my bci is too soft lol

[ilovemypets1988]

when i first went up to see my beautiful boy (before i bought him), he was in blue and was very aggressively hissing and striking at the hook that was used to bring him out of his rub and now hes slowly going blue again and is showing no aggression what so ever, infact hes happily curled up in my lap with my arm over him, hes just so soft ans gentle since ive had him, its unreal

[ilovemypets1988]

heres a pic of what i mean:
http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k514/Daniel_Barton/my%20boa%20constrictor/IMG0168A.jpg

[SnakeyJay]

Haha wot a friendly chap.

[sassy_snake_lady]

Chances are he wasn't handled often by his previous owner. Generally they are not hissy and striking because they are aggressive, they are scared. The more they get used to you and realise you are not a threat, the more they calm down.

My girls great now, she was very scared of me to begin with but I was confident and ignored the noises and show she soon learn it's not getting her anywhere!

[ilovemypets1988]

Chances are he wasn't handled often by his previous owner. Generally they are not hissy and striking because they are aggressive, they are scared. The more they get used to you and realise you are not a threat, the more they calm down.

My girls great now, she was very scared of me to begin with but I was confident and ignored the noises and show she soon learn it's not getting her anywhere!

thing is though, he hasnt once even tried to bite me since the day i had him, plus he takes his mouse so gently its like nothing else ive even heard of, i mean, i feed him (literally) without any gloves or tongs as i only use my bare skin as i feel that it gets me closer to the animals and im in no way affraid of getting bitten, if it does happen, i will deal with it but i wont ever use gloves or tongs with constrictors, frankly, i dont see the point

[sassy_snake_lady]

thing is though, he hasnt once even tried to bite me since the day i had him, plus he takes his mouse so gently its like nothing else ive even heard of, i mean, i feed him (literally) without any gloves or tongs as i only use my bare skin as i feel that it gets me closer to the animals and im in no way affraid of getting bitten, if it does happen, i will deal with it but i wont ever use gloves or tongs with constrictors, frankly, i dont see the point

They usually only try to bite if they are very scared and feel the warning hiss isn't enough! Mine has never tried to bite me.

As for the tongs, lets see if your so keen to feed him when he's fully grown, usuing your bare hands.

The point of using tongs is when they are fully grown and they strike at the rat, they strike hard and fast and can miss!! A fully grown hungry BCI attached to your hand/finger is not going to be fun or easy to remove.

I wonder why your guy is so gentle at feeding time. Part of the fun for me, in owning a boa is the speed they strike and how hard they constrict at feeding times. All 3 of my boas put on an awsome display at meal times. I wouldn't want mine being gentle feeders lol no fun :yes:

[ilovemypets1988]

They usually only try to bite if they are very scared and feel the warning hiss isn't enough! Mine has never tried to bite me.

As for the tongs, lets see if your so keen to feed him when he's fully grown, usuing your bare hands.

The point of using tongs is when they are fully grown and they strike at the rat, they strike hard and fast and can miss!! A fully grown hungry BCI attached to your hand/finger is not going to be fun or easy to remove.

I wonder why your guy is so gentle at feeding time. Part of the fun for me, in owning a boa is the speed they strike and how hard they constrict at feeding times. All 3 of my boas put on an awsome display at meal times. I wouldn't want mine being gentle feeders lol no fun :yes:

i have absolutely no idea whys hes so gentle during feeding but yh totally agree with you on this 1, i hate it, i want him to do the same as my corn and almost take my hand off with the strike, but saying that he is handled everyday and as the pic shows, hes happily to just sit there.

as for when he is fully grown, yh i probably would feed him still with my bare hands but more cautiously, i would love to see his full out aggression again as thats the reason why i bought him in the first place as i wanted a really aggressive snake to keep me on my guard but since he is so gentle, im more cautious with the corn snake than him, part of the reason why hes called `mr hissy` is becoz of what i saw before the purchase but thas me, also i like a challenge lol

[stephanbakir]

Even with the most gentle snakes, it always a good idea to make sure you stay aware, one thing can change and it can go into defensive mode and someone can get hurt.

Grats on the attitude turn-around though.

[RandyRhoads]

The first time I gave my Red tail a rabbit, it just sort of opened it's mouth and gently closed on it. Tried to eat it without killing it. The rabbit was like...hey dude....wtf..Lol.

[ilovemypets1988]

Even with the most gentle snakes, it always a good idea to make sure you stay aware, one thing can change and it can go into defensive mode and someone can get hurt.

Grats on the attitude turn-around though.

thanks, its been a case of if he bites me then so be it, so i just handled as i would with any non-venomous snake and go for it, regardless to the consequences

[Lankyrob]

I have been in our reptile shop on a number of occassions when people have brought in "aggressive" snakes that cant be handled without attacking constantly so the owner is signing them over to the shop for rehoming.

When the staff open the viv you can immediately see the owner get very nervous and jumpy yet the member of staff just reaches in and picks up the snake with no signs of the snake being aggressive whatsoever.

I believe the snake does react to the attitude of the person picking it up, if you are nervous then the snake gets nervous and therefore defensive, if you are calm and confident then so is the snake. Obviously there are snakes taht are just downright nasty but thats life! :)

[sassy_snake_lady]

thanks, its been a case of if he bites me then so be it, so i just handled as i would with any non-venomous snake and go for it, regardless to the consequences

It's not just a case of being a hard man and taking a bite. You need to think about your snakes health too. As an adult, if he latches on to you with a full force feeding strike and refuses to let go it's gonna hurt and be hard work getting him off not to mention making sure you dont damage his teeth while trying to get him off, also at this point he may be constricting your hand/arm too.

You don't mess around at feeding times with a large snake.

There are plenty of idiots doing it on youtube, have a look!

[ilovemypets1988]

It's not just a case of being a hard man and taking a bite. You need to think about your snakes health too. As an adult, if he latches on to you with a full force feeding strike and refuses to let go it's gonna hurt and be hard work getting him off not to mention making sure you dont damage his teeth while trying to get him off, also at this point he may be constricting your hand/arm too.

You don't mess around at feeding times with a large snake.

There are plenty of idiots doing it on youtube, have a look!

firstly i was talking about when i first got him and was calming him down - which is a case of get bitten and its fine.
as for messing around during feeding, i dont and thas just you making an assumption, once the snake has the mouse i let go, so what part of that is messing around!

[sassy_snake_lady]

as for when he is fully grown, yh i probably would feed him still with my bare hands but more cautiously, i would love to see his full out aggression again as thats the reason why i bought him in the first place as i wanted a really aggressive snake to keep me on my guard but since he is so gentle, im more cautious with the corn snake than him, part of the reason why hes called `mr hissy` is becoz of what i saw before the purchase but thas me, also i like a challenge lol

That is what I was refering to! You bought an agressive snake to keep you on your toes and you will feed him well fully grown with bare hands.

You make it sound like your trying to prove something. Not making assumptions at all. I'm going on what you stated.

When I said you dont mess around, I should have said, people dont mess around. I don't know if you do or not, I can only imagine :rolleyes:

[TeaNinja]

lol i don't MIND getting bit if it's necesary but i'm not about to hand feed my snakes. you say what's the point of tongs and i say what's the point of possibly getting bit and having your hand smell like rat so you have twice the chance of getting bit xD

[whoaxmary]

Agreed Zak. I don't really think any of my snakes would do that much harm if they got me, but I'm not about to go out of my way to get bit. Plus I love the show my bp puts on at feeding time; which happens to be taday. ^.^ She stays so still watching me move it around until out of no where she strikes, and she's always so fast it still makes me jump a little. And I have seen her miss, a few times, and easily would of got my hand without tongs. Speaking of ball pythons, Zak, I haven't seen any new pictures of yours lately I don't think. :)

[ilovemypets1988]

to give you all an idea of how well mannered this snake is, hes happy to just "sit" on my lap while i stroke his body :)

[TeaNinja]

Agreed Zak. I don't really think any of my snakes would do that much harm if they got me, but I'm not about to go out of my way to get bit. Plus I love the show my bp puts on at feeding time; which happens to be taday. ^.^ She stays so still watching me move it around until out of no where she strikes, and she's always so fast it still makes me jump a little. And I have seen her miss, a few times, and easily would of got my hand without tongs. Speaking of ball pythons, Zak, I haven't seen any new pictures of yours lately I don't think. :)

i posted a few, they just weren't on the "latest threads" home page.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-python-forum/86522-awesome-shed.html

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-python-forum/86629-bp-pics.html

[Herp Honey]

Sure hope my scardy cat Nic settles down in time! My ball are all so relaxed, and this one squirms constantly! :)

[stephanbakir]

Snakes generally calm down over time but some never do