Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got a pair of boas a short while back and one of them is not very sweet tempered at all. I was attempting to separate them a couple days ago to feed them and he opened his mouth, hissed and struck at merepeatedly. Sould I purchase a commercial snake hook or is a homemade one just as good? I saw padded hooks at Home Depot the other day, they are used to hang bicycles and so on, they could be screwed into a 2x2 as a handle, what do you think?

The hook came unscrewed or broke off and was left in the tank or many other scenarios. If you will eventually be using it on larger snakes/boas then you might as well purchase one now. This will allow the snakes and you to get used to using the same hook or something similar. You can find them for under $20.
A SNAKE HOOK IS A VERY GOOD INVESTMENT IN KEEPING ANY OF THE LARGER BOIDS.

IMHO

I use those same bicycle hooks mounted with epoxy in the end of a sawed off golf club (picked up the clubs for $1-$2 each at a local thrift store). I would think a heavy dowel rod (or 2X2 as you mentioned) would work just fine. One thing I did do to the hook portion is to place the tip in a vise grip and slowly bend it out so that it's shaped more like commercial snake hooks without a tip that curves back in. It works fine for me and I've made 3 of them for under $10.

Raven

Raven you ought to write a book, I'd buy it in a second. Every time I read your answers to my questions your reply is clear, simole, well written and saves me money!

LOL I've been told before I speak and write like a book...maybe one of these days I should actually do it. I knock it up to my dad being real particular about grammar when I was a kid...turned me into one of those odd kids who really got into her english classes in school. *grin* As for saving money, with my tendency to take in strays of all sorts, I've learned to cut a few corners to save money so I can still afford to keep all the critters I love. It also makes me feel good when I can help out my fellow herpers.

Raven

Lucille,

If you think Raven's answers are good here, you should take a peek over in the Candoia forum, where she expertly answers questions far better than most could.

Joe

I'm clueless, what's a candoia? Wait, maybe you better not tell me, if Raven likes them I will probably like them too and I absolutely cannot get even 1 more animal......

they're little! *grin* Candoia are another type of boa (the two you hear of most often are the Viper boas and the Solomon Island ground boas). Technically they've been available for a few years, but it's taken until the last couple of years before you really started seeing them at shows (I didn't get my first pair until 2002, but I'd read about them back in 1998). Even now they aren't seen very regularly like you would most of the more popular boas, pythons or colubrids. What you see offered the most are babies, and they can be difficult to start - naturally prefering geckos, frogs or anoles as prey (difficult when the snake is born only 6 or so inches long). They also take longer to mature than other boas and pythons because of slow growth rates and slow metabolisms. My yearling is only a whopping 9 inches long! lol Female Solomon Island ground boas top out around 4-5 feet, with males topping out around 3-4 feet...pretty much a perfect size, especially if you want to keep multiple animals. *grin* Here's a picture of my oldest female. She's probably close to 4 years old if not a little older (she's wild caught, so there's no way to know for sure) but she's right around 2 feet in length. It will be a number of years before she hits that 4-5 foot mark.

That is a BEAUTY!!!!

She's the only one of the 5 Candoia that I have that is nippy. She was wild caught and at least two years old at her capture (very likely she was older), so she hasn't settled into handling very well. It's taken a bit over a year but she and I reached a truce and she allows me to move her from her tub to a temporary container while I clean her cage then back again. I've tried holding her for just a few minutes at a time, but she's less than thrilled with the whole experience and gets pretty stressed out. The other four are great though and quite docile, even my wild caught male.

Raven

My little girl...

another shot...she doesn't move much!

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Nope, you're right, the little ones don't move much. I also have a little Santa Isabel (looks pretty much like the one you pictured). The white phase Santa Isabels are probably my favorites of the Solomon Island ground boas. In speaking with someone on the Candoia forum, I discovered that the Santa Isabel phase animals aren't actually exclusive to Santa Isabel island (which was always my impression). There's still so much to learn about the little beauties...probably part of my attraction for them. Just imagine what could be on the other uninhabited islands!

Raven

Someone once told me about using paint rollers (without the pad, of course). I went to home depot, bought some, and they workr absolutely fine. In fact, the end with the handle has threads for screwing in a broom/mop handle to extend it if necessary. I'm not sure about how it would hold up for heavier snakes but they come in all sizes and it works just fine for my any of my snakes, especially my adult male braz. rainbow boa that has very unpredictable behavior. I also use them for my GTP's occasionally and my Pituophis during feedings. The end of it is not necessarily hooked but somewhat at an angle. I'll post a pic in a short while.
Sincerely,
Jason
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First, let me say that with whatever you decide to go with, you should have a good, comfortable feel for using it AND a good feel for predicting the animal's behaviors. I am comfortable using a shorter hook and I am careful and realize the snake's strike range or potential/risk for flight or escape. I can not speak for everyone, esspecially those with larger snake species. If I were working with venomous or large snakes or new animals frequently coming & going through my collection, then I would use a professional snake hook, but it doesn't apply so I bought this. Also, keep in mind the old saying, "If you work with snakes long enough, you're bound to get bitten"...not sure if its an old saying, but its one I tend to agree with! Its just a matter of being careful vs. careless.

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The bicycle hooks don't have the 'depth' of curve that the curved side of your roller does, but that's basically what they look like once you bend the 'curl' out of the end of the bicycle hook. I used the golf clubs because of my 36" deep Vision cages and a couple of new acquisitions that were less than thrilled with coming out of the cage. I've actually gotten into the habit of using a hook with most of my large snakes (better than leaning into the cage any day). I also made a couple of short hooks with a couple of kid's clubs and the bicycle hooks for smaller snakes with a less happy disposition (mostly for my female dumerils - slightly psychotic critter, but very pretty! lol). FWIW, the golf club/hook combo works just fine with all of my adult boas. My best friend had made me a club/hook combo with a larger hook that I am currently using with my adult burmese (just used to edge her towards or away from the door), but I'll be looking into purchasing one of the heavy hooks made for large pythons before too long.

Raven

They really work great, I have one that goes from like 18" to 3'.

Is this guy snake ever gonna be less pissy? Please don't tell me to acclimate him to handling, he is badder than a junkyard dog (and I'm OK with that, he does not have to be a cuddlebug) but when he gets 8' or so it would be nice if he was jusr a bit less aggressive.....

Well there is a trick or two you could try that I've had success with. First you can wear an old t-shirt to get your scent on it (not your favorite old shirt though), then place that in the cage with him. It will help him get used to your scent and they will typically begin to associate that scent as safe (not being a threat to them). The other trick I've used is to put them in a pillowcase and simply let them sit in your lap while you watch tv or read. With the second trick, you can combine tactics and actually use a pillowcase you've slept on - combining your scent with a dark safe place and just letting them rest quietly in your lap. Unfortunately, handling is going to have to be part of it. The smaller and younger the snake is, the easier it is to acclimate them to handling. The older it gets, the less results you'll typically see. Slow, steady movements are pretty much the best - if you are calm, it makes the snake less nervous. Quick movements can illicit strikes from fear or a feeding response. If the snake is pretty nippy, or you're simply afraid of being bitten, you can always wear a pair of leather gloves. I have an adult pair of boas (both around 7' in length) that will not tolerate a lot of handling because the previous owner didn't really work with them. I can pretty much only move them around for necessities, but don't spend much 'quality' time with them like I can the boas I've raised. With these two and a couple of others I have, I wear leather gloves and use the hooks...just to be on the safe side. Being bitten isn't a really big deal IMO (cat & dog bites are MUCH worse), but I'd prefer to keep as much blood in me as possible.

Raven

I've had snakes and been bitten, it's just that this one is such a little meanie. I'll try the pillowcase idea (although I don't watch TV, he can sit on my lap when I'm on the computer).

is your little demon anyway? Often smaller or younger snakes will grow out of their aggressiveness with gentle handling. If he's already an adult, the learning curve is a bit steeper but you should still be able to work towards a truce. Also, if you haven't had these guys very long, it may just be an adjustment period of acclimating to new surroundings (sounds, smells, etc.).

Raven

He was a stinker for the previous owner too, from what she wrote. I bought a pair from her, they are both around 4' and very nice looking; she knows quite a bit about snakes and I am confident these guys are healthy, they have eaten well and had no problems. I am hoping to keep them together as I just bought a large homemade enclosure,(and am trying to figure out how to get it here from Dallas) I will modify it with an acrylic panel to keep them apart when feeding or if there is any aggression (I have seen none) I can leave the panel in place.

I would think at four feet they should still be managable to try to tame down. Often people won't handle a nippy or aggressive baby and it learns to perpetuate the behaviour to keep from being handled. Patience and gentle handling usually bring them around. My skittish pair (Freckles & Strider) were already adults (7 feet each) when I got them in 2002 and will now tolerate small amounts of handling, but neither seems to particularly enjoy it. The two adults I personally raised (Hiss & Duncan) are quite docile (though the female, Duncan, is slightly more high strung) but after a bit of exploring both will settle down and enjoy being out. The same goes for another adult female (Doc) I got from a friend, very sweet snake. She was handled a lot while growing up and is pretty laid back. I haven't handled my 3 juveniles (Cody, Cheyenne & Annabelle) as much as my first pair, but all three are pretty mellow. Cheyenne is a holdback from Duncan's first litter and is a bit more high strung like her mother. Even so, none of them are nippy. The only bites I've ever gotten from any of my adult boas have been strictly my fault (startled Duncan once when picking her up and got a quick nip, and just last month got a SFE bite from Strider). Strider's bite was the worst I've gotten because he bit my hand and constricted my arm (pouring rubbing alcohol around the mouth at a bite makes them release, just for information - hard liquor is supposed to work, too). But even his bite wasn't major and was completely healed up within a week. Good luck working with your pair and don't give up, he'll come around.

Raven

I use a putter....but most of my snakes aren't so bad that I really have to worry about being bit very badly...but I use it if they are getting aggressive....

Luke