Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok so i have a baby Guyana red tail atm and i have no worries about being able to handle a full grown Guyana (assuming 12' long 50lbs ) I am 6'2" - 6'3" and ~300lbs so no qualms there, however my girlfriend for 3 years (that lives with me) loves my snakes and she gets very attached to them, so she thinks there will be no problem when the snake gets larger. However i feel that i would be hesitant on letting her handle it alone (when its fully grown) if i wasnt at least in the house . . she doesn't seem to think its an issue. I know its a far ways away but i think about this kinda stuff. So what do you think? how deadly is a fully grown Guyana Red-tail? expecually for a smaller woman (she is like 5'4"

thanks in advance
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Russ
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Apollo)
1.0 Guyana Red-Tail Boa (Ares)
0.1 Rosy Boa (Athena)

Melbourne, Fl

Although not always practical, it's good practice to have someone else present when handling large snakes. Adam

To be perfectly honest even YOU shouldn't handle any boid over 10 ft without at least someone in ear shot. A 10 ft 50 lb boid is a bit more powerful than you would think.
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I agree danktat. I used to work at a zoo with primarily Burmese Pythons. You'd tend to forget how powerful they where due to their extreme tameness. I witnessed a few close calls in my years there. Better to err on the side of safety. Adam

I was told a 10' 50lb BCC is about as strong/powerful as a 18' burm because the BCC's are pound for pound stronger.
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Russ
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Apollo)
1.0 Guyana Red-Tail Boa (Ares)
0.1 Rosy Boa (Athena)

Melbourne, Fl

:-/ thats disheartening. I assumed that although being alone and under the effect of a large BCC that had a feeding response (on me lol) i would be able to handle the situation although i assumed that it might be hairy i wouldn't fear for my life. I was more worried about my girlfriend, i wouldn't think she would be able to do anything besides perhaps get some alcohol in the mouth or some such
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Russ
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Apollo)
1.0 Guyana Red-Tail Boa (Ares)
0.1 Rosy Boa (Athena)

Melbourne, Fl

It (in my opinion) is just a matter of safety. You probably could uncoil the snake from the tail but you probably couldn't just power your way out of the coils if it got around both arms or the neck could have you pass out in seconds (kind of like a choke hold from a martial aritst) before you could make your way free. Always nice to have someone near by just in case.
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If she insists on handling the snake alone, get a full length mirror in the snake room, so she can see where the head is etc. A bottle of hard liquor is better than rubbing alcohol, less lasting effects for the snake. She should never let the snake wrap around her neck. If she starts to have trouble handling a big snake she can learn a lot from male retic keepers. I learned about drag hooks and the whole thing from them. It's a way of handling snakes when they are way bigger than you are. If she can't lift 50# on a hook, she can still drag it on a drag hook, like a giant python keeper. Start with hook training now. I am 5'1" and 100 pounds. A large boa for me is less dangerous than a full sized retic is to a large man, such as yourself. Many people handle them safely. She should go hang out with a retic owner or talk to them. Keep your big snakes tame by frequent handling. It's better for a second person to be there, but it isn't always practical. The more knowlegable she is the safer she will be.

Good luck,
Caden
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com

Thanks for your responce, i dont think i will let her handle it alone after it gets over 7'-8'. What do you sudjest for alchohol? everclear? Jack D? Im not even of drinking age . . .

I have also wondered about hook training. I assumed that a snake is less likely to get agressive (feeding responce or out of fear) if it is out of its tank/cage. So i thought about starting to train it with a hook when it gets to a certain size (say 6-8') to decrease the chance of just sticking your hand in, scaring the animal and/or invoking a feeding responce and thne it grabs your and.

i might be sounding paranoid but i am by no means terrified of these snakes i just allways like to be prepared for ANY issues. Be it medical/housing/dangers

thanks for your responce
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Russ
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Apollo)
1.0 Guyana Red-Tail Boa (Ares)
0.1 Rosy Boa (Athena)

Melbourne, Fl

I hook train ALL of my animals. I used to deal with retics myslef which is where I learned the practice. Retics tend to have the thing where if they see movement they will hit first and figrure out if it is food later.....lol.....better to have em hit a hook and then realize that it is handling time or cage cleaning time or whatever than to hit my arm or hand (even without coiling and constricting). She can definately deal with large constrictors (well, relatively large being as though we are talking boas). It is best to learn as much as possible and pick up information wherever you can.

My wife is 4'7" and around 90 lbs. She was fine with my retics and burms (just never alone).
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At what age/size do you start doing this with your animals? its a little unpractical to pick my BCC up with a little stick to take it out of its 10g tank. Dontcha think?
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Russ
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Apollo)
1.0 Guyana Red-Tail Boa (Ares)
0.1 Rosy Boa (Athena)

Melbourne, Fl

We start using a hook with all of ours right off the bat, even if it is just to touch them lightly on the head or nose so they know it is not feeding time. Even to little ones can make you bleed if they get the inside of your finger, or worse, you can instictively jerk and fling them across the room. LOL

I am 5' tall and will not handle our biggest snakes alone. It is not that I feel like I would be in danger, it is that I cannot always get them off me and back in the cage if they don't want to go. I get them off my arm only to have them grab a leg. It really feels like wrestling with a very strong, large octopuss sometimes.

As your snake gets bigger your girlfriend will understand just how powerful they are, not mean, just strong.

Kathy

In my opinion it is BEST to get them started as early as possible. The reason for this is known as "classical conditioning" as coined by Pavlov. Even in a brain as primative as a reptilian one survival is dependant on being able to relate cause and effect. When your snake "learns" that the hook = handling and that it NEVER = food it will be less likely to mistake a hand for a mouse or be startled into a defensive strike. I start hooking my animals as neos. I find that they "ride" a hook better as adults as well if they have been doing it since being juviniles. All of my boas are tame enough NOT to use a hook (half of them have only eaten frozen/thawed food so they don't even strike and constrict their meals) but out of habbit (left over from the retic days) I hook them anyway. I know at first it may make you feel like a wimp to hood a 3 foot snake...lol...but (especially if your girl is going to be heavily envolved) it may pay dividens in the long run.
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...I meant "hook"....lol
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Maybe i'll pick up a hook at the pet store. . Even though i was just thinking about it my Guyana is a male so there is a good chance it wont be over 10' but still.

thanks for all the responces
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Russ
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Apollo)
1.0 Guyana Red-Tail Boa (Ares)
0.1 Rosy Boa (Athena)

Melbourne, Fl

Yeah start hooking your snakes as young as possible. It's about communication. The hook means "it's not dinnertime", and pretty soon you'll see your snakes act accoringly. This is such a cook way to communicate with your snake about something very important. Most bites are handler's mistakes.

There's no way you can keep your girlfriend from handling the snake if she wants to do that. I really suggest you encourage her to learn how to handle him properly. Start with the itty bitty hook now. ight seem silly but think of it as conditioning the snake. As he grows so will her knowlege. He's not going to be so big that it would be super dangerous for her to handle him without a second person. I mean it is always better to have a second person around. She can certainly learn to handle a boa. I am really serious about the full length mirror on the wall too. And, yes Jack Daniels will work. : )

Good luck,
Caden
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com

Males tend to be much smaller (not always.) I have a male that borders on the "dwarf" catagory. In his first two years, he was fed every 5-7 days (rats only- same size as the thickest girth of the snake,) and up 'till now (4 years old) he gets fed every 10-14. He occasionally refuses, and he is very picky-I have to wiggle the rat w/ tongs or FORGET IT. I was hoping for an impressive 30 pound snake when I bought him, but I just don't think it's gonna happen now. He is maybe 7-10 pounds. I love him anyway.That's a 4x4 post that the java branch is mounted on in the pic for size comparison.

the Guyana is a male, i am assuming he wont be much more then 10' then fully grown? if that?
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Russ
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Apollo)
1.0 Guyana Red-Tail Boa (Ares)
0.1 Rosy Boa (Athena)

Melbourne, Fl