Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a young Colombian redtailed boa the problem is i cannot get anywhere near him he is very snappy and aggressive. Any idea on how to calm him down will this wear off as he ages? Really could use some help on this i want to be able to handle him.

Hey there,
Worst case scenerio is not getting tame at all. Note, when I have
a rediculously mean Boa, I use leather gloves (I know, I am a
sissy lol). Also whenever the Boa moves to the front of the cage
most likely he is looking for food. Do you feed in the same cage
as he/she livs?? Also can be the common denominator. If there is
anything I can do to help, please PM me and I will give it my
best shot. If not, I am pretty sure I can find answers from
people who have WAY MORE EXPERIENCE than I do. I hope it all
works out! I have been bitten WAY TOO MANY TIMES, no fun.
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Kenny Bowman

"Symetry Exotics"
Honesty is the only route to TRUE respect, anything else is unacceptable....

I do not feed him in the cage he lives in i take him out and put him in a plastic tub. I feel you on the gloves he has tagged me a few times it is not fun. My issue is i have to handle him with a hook or if he is really angry my tongs and i really like to handle my snakes and i am afraid that if i cannot handle him soon i may have to sell him and i don't want to do that. Thanks for the help any other advice i can get would be greatly appreciated

Well there my friend, I hope everything works out for you. Im
glad I can be of help.
Also- With the tub feeding, maybe graduating to the next size
up on rodent? Most of the time they are just hungry, and ALL
Boas are different. Some will keep eating, never tame down and
get obese, others will seldom eat due to people watching or as
I would call it "stage fright", and then you have the perfect
Boa. Every 7-14 days (depending on age) feeding awesome, no
problems and an all around good animal. Have a good one
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Kenny Bowman

"Symetry Exotics"
Honesty is the only route to TRUE respect, anything else is unacceptable....

Right now he is eating two adult mice every four to six days he is a great eater. Do you think a larger enclosure would calm him down i have in a thirty gallon tank right now but i have other larger cages in line already and he is only maybe 1.5-2 feet long maybe inch inch and a half thick i was going to try to wait to move him up but you know if i got to i got to

Also making it like a 'real' habitat could be benificial to him
being comfortable. There is millions of different ways to try to
get them to calm down, some work and some dont. Can he eat small
or even Hopper rats? I would Highly recomend trying that if he is
2 1/2 ft (I think you said that)
I truely hope this all work out for you, I would hate to have to
get rid of a Boa that was mean mainly for that reason, so I
totally understand your scenerio's for making sure a nice setup
is established. If you need aything more, PM me, and I wll give
you my number and do my best to help you with the time/knowledge
I have. God Bless
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Kenny Bowman

"Symetry Exotics"
Honesty is the only route to TRUE respect, anything else is unacceptable....

A couple things. First off, IMO, there is no need to remove an animal from it's enclosure for feeding, unless its substrate and impaction you're worried about. Placing news print over it, and feeding on that, will fix that problem though. I believe it would be less stressful on the animal if you didn't have to remove it and replace it each feeding, possibly with tongs as you mentioned.

You can't get an animal used to handling, without ACTUALLY handling it. Hooks and tongs do not accomplish this for you. If you need to use those tools, then settle on the fact you're going to have a "wild" animal. IMO, they are ALL wild anyway, not "tame" as some people call them, but rather "accepting" of our interactions. Some not so much as others though.

Gloves are fine as a training aid, but they shouldn't be so thick as to limit your feeling of the reptile. If you use a softer glove, like a driving glove, then when you eventually take the glove off, the sensations the snake feels aren't that different. Handle a couple times a week, 10 min or so to start, then increase the time gradually. It's worked for me with several angry rescues.

Like I said though, all snakes are wild, and some just don't interact well. I have a 6 ft Honduran female that will give you a facial from the end of a hook if you aren't careful. Wouldn't have her any other way either. Be accepting to the idea that yours may just turn out the same way.

Good luck!

>>I do not feed him in the cage he lives in i take him out and put him in a plastic tub. I feel you on the gloves he has tagged me a few times it is not fun. My issue is i have to handle him with a hook or if he is really angry my tongs and i really like to handle my snakes and i am afraid that if i cannot handle him soon i may have to sell him and i don't want to do that. Thanks for the help any other advice i can get would be greatly appreciated
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Sublime Boa Constrictor

Thanks to everyone for the help as of recently he has calmed down enough for me to handle him almost as much as i would like he is still a bit snippy at times but doing much better. I moved him into a 55 gallon enclosure with lots of new scenery and many hide spots. I also am feeding him in his enclosure now and have increased the size of his food items so he is fuller with many new places to explore. Once again thanks for all the feedback and if i have anymore questions i will know where to come.
Mightybrownsnake

Some snakes never tame down-most do. What are your temps/humidity/heat source? Do you have hides on both the warm and cool sides of the cage? How long have you had the boa-give him time to acclimate. Do use the hook to take him out and let him crawl onto your arms. "mimic a tree" is a good way to proceed. Place a piece of a worn, unwashed t-shirt in the cage so the boa will associate your scent with the safety of his cage.

I have raised many boas including BCC and also retics and green anacondas. All very tame and all fed inside their cages. Snakes are territorial and may strike when you reach into the cage no matter where they eat. The time of my life when I got bit on a regular basis was when I fed outside the cage. I got bit going to and from the feeding bin. Since feeding inside I rarely get bit. Touch the snake with a hook every time the cage is openend except when feeding. The snake will soon associate the hook to mean "no food is coming". Moving a snake after eating is not good for the animal and many snakes hold onto their feeding response a long time after eating. My take on this is I want my snake to think it will never eat when taken out of its cage as opposed to associating being taken out is food time. Best of luck with your boa. Bill.
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.