New to the forum and need help with a columbian rainbow boa

[aurora]

Hello,

My name is Nicole I live in Texas and I am the new and proud owner of a columbian rainbow boa. I got it about a month ago, it sheds well and eats awsome. It also loves its enclosure but doesn't like us at all. According to the previous owner it never struck at anyone but once when it was shedding, which is surprising to me because it has bitten everybody in this house who tries to handle it. What can I do? It is suppose to be my 17 year old daughter's pet but she is terrified of it, so now it is up to me to deal with it. And I really want to keep this snake but I also have a two year old in the house and I'll need to do something. Please help me and give me some advice.

Thank you

[infernalis]

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[lady_bug87]

a change of environment can be stressful on any animal. How long have you had the snake? How old is it? I wouldn't worry so much about your 2year old unless s/he is going to be handling the snake without supervision which I highly doubt.

The worst thing in my opinion to do would be to immediately put the snake away when it bites. Usually biting is a defensive behavior, if it realizes that when it bites you leave it alone its going to use the behavior every time you interact with it so that you leave it alone. Snakes are fine with never being touched, coddled or kissed. They let us handle them out of some kind of trust that we aren't going to kill or eat them.

also any more information about your set-up would be great, Temperatures, humidity, the whole bit.

[Lankyrob]

The two yr old is not at any risk as long as you are sensible, just never get the snake out when the child is around :)

Apart from that i agree with everything ladybug said :)

[aurora]

Hello,

Thanks a lot for the response. I have it for about 1 month now and it is suppose to be 1.5 years old. Its enclosure is 36X18X17 inch, I use Zoo Med Eco Earth Compressed Coconut Fiber Substrate. Humidity is almost constant at 90 and the temp around 80 dergrees. Light, I really don't have one beside UVA on the top. There are 3 hidouts in the enclosure and under the side with the hideout rock is the heading pad. We moved it to this enclosure as soon as ge got it. I tried to attach a pic of the enclosure.

THANKS A LOT

[CDN_Blood]

Rainbows do stress quite a bit when they change hands. They're shy, reclusive snakes, so as much as stuff in the terrarium is going to help it settle in and feel secure, it's really not going to help it get used to you as it's new caretaker, and will actually have an adverse effect.

The last time I took-in a Rainbow that was established somewhere else, it took about 5-6 months before it got comfortable enough with me to stop trying to eat my eyes, lol. As mentioned above, the worst thing you can do when it strikes is put it back - that will teach it that biting works.

Personally, I would strip at least 50% of the stuff from the tank and keep handling it on a fairly regular basis until it learns that you're not a threat. They do require fairly gentle handling because they are shy snakes, so treat it with respect and it'll eventually return the favour.

One other thing I always tell folks who are new to Rainbows is to never hesitate when you reach in to pick it-up; it'll take full advantage of your hesitation and interpret it as a sign that you *are* a threat, so always just gently follow through when you reach in and gently pick it up. It's key to getting it used to you as the new care giver :)

Oh, it'll also really appreciate a water basin large enough to soak in for days on end.

[lady_bug87]

Todd is right, it WILL take a while for the snake to calm down. I have had my Amazon Tree Boa for a good number of months and he is always trying to take a piece out of me or anything else he can get his little pinchy mouth around. I havent been working with him as much I should be but my husband is doing a great job getting him comfortable with being touched. It IS a learning process for you and the animal you're learning how to interpret its "mood" and its going to learn that you aren't an angry predator, Hang in there!

[aurora]

Thanks a lot guys that helped a lot. Will do the changes to the enclosure tonight.

[lady_bug87]

just don't give up and try not to worry about getting bit it happens.

One of our members (Shaun) has posted a pretty cool technique though I dont know what thread it was in where he suggested a keeper start with a pair of soft leather gloves to block some of the heat from your hands and then handle the snake for 5 minutes increasing the amount of time as the snake gets more comfortable.

Once the snake can be out for a half hour and can still be relaxed he suggested to remove one of the gloves. Using the same technique of feeding the animal through both hands getting the snake used to the warmth of your skin again increasing the time. Eventually, you should be able to handle without the gloves.

I think its a cool method and I have used variations of it with my collection with some success. So good-luck and try not to get discouraged.

[aurora]

Thanks again. I am not worried about getting bit more about spooking the snake even more.

[marvelfreak]

19598 Love to see pictures of him once he settles down.

[aurora]

I adjusted the enlosure a little, set the temp a little higher took out some of the deco and on Saturday I will feed in the enclosure not in a feeding container. I have seen the snake out more often though as soon as somebody gets too close to the enclosure its over and the snake goes in hiding. I will post pics of the snake as soo as I am able to get some. Thank you guys.

[lady_bug87]

That sounds great! I wouldn't worry about the hiding some snakes are skiddish s/he may grow out of it as they get bigger and get used to life at your home and some will always hide. I have snakes that I have to dig through their enclosure to find them lol

keep at it!