How to "tame" a boa?

[ChristinaM]

What are some general guidelines on how to get a snake to go from b ! tchy, to tolerating being held and not trying to bite your face off?

How should one pick up a coiled, ready to strike boa?

My hog isle, appropriately named Sassy, is just that. She is a witch. Would like nothing more than to chomp my nose. :o

She's been getting worse too, as in more aggressive. She hisses, and strikes repeatedly.

So what I have been doing is putting on my iguana gloves aka big ol snowmobile mitts, and taking our time trying to get her into my hands. Once she's in, I take off one glove. She stays pretty wound up, does not relax at all. Today after picking her up, she didn't strike or hiss while in my hands. I guess she kinda approved of my method of holding her today.

But anything ya'll more experienced ones can recommend doing, etc. would definately be appreciated.

my brb was nippy as a youngin but got over it really fast. She was alot smaller than my hoggie too. I'll admit it. I'm kinda scared of my hog.:rolleyes:

in her usual position:

http://img2.photobucket.com/albums/v111/KayleighM/Sassy/sassy051104.jpg

[JDouglas]

That is a very nice Hog!

[JaredAren]

Lose the gloves and use a snake hook to remove her from the cage. If she bites the gloves her teeth could get stuck and then ripped out. Use the hook to remove her from her enclosure. Once she is out of her cage then wait a second for her to realize that she is no longer in her enclosure. This should only take a second. Then reach out toward her hind end and and support her weight from underneath. Don't squeeze just let her weight rest on your hand. Don't grasp her by the tail or even touch her tail within 6 inches from the end for that matter. Also stay clear of anywhere within 6 inches of her head. Once you have one hand supporting her and she is not tweaking then you can reach out with the other hand underneath her to support the weight of her front half. Again don't squeeze and if she moves let her glide through your hands. Go hand over hand to keep up with her body. Do this once a week and she should calm a little. I say should because some boas may never tame down. My hogs are often pissy in their enclosures as well but they are very tame once out of their enclosures.

If you don't own a snake hook you can make one out of a short paint roller. Slide the roller off and viola its a snake hook.

[ChristinaM]

mm, never thought about that with the gloves. Very good point JD, thanks.

Ok, no I do not own a snake hook.....
nor do I even know how to use one *DOH*

[MajickSprings]

Also...remember that any type of animal can pick up your fear of them. It's why I sold the 8 foot BCI I had...cause I was scared of her. It was my own fault that she tagged me but it still caused me to be scared of her. Anyone else could handle her just fine cause they weren't scared of her.

[MormonBoa]

Constant handling is the only way to tame them...hold her every day for at least 15 minutes, except for the 2 days after you feed.

[SD-SNAKE]

YES CONTANT HANDLING IS GREAT, AND ON TOP OF NOT HOLDING FOR TWO DAYS AFTER FEEDING, I WOULD RECOMMEND NOT HOLDING WHEN IN SHED. THERE ALREADY NOT FEELING COMFORTABLE DUE TO SHEDDING NO REASON TO INCREASE THIS.
BOA'S TAME REALLY NICE AS LONG AS YOU WORK WITH THEM. GOOD LUCK TAKE CARE. NICK