HollywoodSnake
06-17-06, 09:16 PM
Hi all,
I agreed to take in a red-tailed boa constrictor for a friend who was moving to Israel for 5 months. (We're in Los Angeles.) The snake is about 4 years old, and at least 5 feet long or longer. It might be underfed, because I can see the skin sort of loose on its body, instead of nice and taut like my ball python's. She said she wasn't feeding it more than once a week, "a large mouse or a small rat," because she didn't want it to get too big. The snake is very active.
But the reason I am a little scared of it is because of what happened tonight when I handled it.
I opened the lid and stroked the boa (OK, his name is Frank) on the biggest part of his body for a while. Then when he leaned up and out of the enclosure, I gently and slowly put my hands under him to let him move through my hands but not get into the nearby bookcase. I did this all over the open cage top. I can't really take him out of the cage if he doesn't want to let go of his branch...He kept his tail firmly wrapped around his tree branch the whole time. He's very strong!
At one point, instead of "reaching" or stretching out toward the bookcase, he draped part of his body over the side of the tank, effectively pinning my wrist to the top edge of the tank. He squeezed against me. Then he moved his head down back into the tank and pressed it as hard as he could against the inner glass. His nose was pointed down into the tank, not out or towards the bookcase. This seemed really odd. In fact, it seemed like he was trying to strangle my wrist! I quickly grabbed his body with the other hand and put him back in the tank and closed the locking screen top.
He is in a long 40-gallon tank with hide boxes, cypress substrate, a water bowl big enough to soak in, and the branch which is weighted down with weights to keep him from toppling it over. (It's one of those sandblasted grapevine things.)
Could it be that he was deliberately trying to constrict me?
I hope not, but I'm scared now. I do not want to keep a snake that I cannot handle.
Thanks for your feedback,
Julie
I agreed to take in a red-tailed boa constrictor for a friend who was moving to Israel for 5 months. (We're in Los Angeles.) The snake is about 4 years old, and at least 5 feet long or longer. It might be underfed, because I can see the skin sort of loose on its body, instead of nice and taut like my ball python's. She said she wasn't feeding it more than once a week, "a large mouse or a small rat," because she didn't want it to get too big. The snake is very active.
But the reason I am a little scared of it is because of what happened tonight when I handled it.
I opened the lid and stroked the boa (OK, his name is Frank) on the biggest part of his body for a while. Then when he leaned up and out of the enclosure, I gently and slowly put my hands under him to let him move through my hands but not get into the nearby bookcase. I did this all over the open cage top. I can't really take him out of the cage if he doesn't want to let go of his branch...He kept his tail firmly wrapped around his tree branch the whole time. He's very strong!
At one point, instead of "reaching" or stretching out toward the bookcase, he draped part of his body over the side of the tank, effectively pinning my wrist to the top edge of the tank. He squeezed against me. Then he moved his head down back into the tank and pressed it as hard as he could against the inner glass. His nose was pointed down into the tank, not out or towards the bookcase. This seemed really odd. In fact, it seemed like he was trying to strangle my wrist! I quickly grabbed his body with the other hand and put him back in the tank and closed the locking screen top.
He is in a long 40-gallon tank with hide boxes, cypress substrate, a water bowl big enough to soak in, and the branch which is weighted down with weights to keep him from toppling it over. (It's one of those sandblasted grapevine things.)
Could it be that he was deliberately trying to constrict me?
I hope not, but I'm scared now. I do not want to keep a snake that I cannot handle.
Thanks for your feedback,
Julie