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My little female yellow is mostly well behaved nut can be nippy sometimes. Will she calm age along with the handling?

hmm, I dunno. My anaconda used to be super fierce. but I gently handled her and petted her and now she's just as calm and cool as my ball python. I think they have an undeserved reputation. I mean they can be mean, but I think they can be tamed as well. plus it only took 2 weeks for me to get mine to become very docile, and she's still a very young snale. I don't know if it has anything to do with age, but I think they need to be acclimated.just a guess since I've only dealt with the anaconda I currently own. but my guess is that it has to do with handling, altough it would probably be much harder to tame an adult, if at all poissible. I think there is a crucial time to tame them though. I dunno, just theory, hope it helps

` You've got to know your individual critter. They are just as much individuals as humans are. Imagine asking such a generic question about humans, or dogs, or Blue and Gold Macaws. The answer would be yes, no, maybe.
` If you deal with that one Anaconda as if she was an unique animal, which she is, you will have much more luck.
` Figure out what she likes, what doesn't have much effect, and what she doesn't like. You can watch her breathing, it is the best indicator of what she's about to do. Watch her eyes, too. Some Boid's eyes will dart around, when nervous. Also, watch and feel her body to see if she is relaxed, or tense. You can also keep track of her progress by making notes and watching to see if her behavior evolves, or does not. Then, evolving your own treatment of her to suit her.
` When you handle her, don't squeeze. Pick her up with a cupped hand. Try to lead her from under her chin, and throat. You can get them to perch, sort of, by giving them a purchase under their chin, then letting them follow. You can lead a tame one almost anywhere, that way. Use the backs of your hands, and fingers. Use your hands and arms like hooks, with rigid fingers and wrist. Hook them, then let them use you like a branch. Never try to stop them from turning, or backing out of a situation. You can steer them, sometimes, more so as they get more used to handling. I have adult Anacondas so tame that I can pry open their mouths, for inspection, and massage their cloaca into opening. I also have others that are not so tame. I have been able to discover what caused them to be less tame, in most cases. It was usually stress from inappropriate handling, to that animal. Then I decide if it is permanent, or if I can work with them without stressing them further.
` If she bites you, you have a great opportunity to "teach" her. There isn't much you can teach a Boid, but if she bites you, hold still. Let her bite, and let her release, on her own. The instinct that tells them to bite also tells them that counter attack is imminent. When it doesn't come, behavior can be "modified" by the experience. With some snakes, it takes many repetitions, so this is only practical with youngsters.
` I have had some spectacular successes, working with Boids to gentle them. The snake is slow, and dim witted, except when acting on pre-programmed instinct, and that is what you want to avoid. It knows that it is hopelessly outclassed by a human's far superior evolution. The trick is to make them forget that, at your hands, they are nearly helpless. Think of how you would feel in the same circumstances. Hell, you'd probably die of fright. The snake has no ability to be you, but you do have the ability to be the snake, behaviorally anyway.
` Go for it.
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Stop the world-I want to get off!

That’s a good question and one that is most relevant when dealing with anacondas. Although I have never worked with yellows and don’t have the expertise with them that DFR has, I can relate to you what I have experienced while raising greens. Jud and I have had the good fortune over the years to have been able to work with about 40 different green anacondas from birth. Our adults produced a majority of them, but a few, including our breeders, were obtained as neonates from other sources. Most of these young greens were kept by us for less than a year, and about half a dozen from different bloodlines were raised up to adults. Not surprisingly, even though there are individual differences, I have noticed that the main determining factor for their docility as both young animals and adults is their genetic background. Newborn greens that are inherently docile can be a little nervous for the first few months, but the general trend is that they do become calmer with age. I have seen numerous young greens that were 6 months to a year old that were extremely docile and had only been handled a few minutes a week. While even these greens with very docile temperaments can be startled under the right circumstances, I have seen this to be less and less likely as they become 2 years and older, as they most definitely calm a little more with each year.

Conversely, if the individual is inherently aggressive, they will usually be slightly defensive right after birth, but between 3 and 6 months of age begin to rapidly become more and more aggressive. I believe these are anacondas that are inherently high strung, and I have never seen one calm down, as it got older, if it retained this aggressive behavior past one year of age. I am not saying it is impossible to acclimate these individuals by handling, but for the vast majority of them it would be the exception. Handling of nervous boids of most species is usually quite helpful in conditioning them to human interaction, and will definitely help the acclimation process of an inherently docile green or one that has a borderline temperament. However, green anacondas are a little different, and I do not believe it will help calm an inherently aggressive individual in most cases. And because these highly strung greens can bite without much signaling of their intensions, I feel this is probably the source of the reputation that greens can be unpredictable. The key is that the behavior and temperament of the parent snakes will tell you a lot about the young and how they will turn out as adults, no matter which species you are dealing with.

Kelly