Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am really quite upset, and i think that i need some counseling. I have had brooklyn for 2 years now. He was a neonate when i purchased him. I have had no problems with him until this summer.
He has started snapping me when i have him out and i try to move him or put him away. I really dont understand it. There is no hissing, or coiling or anything that would constitute anger or fear. He will just snap me.

My problem is that he is past 5 feet now. Thats almost as big as i am. I am the only one handeling him, and especially now i am the only one that will get near him.

He is very well fed. He eats 2 rats every week (he is still slender, and seemingly still growing quickly). So, he is not hungry.

I have seen agressive snakes before. He does not seem to be agressive. It seems that only when he thinks he is going to be put away that he bites.

I am beginning to think that he is going to hurt me someday, and i cant keep a huge animal that will bring harm to me, but i dont want to give him up or give up on him just yet.

Does anyone have any constructive ideas? I am quite frustreated...

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"raised by a cup of coffee"

1.0 ball python- Azazel
1.0 columbian boa- Brooklyn
1.0 red blood python-Hiss
1.0 peach phase thayeri-Sancho
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
0.1 partial stripe ghost corn- Raven
1.0 Sunglow motley corn-Ernie
1.1 hognose- Pricilla and Odd
0.1 russian tortoise- Manja
0.1 collared lizard-O-ren
0.1.1 leos- Boji and Kodama
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.0 BTS- Griffon
0.1 Iggy- Sunny
0.0.2 Red american toadlets with 0.0.7 legs total (er, i have one w/3....)
0.0.1 gray tree frog toadlet
0.0.6 land snails
0.0.2 millipedes of unknown species from TN
0.0.1 spotted slug
5.3 bettas
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
2.3 ratties Rizzo, Bounce, Bree, Blitzkreig, and Zelda

It would help if you gave us more details about any changes in his environment before, or about the time he started biting. How often are you handling him? How often did you handle before he started biting? It appears that you have quite a lot of critters to care for. Sometimes when people get busy with other things and don't have as much time to handle their boas as they once did, the boa can get nippy because it's not used to being handled. If the handling is the same as always, then something else might be causing it. It would help if you could be more specific about his schedule and environment.
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Linda Hedgpeth
lindafh@frontiernet.net
Sierra Serpents

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"

Hey, Riiot Girl - i'm no expert but mine is doing the same thing
here is what i've done and it seems to be working:

increase temp, feed more and handle the animal more - linda has a good point - more info , but this has seemed to work in my paticular situation,

here's a present or maybe a memory:

We're not the first, I hope we're not the last
'Cause I know we're all ready for that adult crash
The time is so little, the time belongs to us
Why is everybody in such a f**king rush?

Make do with what you have
Take what you can get
Pay no mind to us
We're just a minor threat

Early to finish, I was late to start
I might be an adult, but I'm a minor at heart
Go to college, be a man, what's the f**king deal?
It's not how old I am, it's how old I feel

Take your time
Try no to forget
We never will
We're just a minor threat

This might not be too helpful, but here's my theory. You said that your boa gets nippy when you're putting him back into his cage, right? My (3 footer male) bci gets quite stressed too, when I am replacing him into his cage after handling. My thoughts are that he is afraid he is falling (like out of a tree) and this causes him to grab onto my arms tightly. Maybe your snake is getting freaked out while yer puttin him back into the cage?
The only other possibility is that you may have handled some of your mammalian pets (like the rats) earlier and he smelled it on you. But it sounds like more of a defensive biting, rather than a feeding response. Hm..
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2.1 Ball pythons: Goblin, Nothing, and Bela
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator: Apache
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog: Bene
1.0 Tiger salamander: Slasher
1.0 black kittycat, Inky
A bunch of Oscar cichlids, one giant pleco, huge breeding lot of "fancy" (read: deformed) goldfish, and me an' the boyfriend.

it could very well be that i have rat smell on me. I do have pet rats, and i do handle them frequently. BBUT i wash my hands and change my clothes before i take him out. I dont think it was a feeding response.

I havent been holding him as much as i used to. I am afraid that i am a bit gun shy, now. But his bites arent as bad as o thought they would be, just a bit surpriseing. and a bit bloody.

I sont want to be afraid of him. That would be the worst thing i could imagine. I am not afraid of any other snakes, why should i be afraid of a boa that i raised from a hatchling?

your replies have been helpful, thank you all and i will keep you posted.
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"raised by a cup of coffee"

1.0 ball python- Azazel
1.0 columbian boa- Brooklyn
1.0 red blood python-Hiss
1.0 peach phase thayeri-Sancho
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
0.1 partial stripe ghost corn- Raven
1.0 Sunglow motley corn-Ernie
1.1 hognose- Pricilla and Odd
0.1 russian tortoise- Manja
0.1 collared lizard-O-ren
0.1.1 leos- Boji and Kodama
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.0 BTS- Griffon
0.1 Iggy- Sunny
0.0.2 Red american toadlets with 0.0.7 legs total (er, i have one w/3....)
0.0.1 gray tree frog toadlet
0.0.6 land snails
0.0.2 millipedes of unknown species from TN
0.0.1 spotted slug
5.3 bettas
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
2.3 ratties Rizzo, Bounce, Bree, Blitzkreig, and Zelda