Hey everyone, today i just bought myself a baby central american boa constrictor, i have held him (only to put him in his tank) and he hasnt bit me yet but i was very careful when trying to hold him. Anyways will he bite when older or will he be tame?? Anyways he is very healthy, right now hes in a 10 gallon (im gunna buy a bigger tank for him in a month or so) for now hes doing great in that sized tank. He has a shady area, a fake plant, couple of woods, a big waterbowl, and hes on reptibark. I will not feed him in his tank but in a container if you are all wondering. Im gunna get pics as soon as i can. I also have another question, i do have lighting for him and i know thats hes nocturnal so he doesnt need special lighting but would any light work, i have a light that gives a bit of heat, is this fine, i really do not know what type of light it is because it doesnt say, so can ya guys help me out here with these few questions?? Thanks.
Hey...Congratulations... I too got myself a central american boa last weekend.... Search the net and you'll find plenty of care sheets out there for boas. This is what I have gathered from my reading...I'm sure there are others here who can add to this. Basicaly, temps should be around 85-90 on the warm side and down to 75 at the cool side. As with many repitiles provide a hide or two and a large water bowl. You'll need to keep the humidty up there at around 60-70%. The tank size will be ok for a little while and then you can move up as he grows. Keep the handling to a minimum for a few days to a week then try to handle him every day. Boas are not know to be "bitety" especially if handled well from a young age. Of course they do get cranky around shed time and they can sometimes mistake you warm fingers for a mouse, but over all they are quite docile. I use a small chunk of dowel (rounded off) to gently lift my Burt up out of the tank and they take a hold of him near the middle and suporrt him like you would any other snake. Once I have him in my hands he settles down and is quite friendly. I find that the dowel allows me to get him out easier than just reaching in and grabbing him (he usually looks scared when ever I do that). Just for refernce sake he is a pic of my Burt... That's my nefew holding him....he seems very curious about the camera... Chris
Wow nice boa, yours looks alot bigger than mine, is yours a juvie?? Ok so it looks like i have a warm and a cool side so i think i might be fine so far but im gunna put a thermometer in there just to make sure. Oh and wow, your alloud to grab him, thats cool but i bet its because hes getting used to you now, i used a bamboo stick and he would go on that , i would lift the bamboo stick and he would go onto my hands, then i just put him in his tank. This is actually my first snake really, besides a garter snake i had for a few months. So once i handle him every day (ill wait till next week) he will become more tame?? will he know its me??
Actually, I only use the stick to lift him out when he is a place or position where grabbing him by the middle would be difficult or uncomfortable for him. When you handle your snake you should try to handle them "confidently' and with "authority", allmost as if it is the most natural thing in the world for the snake to be in your hands. If you are timid and nervous then the snake will sense it and be timid itself. This makes it hard for the snake to calm down while being held. When you take hold of your snake try to do in a way that shows the snake that it is safe and it can be comfortable in your hands. I know it may be difficult to understand but it'll help you. Make sure that the snake is fully supported along the length of it's body and do not squeeze the animal. You should allow it to move around through your hands and from one hand to the next. Try avoid the head as many snakes do not like having anyone touch their head. Carefull, consitant handling is the best way to go. Of course, you should refrain from handling your snake for a couple days after a meal and when his eyes cloud over during a shed. Also, if he is in a really bad mood and hissing or striking then it is best to leave him be a while. It should not take long for him to become tame and easy to handle and after a while he will get to know that it's you. Remember, he is gonna be with you for a long while so you have all the time in the world to get to know each other. Now lets some pics..... Chris
Alright thanks alot, yea i dont squeeze him i just let him slither on my hands and when he is leaving my 1 hand i make him go on my other hand. Yea i will handle him everyday except meal days and a day after and it should be good. I have 1 more question, why isnt it okay to feed him in his tank??
I would assume it's because you have a "loose substrate". As I keep my BP on shelf liner I can feed her in her tank, so I don't have to handle her directly afterwards & worry about her reguritating on me (which is horribly nasty, PHEW!!). When I was using aspen bedding, I fed her in a tupperware container, in her tank, so that again I didn't have to handle her much after feeding. Wouldn't want her to accidentally grab some substrate & get impacted (or butt splinters LOL). Definanetly put up some pics! Love to see the new guy! ~Michelle
Alright thanks Michelle, i will definnetly get some pics and yea i understand why you cant feed them on loose substratem also really bad for lizards, i know about impactions and after looking up some stuff i use carpet for all of my lizards, so yea i will feed him in a tupperwear, or is it okay if i feed him in a spare 45 gallon tank that i have that has carpet as substarte and their is nothing else in there but the carpet, can i just feed him in that??
I don't see why not...just be prepared....first time I fed Sable in a seperate tank, I went in to get her after giving her about 15 minutes after swallowing...she was still in "kill mode" and damn near took off my finger. If you have snake thongs, I would use them! ~Michelle
Oh wow, yea sure i use a little stick, i dont poke him or anything i just find a way to make sure he climbs on it. ill use the spare 45 to feed him i guess. Right now hes doing good, he hasnt bit me yet but he struck at me but missed, would it hurt if you got bit by him as a baby??
Nah, Sable has yet to actually HIT me though. But judging by what other people have told me, a cat scratch hurts more! Most of the time, they'll make a big show of it (hissing, striking, being a pain) & not do anything anyways. Just handle him with confidence & you should be fine. ~Michelle
Alright thanks, now would it hurt if u got bitten by an adult boa constrictor, lol, yea it would alot but im gunna hold it eveery day, so can snakes actually become your buddy, not bite you at all and make them think that hes harmless and hes a good guy??
Well if you want to tame him down, and keep it safe as possible for your snake then you should be feeding him prekilled, or F/T rats, baby rats yes they are a lot more healthy for any reptile then mice, also I would move away from moving him every time with the stick use your hands, don’t' be afraid if taking a hit, of your afraid, and he hits you once your going to be thinking that every time you reach in to get him and its going to hang in your hand. Snake Bites don't hurt they just bleed allot, think of getting a few hundred needles in your hand all at once for a few seconds that’s if the snake isn't a chewer, then it can kind of suck. You know this snake will get around 9ish feet if you take care of it, so be prepared when has older. Another reason you feed out of cage, not only for impaction, but also, the snake will not associate your hands with food. Now this has been debated on, some think it’s ok some don't but its up to you. I've always feed my snake in cage, but I have always used newspaper as sub, and all my snakes have always been happy. My red tail, I believe enjoys being out, I take her out for about 3 hours a day, she holds me around the legs for awhile of my shoulders then leaves my body and free roams my room for awhile before curling up some where, she’s tamed down to the point that I feed her out of her cage on my floor, on a plate a few feet from me. She eats it, takes it down, then comes to me and just lies across my body; maybe I'm warm who knows. But she is by far the tamest snake I've ever owned. Feeding F/T will get your snake to pretty much at some point not have a food response at all, some snakes lose it others don't. I know she has, seeing as she doesn’t strike or curl anything she eats, she just crawls over, starts to eat it, and finishes. She may start to grip it once she starts to eat but that’s just to help her get it down I believe. But every snake is different, every snake is an individual, so every snake is going to react different to different people, and in different ways. It could always be aggressive, it could tame it might not. That’s just what you have to be willing to deal with to give them the love they need.
Alright Thanks Nero for the awesome advice, i know now, well tomorow is feeding day for the little guy, im gunna video tape it for sure, i will post it on youtube and i will show you guys and give you the link if youd like. I also got some pics but i gotta transfer them so ill do it all tomorow. Oh but ya guys still didnt answer my question, how much pain would you be if you got bitten by an adult??
What your pain thresh hold, it dosn't bother me but i've taken alot of hits from burms, and retics, never my red taill though, but well it dosn't hurt that bad it bleeds a alot though.
How so? With all due respect that statement doesn't make any sense. Reptile Mann, if you heat your f/t rodent up and wiggle it around using tongs(yeah, definitely use the tongs!!!)your snake will probably retain a good feeding response. Now if you just lay the rodent flat and make it look completely lifeless then eventually the snake will learn it doesn't have to do any work for the food. Personally I like to keep some things as close to natural as possible and feeding is one but that's up to you. Good luck!
i would also like to know how so? If you wiggle the mouse/rat around a little your snake will probably not loose its feeding response.
Well I know rats are a cleaner animal. There cages tend to smell less and the actual animal smells less. Just thought I would throw that tid bit of info out. If your going to be feeding a snake thats capable of getting to the size of a boa like that then you want to switch over to rats for sure though on the fact that rats get much bigger. If it stays on mice then you will be stuck feeding it multiple mice at one time which gets expensive. Trust me I know a breeder that has a 14ft Burm thats stuck on mice and he says its an absolute pain. And in my opinion if you can get your snake to feed without wiggling the dead prey in front of him the better. That way everyime you reach your hand into the enclosure they wont mistake it for food. it doesnt matter if they have a feeding response or not as long as they are eating right. All my snakes are getting used to me just leaving the food item in front of there hide. I was suggested this technigue by a local breeder that has many years experience with snake and successful at breeding them. I have a blood python and a Brazilian Rainbow Boa from him that were fed this way and it has its advantages. These snakes are notorious for being nippy when they are young. My 2 guys are all docile as can be.
Yea thats true, i got bitten by my snake 2 times and it didnt really hurt maybe 1 second of little pain and bled but that was it, now i fed my boa today and it was awesome!! I video taped it and if i post it on youtube then ill give ya guys the link, i fed him a fuzzy frozen killed and wideglide, i deforsted it and fed the snake with the tongs, i wiggled it a little and then he struck it, he saw my friend move so he stoped but i wiggled the mouse again and he ate it, it was cool but i think i should feed it a hopper next week or atleast a rat pup, what do you guys think?? I dont think the fuzzy was that big and i was told to feed it a fuzzy from the pet store and usually i dont listen to them.
Well he ate good the first time and ate it but this second week he didnt eat and it was because he was cold so i gotta try again on friday, i juts put in a heating pad, he ate fine the first feeding day but not the friday that just passed, he didnt accept it.
