in a pet store, so she is not startled by the presence of people, and besides that is only fed in the presence of my roommate and myself(to avoid distractions, etc).
In any case what does everyone think? Does she just feel vulnerable, or threatened, while constricting and swallowing food, or is it just some odd trait she has. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Chris

Well, not knowing what your cage set up is, maybe she is searching for something to latch onto??? I have a couple sub adults that will do this until they find something to "anchor" onto and then they just hook the tail around it and continue feeding. If there is nothing in the cage for her to do this on, maybe you can test the theory by putting something near her tail next time and see what happens when she comes in contact with it. She may "anchor" onto it, she may just move it out of the way. You did say it was a female right??? Females just tend to be strange in any species, so it may just be that too-LOL! Take care.

Paul

Thanks for replying. I'll try placing something near her for her to latch onto next time and see if what she does.

Thanks again,
Chris