Any ATB enthusiasts out there? Help!

I'm a newbie here on Fauna so hopefully this turns out alright. Today I visited a local pet shop in LA and took an adult grey phase ATB, ~3', off their hands. The purchase was instigated by my gut... seeing that they had an Amazon Tree Boa... but failed to give it a tree. It was also shedding, but the skin had a burnt appearance to it. Decided to be the good guy and try to care for it back to normal health. After about a 30 minute commute home, he's beginning to settle down in his temporary enclosure (large tall Sterilite tub with a nice perch, misted, ~81F).

I've only had bloods, carpets, and retics and have never really dealt too much with a naturally aggressive species (my bloods weren't too demonic). Got its husbandry down for the most part according to the sheets, advice on how to get it out of its enclosure, how bad its bites can be and just some in-general stuff I should know. Anything you can contribute would be really appreciated.

Thanks and stay awesome, FCers!

Would love to have some advice on how to get it out of its enclosure, how bad its bites can be and just some in-general stuff I should know.* Woops!

You'll find that ATBs are not as arboreal as one tends to expect. They'll spend a lot of time on the floor of their enclosure - use a hook to remove, if you're worried about being bitten. Also, when feasible, using removable perches is a great "trick" for arboreal snakes.
The bite isn't all that bad, but the teeth are sharp. The only time it will be a problem is if it wraps your hand while holding on - that sucks.

I haven't kept them for several years now, but I found them relatively easy compared to other arboreal snakes. They acclimate well, as long as you get the husbandry close to correct; and most take readily to f/t rodents (if that is your preference) offered on tongs/tweezers. (just make sure they're long enough to keep your hand out of the way)

You've kept retics and your afraid of being bitten by an amazon? You don't need to worry

I forgot to share one little tip....
The normal bites are pretty easy to predict, but there is one that they (and ETBs, even more so) like to sneak in on an unsuspecting keeper. When you remove them from the enclosure, and they're calmly checking out the world, you might notice that an ATB will press its face against a fleshy part of your hand...pause slightly, and press again (maybe a little harder), possibly turning its face slightly to one side. That's them, and their thermoreceptors deciding that your hand is warm enough to eat; and a slow bite is coming. In retrospect, it's as if they've come across a fresh kill - anybody that has ever watched a snake approach prey item they've constricted and dropped/lost (or a rattlesnake approaching it's prey after it has succumbed to the bite) will be familiar with the scene. "It doesn't move when I push against it, so it must be dead enough to eat"

All of these sound like great tips. He's a feisty little guy but so far I haven't taken a bite yet. Getting more interesting each day. Thanks for the help!

Harald offers great advise and insight. I don't have much to add. I use a hook for pretty much all my ATBs simply for my own convenience. Some tips when I do handle, I find it easier to scoop up a sleeping ATB from the floor than try to remove from a perch. Sometimes I'd run my hands under cool water as well to try to avoid the 'it's warm, strike it!' insta-bites. They do strike at hot air, so if you breath on them or blow on them it's likely they will strike out at it.

I view my atbs more like fish - beautiful and interesting and something I mainly look at as opposed to interact with.


The bites generally aren't too bad, especially when young, but they do have long sharp teeth (one of my WC adult's teeth went through sweater, shirt and jeans as he bit my hip). They will strike more than once. When I do handle and they seem calm, generally I find they start getting nippy after about 10-20 min of being 'out'.

They will also musk and pee as a deterrent. fun stuff

Thanks April! Yeah he is definitely a fishy type haha. I'm not as scared of the bite hurting as I am of the face he makes when he approaches my hand. Not exactly the face he "makes", but just the general disposition. I'll man up sometime though. And I see that you're up in San Leandro; may I ask if you've ever been to East Bay Vivarium before? If so, what do you think about that place?

I also suggest a hook. They may be small but they're feisty I've had my red bi-colour shoot straight out of the bin at my face. Fun animals to own for sure.

To feed I use 12" hemostats.