Major Boa Agression

[chong_python]

I purchased my male boa last night from a local breeder. He is about 4 and half feet long. Any way the first night he was fine. Had him out crawling over me and showing no signs of agression. However this morning i picked him up held him for a min or two while changing his cage and fixing his hide, put him back and he was fine once again. I left the room for no more then 30 mins and retured to an exceptionaly agressive snake. As soon as i walked in the room WHAM at the glass ( and did this for a couple of hours striking at anything that moved in front of the tank ). He has settled down a bit but tenses up every time I approach the tank. His mouth is inflated and his tail is twitching ( is this normal ? ). Is this a sign that he will always be very agressive or "snap" once in a while, as i have smaller kids in the house and i would much prefer a more docile snake


Please help!!


Chris

[Bartman]

You should not be handling him. Give him at least 2 weeks to settle in, and personally now that hes all pissed off, give him a month to settle in. I wouldnt even try feeding him for another week. Just change water and leave him alone. You can also cover the tank with towl's, that'll help him feel much more secure.

[beanersmysav]

Acctually my colombian red tail did this too then I noticed he was shedding. Once he stopped shedding he was fine again. I think that the obstruction of vision may bother them, of course I don't know if yours is shedding or not but that could be a possibility but then again maybe not. Especially when theres noise or things approaching them I think that really shakes them up and makes them get defensive.

[C.ADAMANTEUS]

could be the shed thing mentioned above. sounds defense related by the tail shaking. some snakes get like that when they cant see anything but blurs
Rick

[RepTylE]

I am leery of my Suri when she is in shed. She seems more skittish when her eyes are opaqued so thinking that a skittish snake might very well be an agressive (albeit more from a defensive angle) I just leave her alone. Otherwise she is as tame as can be.
Leaving him alone for a few weeks looks like pretty good advice to me.

[Linds]

Also, most breeders tend to not really handle their boas much. It may be that your snake is simply not acclimated to people, and especially now that it is in a new place, is very defensive. It may take some time and patience to get your new snake used to you. The best bet for a docile boa is to get a baby and work on handling it as it matures. If they aren't they can sometimes be nippy adults. I don't handle most of my boas very often, and as a result, many of them won't hesitate to bite me if given the chance.