Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When we got Baby last weekend she was very docile and not at all nippy - even let us touch her head from above. Now last night after we fed her she struck and bit my boyfriend (not too badly although apparently it hurt like no other) and today I was holding her and he was putting a vine in her cage so she could climb if she wanted and she struck at him from my hand. He passed me the gloves we use to handle our monitor or iguana and she struck at those. What's causing this drastic change? Is she just getting used to her new surroundings or is she possibly hungry? She still has a slight lump in her stomach from last night - maybe we need to feed more? I'm just afraid that she'll not get used to us and turn out to be a nippy adult which would be bad. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

~Katie
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JK Pets - Online Pet Supplies

2.3 Cornsnakes (Slink, Shadow, Suzie, Snickers, Selena)
0.1 Columbian Red Tail Boa (Baby)
0.3 Leopard Geckos (Cutie, Lily, and Miss Piggy)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Sam)
0.2 Pac Man Frogs (Gordito and Spud)
0.1 Suriname Toad (Squishy & the Squishettes)
0.0.2 Giant Millipede (Mega & Mila)
0.0.1 Green Iguana (Iggy)
lots of snails and fish...

First you should not be handleing her the next day after feeding, wait at least three. You do not want a baby boa to start regurgitateing.

Both cases the boa bit your boyfriend, does he have other pets or around other animals that the snake would recognize as food, you mention you held it and it didn't bite you.

Just leave her alone to digest, they are vulnerable when digesting and in shed and either can cause a nice boa to be jumpy.

I agree with the previous post, most snakes do not want to be handled or bothered after being fed. They should be left alone to digest for at least 3-4 days before handling

-Matt

Give it some time and the little guy will settle in... The more you handle the little guy and hold him the more use to the experiance he will get...It is from our experiance that although some are more "jumpy" than others they all calm down with a little time and effort.. They make beautiful and wonderful pets and im sure you and your beau will enjoy the little guy... just handle him as much as you can and give him atleast one-two days off after he eats to digest some food... Let me know if i can be of any more help our email and phones are always open

Sincerely,
Rose Hipskind
805-701-5027
srsnakes@yahoo.com

I always love to talk to other women getting into snakes... Its just an amazing thing to share with someone and you will love every minute... Boas are wonderful animals!
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www.srsnakes.com

Thanks to everyone for replying so fast - everyone on here is really nice about that. We've decided that we probably tried to handle her too fast and are going to give her more time before we handle her again. After that if she keeps striking she'll just get handled with gloves until she learns that we're not a threat and not going to hurt her. She's technically my boyfriend's snake - I bought her for him, but I like her too.

I always love to talk to other women getting into snakes... Its just an amazing thing to share with someone and you will love every minute... Boas are wonderful animals!

Hehehe...not as many of us into snakes and other herps. I brought my '98 female cornsnake down to my house (I'm in college) over winter break with me. Both my mom and sister were "never going to touch it" according to them. As soon as I got down there with Suzie it was "can I play with the snake"...currently I have two baby cornsnakes that are for my dad (mom and sis too). Go figure. I think it's nice because I grew up with the furry animals of all kinds and was never around snakes. It all started with my boyfriend's first cornsnake...oh well. It's fun

~Katie

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JK Pets - Online Pet Supplies

2.3 Cornsnakes (Slink, Shadow, Suzie, Snickers, Selena)
0.1 Columbian Red Tail Boa (Baby)
0.3 Leopard Geckos (Cutie, Lily, and Miss Piggy)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Sam)
0.2 Pac Man Frogs (Gordito and Spud)
0.1 Suriname Toad (Squishy & the Squishettes)
0.0.2 Giant Millipede (Mega & Mila)
0.0.1 Green Iguana (Iggy)
lots of snails and fish...