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I bought a 6 month old female central american boa recently. The person I bought her from said she puts on a show of hissing and opening her mouth when first approached to be picked up but would grow out of it. Now that I have seen her "show" (she will strike also, not often but occasionally) it is pretty scary! Once I handle her for a minute or so she calms down and is pretty tractable. I was told it is a stage young boas this age will go thru. Is this true? Will she settle down? How often should I handle her to try and calm her? Please help!

Thanks,

Dana

yes its true sometime's young boa's can be a bit defensive. I beleive it's a survival instict, if they can put up a big enough bluff maybe they won't get eaten. Not that you would eat her lol. You say she calm's down after a little while when you do handle her so you'll just have to work with her, I don't know what to tell you about how often to handle her just keep in mind that if she's get's huffy when handled she's probobly feeling a bit stressed from it also.I would give her some peace after feeding and maybe leave her alone when shedding. she should settle down after some time of gentle handling. Even worse case a bite from a small boa is almost painless. I have 2.4 central Americans that I've had for 2 years now and only 2 from the group are tame but I don't work with them at all they only get handled once a week when I clean their cages. here's a pic of my Nicaraguan type 2 anery

I have had the same experience with a few month old Bolivian BCA. She goes wild when first approached but once out of enclosure shes a kitten. I have been handling her about once every 3 days since I got her and have noticed some improvement. What I first did was I got a pair of gloves and put my hands in her tank and let her come to the gloves and hiss and puff up. She would eventually go over and flick her tongue at them. After a few weeks she would go striaght to them and explore with her tongue and eventually stopped hissing. I do it without gloves now, I put my hand in and let her smell it a little then she just crawls up my arm and out of cage. It takes some patience with every session but well worth it for me as I plan on keeping her. It is all about patience from what I have seen, as if I try to open cage and pick her up direclty without the smelling foreplay, she will hiss and strike repeatedly. My technique might not be very good but just wanted to share what I have done. I believe letting them come to you on their terms helps a lot.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try it and see. THanks!

Dana

A couple things I have noticed with snakes...

While they aren't the smartest things in the world, they do seem to respond to paplovian responses (basic, trained, automatic responses based on a stimuli) over time.

I would definitely recommend the following...

1.) You may want to ensure the difference between feeding and housing for your boa. I would suggest feeding her in a different room in a seperate tub.

2.) You may want to tap your girl with a stick (initially) before holding her to let her know you are there.

3.) I think the most important thing to do is to pick her up, take her out the cage, and then put her back down immediately... do this several times a day, a few days a week. (Where gloves at first if you fear the strike)

I think she will snap out it, or at least I hope she will... nothing is more rewarding then see results from a little dedication! Imagine the story - "When I got this girl, she was a beast! Fierce as else and always striking! But I, I know snakes... with my knowledge and expertise and some carefully planned techniques I was fast enough to avoid her strikes and kind enough to earn her trust. Now she wouldn't hurt a fly."
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-Iman
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Imans House of Herps

I'd recommend either purchasing or making a snake hook, and get in the practice of taking her out with the assistance of that. For all my large boas & pythons and most of my smaller ones, I usually touch them gently with the hook and then support the front portion of their body with it as I use my hands to remove the rear portion. Usually once their head is out of the cage and they're in my hands, they act just fine. As far as handling goes, I'd try to handle her for at least a few minutes every day except when she's in shed or just after a meal (usually wait 2-3 days after she's fed before handling her again). With consistent gentle handling, she should calm down. Another trick is to take an old t-shirt that you've worn and place that in her cage with her so that she can get used to your scent. Be sure it isn't a favourite t-shirt though, as sometimes a 'deposit' will be made on it.

Raven

Dana,

I've seen the show...it is scary, but i recommend showing no hesitation. just pick her up. yes, you might get bitten. but your boa will NEVER calm down if you don't handle it regularly.

the most defensive snake i've ever owned (a male argentine named coleman) is now one of the tamest i own...and i got him as an adult.

besides, at 6 months old, her bark is far worse than her bite.

good luck, chris olson
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www.chrisolsonreptiles.com