So excited! :d

[It'sKourtneyYo]

so I'm about to get my first Amazon Tree Boa sometime tonight!
For those of you that don't know or haven't seen my post he/she is a garden phase about 5 feet long. I'm not sure how aggressve he/she is but the person I'm getting him from said he is pretty aggressive but he will let you hold him in the tub and a little bit after so I was wondering, is there any chance of taming him? I'm ready to take on a couple bites if need be even though I have no idea what I'm getting myself into [bite wise]
Sharing is caring guys!!! [means post some pictures!] lol

This is the only picture I have of him for now.


http://i44.tinypic.com/noda4z.jpg
Vlad, The Impaler :3

[alessia55]

Most snakes can learn to tolerate handling if you do it for short times, watch for stress, small increments at time, be gentle, etc. Post pics when it arrives and has settled in! Congrats again :)

[youngster]

Yes you can "tame" pretty much any animal.
If by tame you mean calm down. I've never had a bitey animal but I heard if he bites you don't immediately put him back, wait till he calms down to put him back. If you put him back right after he bites you he's gonna start to think biting=back in cage.

[exwizard]

Yes, Ive tamed down my macks just by handling them. I didnt react when they bit me and it didnt take long. Even my babies are dog tame because of this.

[millertime89]

atbs can look tame, but they can decide to go psycho on you with seemingly no provocation. They also like to aim for the eyes. That said, I was at Mose's house yesterday and some of his ATBs were very calm and handleable. Just depends on the animal. He also had some that no matter what won't let you pick them up. Shame too because one of these was one of the best looking ones he had.

[It'sKourtneyYo]

Sweeet, so far I think I'd be able to do it. He never striked at the guy when he was getting him out the cage but he tried to strike at me through it but it looked more of a "warning tap" more than an actual bite but then again I can't be sure because it was through the cage. But he was in shed last night so he was probably pissed off from all the movement but I woke up and found shedding. When I first looked at him I was kind of worried because he looked flakey kind of and pieces were falling off but I found whole pieces when i woke up. And we were supposed to trade enclosures too but he backed out last minute but this Friday I'm getting him a 40 gallon till I make him his own enclosure then I'm going to get some leopard geckos for the 40 :3

[It'sKourtneyYo]

http://i40.tinypic.com/j7w20g.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/123urzp.jpg

he is A LOT light than I thought he was going to be but he is sooo pretty!
I'm so lucky to have gotten this deal! <3

[shaunyboy]

love the pattern on that wee guy

imo its better to get him eating regular before attempting to handle him

cheers shaun

[SnakeyJay]

Congrats... He looks awesome, hopefully he will calm down for you. Good luck with the bites and pics when he does lol.. Apparently they have large teeth, but not sure if that's true.

[It'sKourtneyYo]

I've been told they have big teeth and I want to feed him soon but I'm not sure when I should, I just emailed the guy asking him. He said he fed him every 2 weeks and he fed him 6 mice!!! Is that too much or is it just enough?

[It'sKourtneyYo]

and if thats enough I guess it's time for me to start breeding them! lol

[youngster]

How big are the mice he was feeding them?
try to feed a rat instead of multiple mice, less costly and easier.

[It'sKourtneyYo]

Full grown mice. he said he fed him 3 one day then 3 the next and live.
Would it be difficult to try feeding him f/t if he fed him live?
and he said he fed him mice because all of the rats around here are too big.
what about baby rats?

[It'sKourtneyYo]

I'm going to go to the local pet store[s] Friday and look at them.

[KORBIN5895]

Well 6 mice is a little much I think. Mine was on a mouse a week when I got him but he wasn't eating regularly either. Sometimes he would feed and other time he wouldn't. I found the original owner who bred them and he said he raised them chicks and birds..... like finches. Anyway mine was a pain in the but to change to f/t but he took a small rat last night and it should do him 2 weeks.

[It'sKourtneyYo]

thats what i was thinking. When he told me that i was like "WHAT??"
'cause he isn't as big as i thought he was going to be but he is long.
I think I'm going to trying feeding him a baby rat and if he starts eating them I'll try switching to f/t. I kind of wish he was a baby but i still like him a lot.

[It'sKourtneyYo]

I'm curious... what do the numbers as your signature mean? I know it's numbering how many of what you have I just never understood it. lol

[Gungirl]

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-discussion/85699-herp-lingo.html

This will explain all of it for you.

[It'sKourtneyYo]

why thank you C:

[KORBIN5895]

Male.female.unknown

Switching to rats may take awhile. When I thaw my rodents I thaw my mice and rats together. So that rat smelled like a mouse and my mice smelled like a rat.

[It'sKourtneyYo]

that helped a lot!!! hahah! Genius

[ineedsoap16]

Yes that is way too much food for an adult ATB. At 5 ft he should be on one prey item every 10 to 14 days. Please remember that no reptile is every really tame. Some learn to tolerate you but it is simply that. Usually the atbs that you see just siting in their owners hands were cbb and worked with from neonates while most are wc . Hopefully yours settles in well for you. In my opinion they make some of the most challenging and rewarding captives. Good luck with your new charge. And remember watch out, they love faces.

[It'sKourtneyYo]

thanks man, I really appreciate it. I don't know how much or how often he was handled or even if he is WC or CBB but I'm about to send an email and hopefully find out.

[It'sKourtneyYo]

Should I try feeding him rats? and what should I do if he doesn't eat it? i think I'm going to get: 1 live adult mouse[just in case he doesn't eat either], 1 f/t adult mouse, 1 live medium-small rat and a f/t medium- small rat. Whats yalls input guys?

[KORBIN5895]

Go with a small rat as a medium will probably be too big for an atb.

[millertime89]

a medium is going to be over 80 grams, I just bought some tonight and they're way too big for the adult ATBs I saw last weekend. ATBs are skinny snakes, I can see small rats being appropriate.

[ineedsoap16]

They can be very difficult to switch over to rats once they are established on mice. It can be done, but you might want to make sure he eats before trying to switch. If he's is the 5ft range I'm gonna guess he's around 500 - 700gm. If he won't eat right away he should be ok a while until he gets settled in.

[KORBIN5895]

Ltc= likes to complain?

[ineedsoap16]

Long term captive. But the other is funnier.