Reptile & Amphibian Forums

About two months ago I bought a boa from a reptile show. He was about 6 months old. When I bought him he seemed really calm and docile. After a few days of letting him get used to his cage I went to pick him up and he was very angry(hissing and striking). I have been working with him for a couple months now and he is still very angry when I pick him up. He will calm down some after a few min of handling.

Do you know the general region of its heritage, such as "Colombian" or Central American?

Cooler temps in some reptile show facilities make for less aggressive boas.

Most boas grow out of defensive aggression, some have aggressive moods that come and go all their lives, and some are just plain always on the defense.

I have had a BCI (generic colombian) that was mean for a few months then became calm from then on. I have had a central american that was mostly calm but had his moments from time to time. I have a Sonoran that is mean all of the time.

The "frequent gentle handling sessions" method to tame a boa works for most boas but not all. Some localities are more prone to defense, especially the smaller races.

Keep up with the handling. You will know in time which boa you have. Remember that baby snakes of any type are often quick to defend themselves. Make sure your cage is not overheated. A very warm boa will be more active and possibly agitated. Do not confuse food aggression with defense. All boas seem to relish feeding time, and they will often be in strike mode when the cage is approached. The "tame" boas often release from strike mode when gently touched or pulled with a snake stick. Unless really hungry.

Thank you for your advice. I am not sure where he is from. He is a hypo with a lot of orange coloring to him if that helps. It is not a food aggression I am pretty sure. Just going to be a mr pissy pants I guess. he is somewhere around 8 months old. He is a very beautiful snake and I will continue to work with him and hope for the best. If I breed him would the babies come out aggressive also?

Well, he still has some growing up to do. I will bet that he will be better as an adult than he is now.

Breed him with the calmest female you can find. Aggression is inheritable, though not predictive. Same with lack of aggression.

As far as breeding aggressive Boas -- I have bred some very mellow Boas , and got totally fiesty babies - more than once. I have also bred Boas that were un-handlable because they were so mean , and they have produced very calm babies . I do not agree that it is inheritable . Boas are Boas, its a 50 / 50 shot . About half of my collection (45 Boas) are mellow . The others , not so much.
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Snake room janitor

I hear you. Interesting subject, I appreciate your input.

Can any other breeders cite experiences? Is aggression completely random in your opinion?

It is an interesting subject.

I've had at least one litter for the past 11+ years.

I don't know if I am just incredibly lucky but I have only had one neonate bite me when I initially handled them. It was a flash bite only too, I picked it up and it was nice and calm.

I remove the mother and babies on the day they are born. I place the babies together for a few days then separate them.

Out of all the boas I've bred only one had a bad temperament.
I handle them all and I raise them up as well.

I had one a few years back that was docile and never struck until she was an adult. She was a hypo het for khal. Once she was over 6 feet she was usually calm but she could be completely unpredictable. The first time she tagged me caught me completely by surprise.

My experience is that if you handle them as neonates they grow up nice and calm. I aim to handle them at least one time a week for over 15 minutes. The one that changed on me was never handled as a neonate when I bought it.
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