Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently aquried a beautiful red tailed from my friend. Who obviously never handled the snake because it is very viscous. Its about 5 foot long...What is the best way to deal with the animal to make it suitable to handle..I just had 13 stiched put in because he got me...Don't want that to happen again..Thanks guys and girls..

Well I do not believe there is a perfect methode, but you can try putting one of your t-shirts in there with the snake and the scent may help, also It is my belief most of the aggressive behavior is a feeding response....at 5'your boa is certainly in a growth stage. 2 large rats per 10-14 days for a female is common and 1 large rat per 10-14 days for males.

Wear a long sleave shirt and leather gloves, take boa out and put in another tub for feeding. Then as time goes on once you have him out you can take the gloves off and let him scent you a while first. Keep all smells of rats thawing in another room. Do not underestimate their smelling abilities.

After the growth stage settles down and time in handling in and out of cage, your boa should settle down...but it is still questionable as to perfect results. Old habits are hard to break. Andy

felt like a bad paper cut. Can you describe the incident? Was it a defensive bite or a feeding response? Also, get a hook if you don't have one already. If nothing else, they will help position the snake in the cage so you're not reaching in over their head, or if the snake gets pissed off outside the cage for whatever reason, a 4' hook is nice to have.