Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Someone had stated that both Reticulated Pythons and Boas have the same temperment. Now I know both species can be tamed down pretty gooad and that both species can bite. But in your opinion which species is naturally less agressive? I'll post this question in the retic. forum also to see what kind of responses we get. Thanks in advance for your help.

It would also be nice to hear from someone that keeps multiple numbers of both.

You wrote:

"Someone had stated that both Reticulated Pythons and Boas have the same temperment".

NUTS!

I'll think of more to add after I finish laughing over that!

Be good.

Gus

Hey, not my opinion. I have my opinion on this subject but I want to hear what you guys think. Also, where do you think anacondas fall in this? How about we do a rating system from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most aggressive. Also, for those that get specific... lets use Columbian Boas. So, what do you guys think?

IMHO
I've had both. I would never compare their temperment.
The retics I owned were both very mellow and good natured. I worked with them quite a bit. I still didn't have that warm and "fuzzy feeling" that I have with my boas. Don't get me wrong.....I loved my retics. I wish I would have kept them.
But again, I never had that "trust" that I have with my boas. (Let me clarify. I don't completly any of my snakes. They are animals. But, I do have different trust levels with each snake I own.)
I consider BCI's to be more of a trustworthy animal hands down. Again, my retics were both very well behaved animals. I sold them due to my wife and I having a new born a few months after I purchased them. I just couldn't trust an animal like that which attains that size.
Someday I hope to get a dwarf tiger or supertiger. They max out around the 10ft range. But, who knows. I am much more comfortable with boas around myself and my children.
John
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"To be the best..........You must lose your mind."

On average, comparing a Retic to a Boa " as far as temperment " is rediculous at best. I worked with Big Retics in the early years and I can tell you that; " Once they get over 16ft, they look at us as a food source. " An avid Retic person, will usually tell you that; " If a Retic is hand raised, it is a big baby and you might even be able to sleep with it at night and name it fluffy. " Now, the flip side of this statement is this; " As far as aggression, meaning lets say a willingness to bite, I have seen more Boas with this attitude than Retics. " To put this into simple perspective, look at it this way; " Besides a very few real monster size Boas I have seen that were 13ft or better, when a Boa starts striking and getting defensive, it knows that it cannot kill you and is doing this more or less to get you to leave it alone. If an full grown adult Retic gets mad enough to start striking and taking a defensive posture, it flat out wants and can kill you. " The funny thing or really the scary thing about Retics is that; " For the most part, they are very quiet animals and usually have better things to do than huff and puff and try to make a scene. They lay in wait for the opportunity to strike and then kill. " My good friend from Cleveland TN Bob Hammond, had a 60ft building full of giant Burms and Retics and Boas. You could walk by the Burms cages and they would be snarling and striking the glass and some of the big aggressive import Boas would be doing the same. The big Retics, would hardly ever IF EVER strike the cage or show any aggression. It is that attitude itself, that causes some keepers to assume the Retic is gentle, until they reach out and nab them. For the most part, aggression is not limited to a particular species or locality snake, it is on an individual basis with the particular snake in question. I have import Boas that came from the wild and they are puppy dog tame. I also have a 80 pound wild Guyana Boa that will kill you as to look at you. Aggression, can be found in any snake, but I will take an aggressive Boa over a Retic ANY DAY. .............Johnson Herp

.. I can walk through my boa room with 36 cages of big boas from all localities of BCC and BCI plus occidentalis and amarali (WC, F1s, and whatever), walk back again, pull out a couple and clean cages, walk by another time, listen to some Bob Seger and the Scorpions on my boom-box (Kid Rock too), dump the trash, change some water bowls, grab out a 9' Peru boa for grins, move over an 8' gravid BCC to get at some discolored shavings and then sing Jingle Bell Rock.. (pretty good rendition, too) .....

...and nobody hisses, strikes, fumes, huffs, puffs or blows my house down.

Temperament in the Boa is nothing (read that ZERO) like that of the big Pythons.. And is incorrectly labeled (by SSP or whatever) as good or bad or tame or mean. These animals are simply displaying their genetic instructions in response to the situations (unplanned for) they are subjected to in captivity. It is arrogant and un-feeling for us to demand a tame boa or a nice boa, instead make peace with your snakes, give them what they need to be calm (and feel secure!)..

That's my rant for tonight!
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Gus
A. Rentfro
RioBravoReptiles.com
www.riobravoreptiles.com

"Quality is not an accident. Perfectly healthy animals are a minimum requirement.. everything else is just salesmanship" gus

then they have got to be calm snakes! although berms do really well with rock n roll as well. alice cooper actually rents his albino burms for his tours these days. i guess boas weren't big enough.

Thats a great question. Now I live in a country where wild retics are abundant, I mean so much so that they occasionally wander into my garden. No doubt, the wild ones that do so are just plain and simple mean. They strike and hiss and strike with a vengance.

Having said that I have handled 2 retics which have been wild caught and "tamed". Strangely enuff, these 2 are 1 of the most docile snakes I have ever seen! bar none! They are positively man handled by their owners, one of the owners - a lady, rubs her face on the retic - no problem! Its a sign of affection apparently.

Conversely, my 4 and a half foot Boa, is slightly fidgety and defintely not something i would rub my face on.

In any event, yeah, a Boa cant kill u but a 15 foot retic will probably come real close if not succeed.

My opinion?

I'll take a pissed off boa to a pissed off Retic ANY DAY. lol

Their temperaments are COMPLETELY different !!!

A retic might not strike AS much as a boa... but I look at it this way :

I know when one of my boa's strikes, A, it's usually my fault, and B, all I have to do is remain calm and I'll resolve the situation soon enough. (it has happened, and no i don't handle my boas alone once they reach 8ft.), C, when a retic strikes, it aims to kill. It's not a 'love nip' it's not a 'get away from me' nip, it's not a 'leave me alone!' or 'stop that!' bite. It's a 'you're going to die now, and i'm going to eat you' bite !

A boa may strike more often, but less harmfully BUT !
A retic will ONLY strike when it COUNTS, and aim to kill.

IMO.

I love both animals, and I have the utmost respect for a good, responsible retic keeper ... but between the two ? I'll keep to my boas, NO THANKS on the retic.

~ Seliah