Reptile & Amphibian Forums

having a recent problem with my boa i have put branches in my tank but now when i am trying to take her out she is having none of it and is wrapping her tail round the nearest branch
do they enjoy being taken out? as i used to bring her out all the time and would you suggest keeping my tank to basic and take the branches out i was thinking about doing this as i prefer to take her out when cleaning the tank but recently she is making it impossable for me to do this
what do i do?
thanks
graham

Just grab her behind the head and tug! She'll let go of that branch alright...then go to pet-smart and buy one of them lizard leashes and modify it to fit your lil snake during play time...

J/K...no harm intended...

I hope you're not usually that rough with your snakes, it's hard to tell if you were only joking. Cheers

It's natural for a boa to want to hang on to something like a branch.. this is normal healthy behavior. Be patient with the snake and it should get adjusted to being handled - even with all those temtping branches just waiting to be hung onto. The boa will probably really enjoy having something to climb on so it would seem fine to keep them in there. I wouldn't use branches you found outside though unless you treated them somehow to make sure there are no bugs in them. Also remember that anything like pine is not good for boas. some people bake the branches in the oven (carefully) and I have soaked branches in bleach water (I use these branches for some lizards).

If the snake is really hanging on tight to the branches, you might try unwinding the snake from the tail. Hold the body in one hand and with the other hand start uncoiling from the end of the tail. or take the whole branch of and see if it will just come off the branch by itself.. but either way, be patient and know that this behavior is normal..

We have a small climbing tree that we let our young ones hang out on when out of the cage. We have discovered a little "trick" for getting the grippy ones loose. Just grab up by the head with one hand then just kind of pick at their tail with two fingers. It doesn't matter how wound up in the tree they are, they will ALWAYS keep moving their tail away from whatever is picking at them and into your other hand.
Good luck!!

I had a carpet python that did the very same thing, and I used the exact same trick. Sometimes if ya "pick" just right, they will let go of the branch and wrap that tail around your fingers. Course with the carpet once I got the mouth busy chewing on part of me, it was pretty easy to deal with the tail on the branch. Thankfully that carpet is gone, and just 2 weeks ago I got myself my first Columbian....she is a bute, and a sweet heart to boot!

Which is why I love boas, hardly a nippy one in the bunch.

And ignore the response by Euclid. These forums draw out the best in some (like the sincere respondents to your question) and the worst in others (like those who can't resist taking a shot at anything that moves or posts).

Anonymity makes heroes of us all.

Sense of humor anyone?