Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I am keeper and breeder of the larger imperator, and was needing to find a good pet snake for her 7th grade class room. The first thing tnat came to mind was a rosy, I have always admired them, and know that they are easily handled.

SO I have now been finding in my resarch that they have a sometimes fairly snappy feeding response when first aproached to be handled. A breeder even thought that it would not be the right choice for the 7th grade classroom.

Never encountering this idea about rosy,s
I wounld love to hear what you people how have experiece with captive rosys think about the aplication .

Thank you for your time.

Brian Logan

I think a Rosy Boa would be a fine choice for a classroom pet, provided it's not being handled for hours on end every day of the week. One thing I've noticed is that the males (particularly adult males) tend to not to have the intense feeding response that females do, as long as they are well-fed. The smaller size would be an advantage as well, since the children who are afraid of snakes might find your BCI to be intimidating, and you wouldn't have to worry so much about uninformed parents who think the snake is going to eat their child (LOL). My 2005 male Rosy, Han Solo, is my first pick when I want to show a snake to someone who's afraid of snakes or has never had any contact, and I've never had a bad response to him... People who were afraid of snakes are drawn to him because he's small, moves slowly, adorable, and "looks like candy".

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- Natalie
(San Francisco Bay Area)

Beautiful Rosy you have there.
Yea I was not planning on bci , a rosy seemed perfect,
I was surprized when I inquired to a breeder about a rosy and I told him what I was getting the snake for, that he said that the feeding response would be a problem. Niether my wife nor the children I think could get over a snake that strikes ocationally when picked up. I will not be their to get the animal out of the cage where I know it would then be totaly fine.

So you say older male = less feeding response .
great thank you.

Any other opinions? Is this a issue or non issue with rosys?

Thank you for your time.

Brian

In my experience some captive rosys do tend to aquire a very aggressive feeding response. It is hard to say which ones will and which won't, I have had sibing holdbacks under the exact same conditions where one will and one won't end up aggressive and constantly ready to strike in search of a meal. I have noticed that it tends to be most common with my costal rosys, and my mexican localities tend to be the best tempered on average.
There are a few things you can do to help prevent it, getting one young so you know it has not already developed a bad habit, keeping them on regular feeding schedules so as they are not getting overly hungry, feeding in a seperate enclose so they are not expecting food when the cage door is opened, and regular, consistent handling. I have also heard of people putting a worn t-shirt or sock in the animals encloser so that they are used to their owner's scent although I have never tried it myself. I would reccomend not holding them for a few hours after feeding as this seems to be when mine are at thier worst and of course make sure to wash your hands if you have been touching any other animals that your rosy could smell and mistake for food. A lot of the same precautions you probably already take with your BCI.
Rosys can make really good pets but their tendency towards a strong feeding response is a good thing to be aware of so you can make an informed decision and take preventative precuations. My wife and I have done a few elementary school presentations with a variety of snakes and while I am selective about which rosys I bring, especially for the hands on portion, I have some that I am confident with and have no doubts about letting little kids handle.

NP