Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my boa (red-tail, probably Colombian but who knows?) for more than a decade. She was formerly very very tame and people-oriented, but due to a protracted illness on my part, she went unhandled for more than a year and has become very aggressive. Does anyone have any tips on re-gentling a boa that was once very tame, but has become aggressive? I would like to return her to the sweet creature she once was.

only thing you can really do is take the heat and try and handle her. Do you feed him/her in the cage she lives in?

No, I've always fed her in a separate enclosure... a large plastic storage box. And she eats pre-killed.

So you think it can be done? If it can't be done, she will always have a home with me, but I would prefer that she be tame again.

i think a snake should be fed in its cage for more reasons than i can type in half an hour. If your snake knows that its only going to eat while its in its cage then if you carefully remove it from its cage i believe it will be less likely to bite you in the face because its sitting on your shoulders waiting for food. also some snakes dont eat after they have been handled and some snakes puke if they are handled after they eat. Most of the time feeding response in boas is mistaken for a bad temper. If you are careful picking it up and handle it with caution I'd bet she'll act as nice as she ever has. part of what makes a boa a great pet is that they're generally mellow and generally predictable. best of luck

I think feeding a snake in its cage leads to bites. If a snake is accustomed to food coming in the cage door, it will bite at what comes in the cage door. If a snake is accustomed to eating in a separate container, it is less likely to bite at what comes in the door.

I don't handle my snake for more than a few seconds before or after feeding. I move her from the cage to the food box, she eats, then I don't handle her at all- I tip her from the food box into the cage. I certainly wouldn't drape her around my shoulders during feeding time- that's just asking for trouble.

I don't know about your snakes, but when mine hit puberty the way she behaved at meal times changed. She goes into a frenzy where she'll bite whatever moves or is close to her prey. She's 12 years old now, and she has never vomited after feeding (although once she did get hissy after eating a very large rat. I think she had a stomach ache.)

Take an old T Shirt of yours, go run a marathon do a bunch of situp's pushup's maybe some mountain climbers, basically get the thing really smelling of your funk.

Place that in her cage for a long time, bite the bullet, get a hook, whatever, start handling her on a weekly basis. The combination of increased handling in conjunction with the funky shirt will get her reacustomed to you and your smell. Another tip wash your hands before handling her, with an odorless cleaner.

You want her thinking your friend not foe or food.

Cheers
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

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Good sounding advice Jeremy gave.
I like to feed my Boas in their enclosures.They only get crazy when they smell the food.Unless they are very hungry they will not strike at cage or movement.Most of my Boas,I don't even have to use a hook to notify them I'm coming in the enclosure.They know its me and never bite at me.If I had to feed all of my Boas out of their enclosure it could take days,LOL
Back to the question or retaming the Boa.Jeremy covered it as far as I can see.It will take time and patience.Lar M

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Boas By klevitz

I fed my Boas in separate tubs for over ten years. Each had their own feeding tub to avoid any possible cross-contanimation. While they would feed, I'd change water and clean any cages that needed it. Then put a towel over their head, and gently move them back to their cages. -never a problem. I'd wash the feeding tubs, but not the lids so they could smell the scent and know it was time to eat.

Now that my collection has doubled in the last few years, I feed them in their own cages, and change their water on a different day, and clean cages when needed (as always). I have noticed no difference in their actions as far as aggression is concerned, just don't reach in after a meal.

I think it comes down to "what you prefer". I don't think that one way is better than the other.
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Snake room janitor

I think it is a little more daunting a task to retrieve a boa from a front opening cage than a top opening one.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer