Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here are some picture of three new Burms my friend Ron just got last week. The smaller female is tame once she is out of the cage. The bigger male and female are mean. Ron said the male will settle down after he is out for about 20 minutes. All three are eating just fine.

Here is the 9' female:

Here is the 12' female:
He got her in with this bad shed, Ron will have her looking better in a few days.

Here is the 12' male:

Take care
Tom

McCarthyBoas.com

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McCarthyBoas.com --------- Thanks & Take Care Everyone

Those are nice, normal colored burms but I do have a few comments (and they are not meant to be negative in any way but rather to inform and educate other folks who may not have a lot of experience in working with burms).

1) Burms are not "mean" - if these snakes have a tendency to strike, this is usually a sign that something in their environment is not quite right (lack of secure hiding areas, parasites, improper temps, poor diet, etc.)....sure, some burms just stay aggressive but having raised 100's of burms, only a small handful never calmed down for me.

2) Environment - incomplete sheds are a sign of a poor environment. Burms must have high humidity and warmth to remain healthy. Sure, everyone experiences a bad shed every now and then, but I have a feeling that this could be a common occurance with this particular animal. Humidity can be easily remedied by adding a cool air vaporizer in the room where the cage is located. Daily mistings with lukewarm water works great (I do both).

3) Handling - restraining an already aggressive burm by the neck is a sure fire way to keep that burm from ever trusting people. If this burm is aggressive, the only way it will ever trust being handled by people is through TLC...this means that you want to become as non threatening to the snake as possible and this only comes through a LOT of time in allowing the snake to get used to being around you and seeing you as a non threat. Restraining a burm (or any snake) by the neck will only make matters much works; plus, it is very dangerous for the snake because the bones in their neck region are very small and delicate and prone to break should the snake all of a sudden begin twisting on you. I am sure you just did this in order to take the picture but I just don't want other folks to think that this is a proper method for handling burms; it isn't.

Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation (IL)

Hi Rob,

I do agree with you on how to handle non-venomous snakes of course. However, Ron did get bit on the hand before I stopped by to take some pictures. He did not want to get bit again and this is why he is holding them the way he is in these pictures. The burms were also very hungry and Ron was getting ready to feed them after I took the pictures for him.

Take care
Tom McCarthy
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McCarthyBoas.com --------- Thanks & Take Care Everyone

I was assuming that the snake was being restrained for the sake of taking the picture....my comments were simply to warn folks who may not have as much experience in knowing the proper methods for handling these snakes.

Personally, it is nice to know that despite the temperment of a couple of the burms you showed, that folks are still willing to deal with their "special" personalities and give these animals a good life....in my experience, many aggressive burms are put down which is a sad fate for it isn't the fault of the snake. Glad you didn't take my comments personally.