How would you try and tame this boa?

[Mark Taylor]

I just seen this and was thinking were to begin on trying to save this snake from hurting itself. I don't have any aggressive snakes and have no experience dealing with them but I feel sorry for the snake in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHh1QlQI_aU

If it was my snake I would first start by putting in a couple of hides for starters.

[Aaron_S]

I'd change the enclosure. A tub, or something similar with no see through walls and that's that.

No reason to "tame" it. Give it security.

[Concept9]

Well now.

Normally when I have snakes that bite, I just let them and after awhile they learn that I'm not going to hurt them and they get bored of biting.

But with that animal I would run low on fingers and blood FAST.

I would guess that this snake has NOT had a happy life. I would start by giving it everything it needs to be happy then start introducing myself SLOOOWWWWLLLYY.

[gonesnakee]

Snakes are NOT aggressive, they are DEFENSIVE, some to the point what I call Hyperdefensive.
This behavior typically is brought on by husbandry & handling (or lack of) & can more often than not be corrected by correcting husbandry & handling/feeding practices.
Some snakes just like people are Aholes no matter what but usually there is a reason behind it that quite often can be corrected, Mark

[Mikoh4792]

Snakes are NOT aggressive, they are DEFENSIVE, some to the point what I call Hyperdefensive.

Would you call a snake that tries to eat you defensive or aggressive? My Cali king has never struck at me, he has only bit and constricted me every time.

[gonesnakee]

For the record I have had plenty of snakes behave like that in the past.
Its best to break them of that when they are young instead of allowing it to continue.
If a snake wants to act like that all the time, thats the snake I grab & pull out right away to let it know that acting like that is not going to get it left alone.
Snakes will act all defensive like that all the time if the owner just leaves it be everytime it does.
Snakes like that require gentle handling to show them that being an ahole is not going to let them get their way & that the handler is NOT a threat to them.
Most snakes can be tamed considerably over time but it requires patience & some blood, again its best to deal with it when they are just little vs having a large Ahole on your hands & again some are just Aholes no matter what but more often than not its the keepers fault 100% & even if they are an Ahole its still the keepers fault when they get bit or allow it to strike the glass repeatedly etc.

This snake NEEDS a proper setup.
Some substrate & hides for starters & cover up a large portion of the front as well.
Snake also appeared hungry to me, notice how it checked out its own tail briefly there?
Also on that note those that are fed live prey tend to have a more "aggressive" nature as well & of course there is no reason to feed live anyways Boas are the easiest of all snakes to switch over even as adults.
The above with some handling would most definitely help the situation IMHO Mark

[gonesnakee]

Would you call a snake that tries to eat you defensive or aggressive? My Cali king has never struck at me, he has only bit and constricted me every time.

Neither just not too smart LOL
Snakes are creatures of pure instinct & some lack any "smarts" so too speak.
I have snakes such as my Eastern Indigos or Diamond Pythons that will fly right at you but know what is & is not prey right away & will stop their strike or let go right away.
Then there are snakes like Cal Kings LOL that once they have it in their head its food tehy do not give up.
I have kept/bred numerous CKs a CK being my first snake ever.
I have had them try to eat numerous things LOL
Tubs, hides, water dishes, papertowels (had one eat & pass one before LOL, blue poop that when pulled apart was a sheet of shop towel LOL), fingers, hands, arms, their mates, themselves, you name it LOL
Not to say thye are dumb, but once the instinct kicks in there is no turning back with some of them LOL (some of my Womas are the same thing DOH!)
Cheers Mark

[Aaron_S]

Mark, long time no see.

Where's the new ink? I'm sure you've got more.

[Ourobouros]

Neither just not too smart LOL
Snakes are creatures of pure instinct & some lack any "smarts" so too speak.
I have snakes such as my Eastern Indigos or Diamond Pythons that will fly right at you but know what is & is not prey right away & will stop their strike or let go right away.
Then there are snakes like Cal Kings LOL that once they have it in their head its food tehy do not give up.
I have kept/bred numerous CKs a CK being my first snake ever.
I have had them try to eat numerous things LOL
Tubs, hides, water dishes, papertowels (had one eat & pass one before LOL, blue poop that when pulled apart was a sheet of shop towel LOL), fingers, hands, arms, their mates, themselves, you name it LOL
Not to say thye are dumb, but once the instinct kicks in there is no turning back with some of them LOL (some of my Womas are the same thing DOH!)
Cheers Mark

I have a sinking feeling my baby MBK may develop a black hole in her gut soon. Once she is in the feeding enclosure she goes into overdrive feeding mode and jerks her head towards anything that moves... Lol she'd eat herself to death if I didn't cut her off after 4 pinkies....

[Ourobouros]

I just seen this and was thinking were to begin on trying to save this snake from hurting itself. I don't have any aggressive snakes and have no experience dealing with them but I feel sorry for the snake in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHh1QlQI_aU

If it was my snake I would first start by putting in a couple of hides for starters.

This snake would eat me, as I'm too small built for its body mass... But I'd feed that snake a lot and get it into a bigger and more natural looking setup.. It doesn't have anywhere to hide.. So sad ..

[BryanB]

First thing I would do is get the camera out of its face

[bcr229]

I have a sinking feeling my baby MBK may develop a black hole in her gut soon. Once she is in the feeding enclosure she goes into overdrive feeding mode and jerks her head towards anything that moves... Lol she'd eat herself to death if I didn't cut her off after 4 pinkies....
Mine is the same way so I'm hook training her. I've seen her grab and hold the fake plants in her enclosure when she really gets going.

BTW if yours eating four mouse pinkies at once you can probably bump her up to one or two fuzzies.

After watching the video, did it look to anyone else like the snake's lower jaw was off kilter? I wonder if it hurt itself striking at the glass.

[gonesnakee]

Mark, long time no see.

Where's the new ink? I'm sure you've got more.

Nothing since July 13th DOH! Soon though I hope! Cheers Mark

[Ourobouros]

Mine's the same way so I'm hook training her. I've seen her grab and hold the fake plants in her enclosure when she really gets going.

BTW if yours eating four mouse pinkies at once you can probably bump her up to one or two fuzzies.

After watching the video, did it look to anyone else like the snake's lower jaw was off kilter? I wonder if it hurt itself striking at the glass.

She's too small for fuzzies and even the normal pinkies seem a bit big... Here's a video of me feeding her before I got smaller pinkies. (I only fed her 2 of the larger ones at a time)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i9jPvcpdBs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Anyways the grumpy boa does look hurt. There's a comment in YouTube for it that someone else left about that....

[Mikoh4792]

Neither just not too smart LOL
Snakes are creatures of pure instinct & some lack any "smarts" so too speak.
I have snakes such as my Eastern Indigos or Diamond Pythons that will fly right at you but know what is & is not prey right away & will stop their strike or let go right away.
Then there are snakes like Cal Kings LOL that once they have it in their head its food tehy do not give up.
I have kept/bred numerous CKs a CK being my first snake ever.
I have had them try to eat numerous things LOL
Tubs, hides, water dishes, papertowels (had one eat & pass one before LOL, blue poop that when pulled apart was a sheet of shop towel LOL), fingers, hands, arms, their mates, themselves, you name it LOL
Not to say thye are dumb, but once the instinct kicks in there is no turning back with some of them LOL (some of my Womas are the same thing DOH!)
Cheers Mark

My king tried to eat herself one time. I threw a rat inside her enclosure and she struck and constricted her own tail. When I noticed her actually starting to swallow it I had to pour water over her head to let go.

[possum]

That snake is not "vicious", it's afraid, which is normal. Snakes do not appear to recognize us thru the glass...they see our motion as potential prey or as a potential threat. They DO recognize our scent & touch though...so it only makes sense to me to use their best senses when we deal with them.

The snake needs a better, more secure-feeling set-up (hides & partially covering the glass while it settles in, and possibly a quieter location for the whole cage) & also 'enough' food (in case that's an issue?). It might also be in pain...snakes that are feisty are often handled roughly, dropped or whatever...that does not help.

To be honest, that snake is no worse than my BCI was when I got her as a yearling some 12 years ago from a vet tech who had some other snakes but who did not connect well with this particular one. What I did, after letting her settle in for a couple weeks without being disturbed, was to take a towel & drop it over her and gently pick her up inside it, then sit with her on my lap for 30 minutes or so completely covered...gently touching her...letting her get used to my scent without having a look at the big scary thing holding her. She hissed but did not try to bite thru the towel.

I repeated this process until she was calmer (it was a long time ago, I think it took maybe 2-3 weeks?) and then I started to let her peek out. The hissing started again...but diminished with more sessions when she seemed to learn I wasn't trying to eat her. Please do remember that the only thing in nature that normally picks up a snake is a predator about to have dinner...there is nothing wrong with their instincts. She'd have bitten me at this point but I didn't give her the opportunity.

Gradually her sessions included my hand under the towel, touching her body...until I could tell by her body language that she no longer wanted to bite me...no longer felt she was under attack.

To this day I have never had even one bite from this snake, which is good since she' over 7'. Now & then she will even hiss alot when I need to take her out (say to clean, when she's not 'in the mood'); I have found that she is "all hiss"....she does not try to bite me when I reach in & gently stroke her body for a couple minutes. When she calms down (IMO she is remembering she knows me) I just pick her up and she is fine. Very sweet, actually.

I think that instead of labeling such a snake as evil or vicious, we all try to appreciate that it's a wild animal, not domestic, that it's afraid...and that if we aren't prepared to spend a little time "meeting it halfway", we should find another hobby or type of pet.

[Ourobouros]

Putting a towel over a horse's eyes in a fire to calm it down for rescue, or a horse wearing blinkers to keep its attention focused on the path ahead without distraction from potentially startling activities elsewhere are all used in the same way you did with the snake. Nicely done.

[possum]

Putting a towel over a horse's eyes in a fire to calm it down for rescue, or a horse wearing blinkers to keep its attention focused on the path ahead without distraction from potentially startling activities elsewhere are all used in the same way you did with the snake. Nicely done.
Funny you made that comparison, as I've thought that before...that in some ways snakes remind me of working with horses. (which I have done but no longer do) Force works no better on snakes than it does on horses...empathy, patience & communication overcomes panic (& greatly reduces the number of bites or kicks you get, LOL!)