I used to keep boomslangs a few years ago and even bred them at one point. They are truly amazing snakes with behaviors that are very unique. To put it in a phrase, I'd say they are very 'bird-like' as far as snakes go. They are extremely alert and will keep a very close eye on you when you enter the room. None of them that I've kept were what I would deem as 'aggressive' or defensive, and in fact they were actually quite docile and easy to handle and deal with. Of course, they were still quite lethal, but it's easy to drop your guard around snakes like that. It was tempting to me anyway.
I acquired the snakes I bred as w.c. adults and it took a little while to get them cleaned out and feeding. By the way, speaking of boomslang docility - that COMPLETELY goes out the window during feeding time! I firmly believe, the boomslang keeper is in the most danger from his/her captives during feeding times. My snakes would open their mouths as wide as they could and fly all over the cage snapping at anything that moved. In other words - separate boomslangs (if keeping them together) during feeding.
I didn't intentionally breed them, and apparently they don't need any really stringent cycling period to get them to produce successfully. I acquired them in September, they began courtship procedures in January, first copulated in February, copulated again through the months until May, and then laid eggs in late June or early July. The incubation period was long for a colubrid - 76 or 77 days. The babies hatched with giant heads and bright green eyes, and wouldn't eat for anything. I tried live pinks, dead pinks, frogs, lizards, lizard-maker scenter, bird-scented this and that, nada. I finally resorted to assist feeding, and let me tell you, those babies' fangs were EVERY bit long enough to reach out and get you if you weren't careful. Gradually, the four babies I had dropped one by one, likely due to stress, and finally the fourth one began eating on his own a fully 9 months after they hatched. I received some baby booms from a friend a couple years ago, and the same process occurred. It's really unfortunate, but the babies are just a real pain to get started.
Despite that, they are an extremely rewarding species to keep. Also, they have a very unique smell I've never smelled with any other snake or other animal at all - very much like licorice or celery. It's especially strong when they shed and will make your entire snake room smell like them. Fortunately, it's not a bad smell.
If you get boomslangs, just be careful and keep a sensible head about you, and you'll be fine. Keep in mind: if you get envenomated, you're very likely to hemorrhage until you die before you can get the specific monovalent antivenom.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com
