Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I got my boa constrictor for my 17th birthday after much research and planning. She was very young when I got her, and I made sure not to underfeed her (I've had a previous ball python that was pretty nasty, and attributed that to her being fed one mouse each week for a few years) and I held her every day so that she would not associate people with feedings.

About 6 months after having her (So she would be 7-8 months old), I guess she went through an extreme growth spurt because wanted to eat everything in sight. I moved her up a rat size and tried feeding her once every 5 days instead of every 7 days. I quickly changed her feeding schedule to one lg rat every 2 weeks, and she's been extremely aggressive for almost 6 months now, and it's very upsetting for me.

She's around5ft long, and I use a snake hook to remove her from the cage - once she's out of the cage she is calm as can be, but I have to mentally prepare myself before I handle her, so I don't hold her everyday, more like once a week. The really upsetting part is that everytime I walk past her cage, she strikes at me based only on her heat senses. I've googled this issue and not much seemed to come up on the topic. I'm hoping that she will grow out of this "stage" and calm down in the fall or winter at least - she just cracked her plexiglass cage door today.

Please help me if you can give any advice! And thank you for reading my post.
-Marie

Last year I purchased a full grown adult female boa. I knew ahead of time she had an attitude problem. When I got her to the house I set her up in a 4'L x 2'W x 1'H cage. She was constantly striking at the glass. I gave her 2 hide boxes (one at each end of the cage) that she could completely conceal herself under. They took up 2/3 of the cage. This helped prevent her from striking at the cage door, but it didn't help when it was time to take her out for cleanings etc. I finally moved her into a 6'L x 2'W x 2'H cage (with both hides added), and haven't had any problems with her since. I still don't handle her that much, but she doesn't seemed stressed. Nor does she strike at me or anyone else anymore. You may want to try giving the snake a place to conceal its' self, and possibly giving it more room.

Hope this helps.
Anthony-

This does make sense. I think I wrongfully attributed her striking to being starving, when she really may just be defensive. I'm going to college soon and she is coming with me, so that will be a good opportunity to move her into a larger space.
Thank you! It is so good to know there is hope!

I completely agree with the response you were given.
LOTS of hides (I use THREE with one of my skittish girls) and a ton of space are really helpful. They don't feel as threatened by movement in front of the doors when they can stay the heck away from them.

Also, don't overthink the feeding schedule, I do think it's more about security than hunger, unless you were only feeding your snake once every few months. The abovementioned boa eats once every week or two (and she's a full-size adult) and is still a cranky girl. A male I have, who is still growing, is much less apt to eat, but is completely non-aggressive even when he hasn't eaten for a month.

GOOD for you for sticking with this snake. I see so many ads on craigslist and other places where people try desperately to dump their snakes once they've become larger, or once the owner heads off to college.

Thanks!! I'm a little thrown off by her, because she is CONSTANTLY at the front of the cage watching me! I have two hides for her, and I'll be getting her more space asap!

Hi Marie, I got a call from my nephew claimed he had the snake from h*ll, and could not find a new home for him. His complaint was that the snake would strike the glass when he walked by, and he had been bit about a dozen times in the year that he had him.

I took the Boa off his hands and I happened to have an open cage that was in our small spare bedroom that was inside a closet. I placed him in the cage and closed the door and left him in there for a couple of days. When I took him out he was the gentlest snake I had, and still is to this day. He is my go to snake now when someone is over and just has to try and hold a snake for the first time.

I found out later that my nephew had him in a glass aquarium where there is occasional traffic. This seemed to have him so stressed that he was constantly on the defense. So I agree with what was mentioned in the prior responses. My nephews Boa was like two different snakes, one when he felt vulnerable and exposed, the other when he helt completely hid and safe.

Thank you! What is his cage made of? I currently have her in a wooden homemade cage that is 38"x22" with small sliding plexiglass doors and a hinge screen top. She has two hides also. I just bought a very large cage, 6' x 2.5' x 1.5' which is all wood with a hinge screen top.This is going to be enormous for her, I will probably have room for more than 3 hides and she is only about 5ft long. I'm hoping this will do the trick, I'm just refurbishing the newly purchased used cage for her before I move her in.

What size rat are you feeding her?

Both Ball pythons and Boa's are calm for the most part, for you to have one of each and they both act the same way is a big coincidence.

Maybe she's always hungry?

I know it can be a challenge for new keepers the info online is limited, but you always have the forums and you've come to the right place...
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BoaConstrictorFacts

At first I thought she was always hungry before I posted on here. The ball python I had was adopted from my cousin, because he was afraid of her and I underestimated her defensiveness.
I feed Lucy a large/jumbo f/t rat every 10 days or so. My dad's friend advised that I was actually overfeeding her and wanted me to feed her every 2 weeks, but I don't want her to injure herself from striking the glass so I usually give in after a week or just over a week and feed her. After I feed her she usually disappears for a day or two and then takes up striking at the front of the cage again.