Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my male dumerils about 4.5 ft about 1400 grams just bit me - until now, even from arrival he had been perfectly docile - never any indication of agression in any way - never flighty when removing from tub - the last few days he had spent most of his time in the water dish - the only other time he did this was just before a shed - so i guessed it was the same again - i had opened his lid earlier - he seemed interested in coming out but i did not take him out then - his eyes are perfectly clear and its really too soon for a snake his age to be shedding again - at any rate my daughter was in from the army and she wanted to see one so i lifted the lid to retrieve him - he acted a little weird - not sure why but i had a weird feeling that i should just leave him but i didnt - anyways as i lifted him out he wadded his tail around the heat mat and seemed resistant to come out then he nailed me on the wrist breaking the skin on both sides of the arm - i had to twist him loose - i tried again to retrieve him and it was obvious that he would bite again so i left him alone - only 2 things are different about this handling attempt - first of all it was after the room light had cycled off so the room was dimly lit and secondly i had recently changed his feeding from weekly to every 10 days - maybe he thought he was hunting - i've read so much about people who have said that they had never seen a dumerils even pretend to want to bite - so much for that - thought you might share some thoughts and how to proceed from here - this is my first bite ever - thanks robert white

Hey Rob, First welcome to the bite club. My male bit me about 5 weeks ago. Similar circumstances, it was feeding day. I reached in to the females enclosure to remove him and place him in his own enclosure when, wham, he tagged me on the hand. He didn't latch on, just a bite and run kinda thing. I was more startled then hurt. It just bled alot. I think it has to do with a feeding response. He hasn't shown any aggression since then. Both of mine always seem inquisitive when I open they're enclosures, so, now I use a little more caution when handling them. Not fear, respect. They are like motorcycles, if you respect them you'll be ok, if not, then they'll reach out and get you. Anyway, welcome to the bite club. Got any pics of the bite marks? Post'em.

pic

Nice!!! When I got hit by my male, he didn't wrap me up. It was a tag and let go. Looks like yours tried wrapping you up. Anyway, again, welcome to the bite club.

he defitinely planned to eat me - hate it for his luck!

get used to it... it will happen again and again as long as you have snakes.

in my 13 years of keeping and breeding i've been tagged at least a few hundred times. however most were by babies with an attitude.

i've noticed that both of my dums get a very strong feeding response after dark and go after anything that moves. so i generally leave them alone if possible. whenever i do decide to fool with them i'll use a hook to keep their head away while i grab their tail and move them around for a couple seconds so they know i'm not food. after that they chill out and are as calm as can be.

He was obviously upset/stressed about something. I've been bitten plenty of times by Dums. Typically, they will run before they bite though. Unless you have it cornered.

Also, evidently nobody has bothered to tell you.....

When you own snakes, its not IF you are gonna get bit, its WHEN are you gonna get bit. Any person that has owned snakes for any length of time and hasn't been bitten is just lucky.

All snakes bite.
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Pat Higdon - Higdons Herps, Tuttle, Oklahoma USA
Oklahoma City Herpetological Society Member
4 dumerils boas, 1 bci boa, 2 rosy boas, 3 burmese pythons, 1 reticulated python, 2 ball pythons, 1 borneo python, 10 bearded dragons, 4 leopard geckos, 2 african fat-tail geckos & 1 sulcata tortoise

Dumerils Boas are typically very docile snakes. It's rare to get bitten, even by babies. Dumerils are most active at night. Because of this, I usually feed my snakes at nighttime. I have found that it's important to make sure the room is well lit when you handle any boas after dark, and approach their body away from the head. When lighting is dim, all they see is an object moving towards them and can become startled. It can either trigger a defensive strike or a feeding response.

With consistent handling, most boas are conditioned to know that people aren't a threat, and they aren't food either. It's easier said than done, and much easier with baby snakes, but I usually let them keep biting me until they calm down. They'll learn that biting the big bad hand isn't going to keep it away, and they'll quickly stop trying. Once the boa calms down, I'll put it back in the cage. I feel like letting them reach a calm state helps them associate it with being handled by people.

If you can tell the Boa is agitated before you go to pick it up, it's sometimes better to just wait and save handling for another time when the snake is already relaxed.

After bringing home a new snake, it's best to avoid handling until it is comfortable in its new surroundings. Then, you should try to hold the new snake several times a week for short periods of time until it becomes more accustomed to you. Eventually, most boas are content being held longer.

Handling snakes should be a positive experience for both the boa and you.

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Paul D

www.MoonlightBoas.com

THANKS to all for your help along this exciting journey of keeping snakes - a special word of thanks to you paul, to pat and to paul m. for always helping - helping me to learn - i'm having a blast - then at times i think "what am i doing" - like today - when i finally received my female from a private seller in philly to pair with my male ( the one who bit me ) - anyways she is remarkable - pics attached - about 6 ft - about 4300 grams - @ 9 1/2 lbs of raw muscle - scared to death of her to be honest with you - but i'll get my nerve up after she settles for a week or so and work her over good - thanks again to all - and btw - got my snake hook ordered today!!!!!!!!!!

try and get you better pics

I'm always happy to help. It's great to see people excited about reptiles. Snakes are such amazing animals. That's a really nice looking Female Dumerils Boa. She has a very clean pattern. Give her a week or so to settle down, then start bringing her out a few times a week for 5-15 minutes. Gradually, you can bring her out longer.

I don't use a snake hook, but here's a little trick I sometimes utilize. You can use the lid of a tub or some other barrier to put between a boa's head and your hand. Then you just pick them up mid body. They typically calm down quickly once you're supporting them.

Be sure to use caution if you decide to pick up a Dumerils Boa with a snake hook. They're a relatively thick bodied snake, and you must be careful not to carry too much of their weight on a small point of contact. One technique with snake hooks is to raise a small portion of the boa's body, then slide your hand underneath. Best of luck to you.

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Paul D

www.MoonlightBoas.com

will do - thanks again paul