Adult boa extremely defensive

I know some people don't really handle bigger snakes unless they're moving them for breeding, but I like to be able to take them out when I want/need to. It's important to me to know how each of my snakes behaves so that I know if they're acting out of the ordinary. That's why I say that not handling her isn't really an option. It is, but it isn't for how I like to have my collection. I want to know that they're all doing ok, and if they're striking at me nonstop it's hard for me to get a feel for what's going on :P

I agree with you about being able to handle your snakes, but if she has spent her life not being handled, now may not be the time to start. However if the last owner DID handle her and now she's reacting differently it's time to look for a reason.

This is a stretch - but you don't wear any strong smelling products like aftershave or hand lotion do you? It's an important factor in handling many mammals and I wonder whether it may extend to snakes?

No I don't wear anything :S. Well clothes, but you know what I mean lol. I'm afraid it might just be her attitude but was hopeful that someone would have some secret I didn't know . There are about a dozen other large red tails in the collection that all seem fine with being handled, this one is the exception. The first time she struck and hissed at me she was in shed so I left her alone but then it didn't stop afterwards. I just really need to find a way to handle her, maybe it will just take a long period of time before she gets used to me.

When I say the others are fine I mean that they're accepting of it, but I think they just weren't handled very much over time. Might be something I have to work on. So hard with how big she is but I'll try to make baby steps.

Well, this is my last amateur suggestion, hopefully someone with more experience with really big boas will chime in soon - if my problem child is extra snippy I drop a cloth over her head before I take hold of her - she's much calmer when she can't see me. Might help a bit in the interim. Good luck!

Thanks Helen, I appreciate the feedback. I'll give the towel thing a try, I hadn't thought of that.

You might try spritzing her in the face with a mister when she's hissing. Sometimes it'll startle them and knock them out of defensive mode into flee mode (stop hissing and turn to get away). Not always of course but it's worked in the past for me once in a while.

If she is striking all over the place no matter what, you may just have to gently grasp her behind the head and handle/move her that way. I would suggest having another person there if you can because a large snake grasped behind the head will probably try to coil your arm and speaking from experience, getting wrapped by an 8' boa is not fun.

You mentioned you were thinking of bumping up her food size, what is she eating and how often? Just be careful about over-feeding. Boas should be a nice square, loaf shape without big bulges, wrinkles around the tail unlike pythons which tend to be much more rounded. If she is just extra hungry, bumping her up might do some good but if you see no change in behavior than it is truly defense and not hunger causing her outbursts. (edit to add, not sure if you have a hide for her? that might help her feel more secure and safe when in the enclosure as well which might help calm her down a bit.)

Just curious - any chance of a pic of this monster?
(If you can get one without losing your shutter finger, that is )

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

You might try spritzing her in the face with a mister when she's hissing. Sometimes it'll startle them and knock them out of defensive mode into flee mode (stop hissing and turn to get away).

You mentioned you were thinking of bumping up her food size, what is she eating and how often?

have a hide for her? that might help her feel more secure and safe when in the enclosure as well which might help calm her down a bit.)

I've done the spritzing thing with other defensive snakes but I've noticed it seems to be a short term fix...I don't want her to associate anything negative with me, so the water bottle has always been something I put in the far back of my mind.

Now here's the thing with feeding: as far as I know all of them were only given rats, and if the "rule" is the same as it is for pythons (food item about as big around as the snake) there is no way she's been eating enough. That being said, she doesn't look skinny at all so I could be wrong. When I fed her I gave her two medium rats but I bet she could have taken more. I personally do weekly feeding with all of my snakes but I can't pretend to know what the schedule was like before I took it over. None of them look skinny or have any health issues so I imagine it was appropriate.

I just looked again and I think I made her bigger in my mind because of how hard she was to handle. I'd say she's about 4.5-5 inches in diameter. So not huge, but definitely not a baby. Looking at the size of the one under her, I'm glad she's the only one with the issue lol.

With the rack systems I usually don't put a hide because I consider them to be "concealed" enough as it is. There's no traffic in the room other than during cleaning or feeding, and there's only a window on a third of the tub. That might be something to consider if her situation doesn't improve though.

(I should also add, I keep referring to the boa as a female but I have no idea if it's a girl or boy :P. Probing at this point is basically impossible so for now it's a girl)

Originally Posted by Helenthereef

Just curious - any chance of a pic of this monster?
(If you can get one without losing your shutter finger, that is )

Haha. Well probably fortunately for this site but unfortunately for me, my phone/camera broke a few days ago and I'm unable to take any pics until I get it taken care of. If it were working I'd have flooded the discussion forums with all of my "favorites" aka every new snake lol.