Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone, I have had Ball Pythons now for a number of years. I am kind of a fan of how the Ball Pythons in general are on the most part very docile. But I really like the Red Tails, and would love to get into the Red Tail hobby.

But the three Boa's that I have been around over to a friends house were very defensive, and would strike often. I know each snake has it's own temperment, but I was just wondering if on the most part the Red Tail is more often than not, prone to strike.

If that is their nature, is there a way to calm the Boa down, so that they are not stressed so much to strike. Maybe by handling often, or how they are caged, or do they mellow with size and age? Or how about genetics, do some of the morphs tend to be more calm that a Boa Normal?

As you can tell I am just looking for a handable snake. And here's why, my wife tolerates the Ball Pythons because of their calmness, but if she thinks one of the snakes I have has a tendacy to strike or be aggressive, she would have an issue with that. My wife may be smaller than me, but I fear her.

If you hold a boa often you should have no problems with aggresion.

From what I have seen and dealt with with hypos, they are a little more in tune and more sensitive than a normal boa. We have a normal columbian, a pastel columbian and a normal Guyanese. The Guyana is w/c, the others are c/b/b. She is just as docile as the other two, but the pastel will crawl up and lay around my wifes neck and go to sleep. All are regualarly handled. All are fed in their cage. All have been hook trained, and they only have to be touched and rubbed gently with the hook before reaching in an picking them up out of their cages. They will get a little aggitated if they have a retained eye cap, but still will not strike. The only strikes I have seen have been as a hunger strike. The pastel actually tagged me with his nose on my finger one time, but never opened his mouth during the strike. It was my mistake that made him do so, and I am lucky I was not bitten. You can start with a neonate and with your experince in ball pythons, should have no trouble handling and learning your snakes behaviors. Above all keep him fed so you can avoid the hunger strikes so as not to frighten your wife. Normal columbians in the right hands will be great captives. My hypo was a pissy [bleep] when we got her. She was purchased for my wife, who politely gave her to me when she saw how aggressive she was. I have done much work with her in the two years of her being here, and now she is a much calmer animal. I still don't put complete faith in her attitude though. Hope this has helped some, and sorry it was so long.
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1.0 red phase western hognose
1.0 100% het albino columbian
1.0 pastel columbian
0.1 dub het sunglow
0.1 hypo columbian
0.1 guyana
1.2 jcp
1.0 irian jaya
1.2 normal balls
1.0 spider ball
0.1 pastel ball
1.0 granite al burm
0.1 granite het al burm
0.1 albino burm
1.0 sunfire retic
0.2 tiger retics
0.0.1 sulcata tortoise
1.0 potbelly pig (Oscar)
1.0 pug (Frank)
1.1 pit bull terriers (Marlboro & Coco)
1.0 house cat (Kitty)
0.1 wife who puts up with me

Dumeril's Boa is an awesome option if you want a snake that is mellow, easy to take care of, and won't get too big. I talked a bit more about them in your other post.

Paul D
My reply to your other post

ever seen an 8 foot dumeril? i had a female that big lmao
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2 triple het sharps m/f
1 motley with attitude
1 sharp anery albino f when i get off my butt and get her from classareptilia
1 fridge with a 12 pack in it

Yeah, females can get as big as 10 feet long, but I recommended a male because they rarely get much bigger than 6 feet long.

Paul D

Boas can be some of the most calm, gentle snakes you will find but some grow fairly large as opposed to ball pythons. Hang around here, read all you can find on the web, ask questions and make a decision. As has been suggested Dumerils Boas make wonderful pets, are calm, and stay fairly small. Hog Island Boas are another option. A nice, normal Colombian Boa makes a very good pet. Regular, proper handling is the key with any boa. My interest is in the true redtail BCC: Peruvian and Surinames. They are the largest of boas and said to be more high strung/aggressive. I can just reach in the cage and pick any of mine up. Good luck with your search and hobby. 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.

well once again this is my opinion
ways that work for me if it is a pet boa rules to the game
1) boas have a very strong feeding response so i recommend that you never feed them in their cage for the first two years you dont want them thinking your hand is a food source lmao
2)when you get the new loved baby wait a week to get use to the new digs and use to the routine you set aka water food etc do not handle the baby at this time could cause stress
3) once the acclimation period is done then handle it for a 1/2 hour a day for a couple of days remember babies can be nippy at times and slowly ad more time after it gets use to being handled
4) after time has progressed and your snake had recognized each other for pets i always take the time to handle them at lease 4 to five times a week. even my breeders are started off this way
5)boa's are a different reptile than anything Ive ever delt with but the rewards of a loving and well acclimated boa are above and beyond most snakes my lil motley female actually comes to me to be held when i open her tub which is one of those you got to see to believe things lmao and like you said every boa / snake has its own personality but they are very predictable once you learn the body language

this is my opinion and some will argue it but this is what works for me and trust me when i say i am terrorized by the thought of getting bit lmao and i can honestly say none of my boas have bit me yet but i have been striked at but that was my stupidity

Ray
have fun
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2 triple het sharps m/f
1 motley with attitude
1 sharp anery albino f when i get off my butt and get her from classareptilia
1 fridge with a 12 pack in it