need help handleing my baby albino boa hes very defensive

Discussion in 'Boas' started by cujo68, May 19, 2009.

  1. cujo68

    cujo68 Embryo

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    brought him home a week ago he was fine but the next day he started striking and wont stop had boas before never had one that wouldnt calm down looking for suggestions
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. wearentfree420

    wearentfree420 Member

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    I would say give him time to settle in.

    Then after that you can try wearing a shirt for 24 hours and then put it in his enclosure for a few days so he knows your scent is not dangerous.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. bruno

    bruno Moderator

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    I agree, give him time to settle in.
    Have you tried feeding him yet, depends on where him came from.
    Was he fed before you got him etc, could be hungry.



    I am now moving this topic down into the boa forum where you may get more replies.
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Ryan1990

    Ryan1990 Well-Known Member

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    I use to work at a reptile rescue centre and got the delightful job of cleaning out the enclosures of the "not so friendly" snakes including boa's.
    You say he is young so a technique that would work is use a pillow case to pick him up by placing your hand inside of it and using it as a glove, snakes go for the largest part of whats coming towards them (so he'll hit the pillow case instead of you).
    Pick him up just behind the neck area and pull the sleeping bag over him and tie it up once he is fully inside. Leave him in there for a few minutes to calm down. 9/10 you can then take them out and they'll be significantly calmer, keep doing this and you can keep shortening the time he is in the bag until eventually you just pick him up with it and then handle him.
    This is just once technique that I use to use and it worked quite well even on very aggressive adult rescue snakes but as others said, let him settle in for a week or so first.

    edit: every time I said sleeping bag, I meant pillow case :D lol.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. cujo68

    cujo68 Embryo

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    thanks alot cant wait to try it
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. cujo68

    cujo68 Embryo

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    thanks i will try it
     
  12. bruno

    bruno Moderator

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    Something else which has occured to me, I know it's happened before.
    This is not intended as personal so please forgive me.
    Do you use deoderants or perfume, some are known to be toxic to snakes and can have an effect on them and make them react in a bad way.
    It's more than likely it's just the settling in process and he will calm down soon.
    One other thing, we all give off "pheromones" some of which could be "alarm pheromones", although these relate to the same species, some animals do pick up the human ones.
    A friend of mine has a boa constrictor and has difficulty getting near it, yet his younger brother can do anything he likes with it, this we have put down to the pheromones, there is no other possible explanation. This is very rare, so highly unlikely, but possible.
    Go with the T shirt thing and do it several times till it gets used to your smell.
    Time and patience will prevail.
     
  13. ilovemyboaconstricto

    ilovemyboaconstricto Embryo

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    When i first got my boa as a baby he would his and strike at me all the time. But what i would do is take a wash cloth and drop it onto his head covering it. Then i would just pull him out of the cage and once he was out he was very calm. I did this about twice a day for 2 weeks and now he is as sweet as can be. Dont think he has struck at me ever since
     
  14. ssscales

    ssscales Member

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    I agree as most advised, give it time to settle, leave it alone in the meantime. Give it a week of so of no handling, no poking in it's enclosures, pretend he is not there for 1wk. After this time, give him a meal and again, ignore him for a week, give him a meal and after 3 days, start handling it no more than 5-10min a day, 2-3 days a week. Only way to tame any snake is routine, gentle handling, be consistent and patience, and eventually it will become less and less fearful of you and will become tolerant of handling.

    If it's a baby, free hand it. If bit, the bite will barely break skin and as soon as you are bit, you will laugh it off and wonder why you were so worried to begin with. The only way to get any snake to calm down, is handling it. Also, do no put it down when it is biting, let it bite till it relaxes, settles down and then and only then are you to place it back in it's enclosure.

    #1) Give it time to settle and make itself at home.
    #2) Feed it a few meals.
    #3) Gentle routine handling, same time, same days and be consistent.

    Follow these steps and soon you will have a pleasant Boa for many years to come...
     

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