Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a 7ft male columbian on sunday and i was wondering if anyone here could help me out with calming down. He hasn't stuck at me but he does do the intense stare, tongue flicking kinda move quickly at you thing that makes me kind of nervous. I have kept and bred snakes for years but he is my first large snakes. (I breed corns and kenyans so he is quite a change. I guess ill get to my question, is his such alert behavior normal for the red tails or is my apprehension justified. I must say i am not afraid of him its just i would really rather not get bit.

Toss a DIRTY shirt in the cage to get him used to your scent.

Does not have to be filthy, just have your smells on it.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Congrats on the new boa! I started out with one boa and a bunch of corns, 10 years later and I have 2 corns and a bunch of boas. They are such interesting snakes. The behavior you describe sounds fairly normal and I understand how it can make one wary, a bite from a full-grown boa is not horrible but it’s not exactly fun either. (in my photo album here at KS are some pics of when I got tagged by a 7’ boa, the full bite and wrap from an SFE.)

The t-shirt trick already mentioned is a good thing to do. It helps the boa get used to your scent and not see you as a threat. Consistent gentle handling will go a long way. If he starts bluff striking at you don’t let that stop you or he’ll learn that it works. You can use something as a shield (I like the tops of rubbermaids) to put between your hand and his face so you can pick him up and not get bit. Normally once they are being picked up they stop all the striking. I’ve been working for the past year on conditioning my snakes with water and a snake hook. When I open the cage, I mist them with water on the face and touch their heads with a snake hook. Then put the ‘tools’ down and pick them up. It’s been working and now as soon as they get the one mist and touch of the hook they immediately calm down, even the two that I considered ‘aggressive’ (some are just hungry all the time!). I usually pick up my boas from the middle, not too near the head, just lift them up with one hand near the middle and one closer to the tail to support the bulk of the weight. Some never completely calm down and as with any snake, it is a wild animal and bites can still happen. Just be persistent and constant with your actions and things should go well.
Good luck!
-April
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'There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."' -Rainshadow

Wow thank you guys very much for all the helpful advice. Im going to try the shirt thing tomorrow, i would today but i just fed him and i would rather not have him associate my smell with food >.

Sorry it cut off some of my message. What i said was that i really dont think he WOULD bite, the worst he does is open his mouth a bit when he gets agitated. Nice snake tho in general tho, seeing as i just got him i think he is doing very well being in a new place with new smells and everything. Hoping to get a female sometime soon as well =) BABIES!!!

There are levels of alertness lol If he's opening his mouth he's not just being alert! He's thinking of tagging you. Here's another trick. After you do the tshirt thing, when you are ready to take him out and handle him the first time. Put gloves on, and pick him up with a hook, but have a pillowcase handy. Don't try to support the whole snake on the hook, just pick up the snake near the head with the hook and grab the rest of him with your other hand. Use the hook to manouver his head away from you. If he's a handful, pop him in the pillowcase and put him on your lap for a couple of minutes then put him back. You can do this and get him used to being handled and coming out without risking much. Eventually when you abandon the pillowcase he will be much more ready to be handled face to face.
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com
http://slitheringserpents.com

I have been bringing him out about five minutes a day, He hasnt struck but does do this like short burst kind of hiss. He isnt opening his mouth anymore. When i do bring him out i typically sit on my bed and let him crawl around my lap, the only thing i really dont let him do is have his head up by mine. Thank you guys again for all your advice.

n/p
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My Photobucket

I have a BCL Male that requires all this and a blast shield

>>n/p
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>>My Photobucket
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TnK

I have a friend we gave him the name andycondahe deals with mostly anacondas is why. I have never understood the term chainsaw describing an attitude until I met some of his snakes. For some things I suppose there is nothing short of armor plating that can help tame them.
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My Photobucket