Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Today I was bitten by my adult Columbian. He's always been a mellow guy so I'm wondering why he would do that. I had him out of the cage and on my lap. He was crawling around in my arms for a minute then struck me. I've been struck before when reaching in the cages of my other snakes, but I figure that's the ocassional feeding response mistake. Any idea why he would strike while I was holding him?

maybe he didn't like how you smelled (soap, deodorant???). it does illustrate though how unpredictable these wild animals can be (wild as in not domesticated).

Ditto !
Human logic never lines up with wild animal behavior

TnK
>>how unpredictable these wild animals can be (wild as in not domesticated).

Yep, and also watch out if you have been handling chicken.. I know the smell of raw chicken can trigger a very strong feeding responce, I'm not sure about cooked chicken.

Did he 'go' once you returned him to his cage?

This might sound crazy, but I think many times they fall asleep
soaking up our heat when we handle them.

I don't think they like being disturbed when they relieve
themselves. I had a Hog Island boa try and bite me out of the
blue in a similar situation. When I put him into his cage he
proceeded to take a huge dump...

No he didn't poop afterward. I did notice that he flexed his ribs out while in the cage right as I picked him up. I'd never seen that before. The only other thing I can think of is right before he bit me I was trying to direct him to move in a certain direction as he was crawling. I may never know the reason but the bummer is since he's so big and the bite was pretty nasty I'm a little scared to handle him again. I've always thought the hairy part was getting them out of the cage and have never been bit when holding one.

I agree with the previous poster... I've had them seem to fall asleep while being held, usually when they are out for more than 30 min or so. Then when I move and the boa wakes up, they go right into ‘defensive’ posture. I was bitten once in that situation (luckily, my leg was bit and I was wearing jeans so I didn’t feel a thing). It’s never fun to get bitten by a large snake, esp. when you don’t expect it. It can definitely put you off handling the boas but all you can do is just move on and accept that it’s a part of having a ‘wild’ creature.

It made me very nervous for a while after the first big bite by a large boa. I bought a hook and sometimes use the top of a Rubbermaid as a shield when getting them out of the cage if I feel nervous. I’ve been trying to train them (ie. Pavlov’s dog) by misting the snake and using the hook to rub the top of it’s head, then use my hands to pull them out, it’s helped me get over the nervousness and hopefully is ‘training’ my snakes to calm down when they feel the spray and the pet on the head. Don’t give up, it was probably just a freaky thing. When they fall asleep while being held, just make sure to move slowly and let them wake up. I usually move them so they wake up and then stay pretty still until they relax from the defensive position, then go about normal business. The more you interact with them, the more you can read your boa and start to see these responses and avoid it in the future.
Good luck!

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'There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."' -Rainshadow

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. This guy has always been so docile and predictable but it goes to show that one needs to maintain caution when handling snakes. I've been tagged by my smaller boas and pythons and it was no big deal. But this is a creepy looking wound complete with puncture marks and bruises. I'll probably wear more protective clothing next time I handle him to regain my confidence. Thanks again.