Psycho Argentine Boa

[exwizard]

I went to make another payment on GI Jane yesterday and was offered the chance to handle an Argentine Boa. Keep in mind this friend of mine has two of these, one larger very tame Argy and a younger, smaller, very tempermental psycho. She pulled her out of her tub and placed her in my arms. I must tell you, the excitement and adrenaline flow was unreal because at the same time of realizing this potential in her, I was also very calm and she was unusually calm as well. I was told that this snake would turn on you and start striking for no apparant reason, even after 20 minutes of handling. Well, it took about that long. Even though this snake was in the typical "S" Pattern most of the time. she was also curious. She would go up to the side of my face and flick her tongue on my cheek and slither around on my shoulders. Then when her time was "up", she opened her mouth up wide showing her teeth, followed by a hiss, I knew right then she wanted to go back in. I grabbed her just behind her head to prevent her from any sudden strikes and gave her back to my friend and she put her back in her tub. I never will forget the way that looked with her mouth wide open like that. It was an image of one of the creatures in the "Alien" movies, if you can imagine that.

[SSSSnakes]

It must be the season for aggressive Argentine Boas. I have a person who will be driving over 100 miles to surrender a Argentine Boa to me. He can no longer handle the snake and is scared of it. I love aggressive snakes and can't wait to get it.

[BarelyBreathing]

My Argentine was super aggressive. I miss him very much.

[KSTAR]

mine wasnt he was actually pretty great but i did do alot of handling

[BarelyBreathing]

Mine was a rescue. I don't think he was handled frequently at all before we got him.

[UwabamiReptiles]

Besides some of the arboreal boas, an argentine would be the only other one I would consider getting. They are hands down the prettiest boa IMO.

[jaleely]

SSSSnakes don't forget to post pics when you get it!
BB what happened to yours? Was it older?
exwizard, you should post some update pics on GI Jane!

: )

[BarelyBreathing]

Yes, he was older. He passed away in the beginning of the year.

[Aaron_S]

... Then when her time was "up", she opened her mouth up wide showing her teeth, followed by a hiss, I knew right then she wanted to go back in. I grabbed her just behind her head to prevent her from any sudden strikes....

I'm not trying to be a jerk but that's really unfair for the snake. When you're mad or upset let's grab you by the back of the head to control you.

The snake didn't choose to be handled so I don't see why the restraint is necessary. Just don't do it if you don't want to be bit.

I'm posting this because I don't want this as a common practice. I also don't want common practice to be to allow a "psycho" snake close to anyone's face for whatever reason. That's just foolish.

[exwizard]

I'm not trying to be a jerk but that's really unfair for the snake. When you're mad or upset let's grab you by the back of the head to control you.

The snake didn't choose to be handled so I don't see why the restraint is necessary. Just don't do it if you don't want to be bit.

I'm posting this because I don't want this as a common practice. I also don't want common practice to be to allow a "psycho" snake close to anyone's face for whatever reason. That's just foolish.

I'm not surprised by your reply. I have no plans on ever handling this snake again so after the fact, your unsolicited advice is moot.

[lumpbump]

Lol you guys are funny. I was handling a friends carpet python the other day. Adult so maybe 5 foot and about 4 pounds and she was crawling around my shoulders and my face and hissed straight into my ear! I was like hmm you need to be handled more often and put her back before she got even more pissed.

[stephanbakir]

People need to learn the difference between Aggressive and Defensive behavior.
There are very few aggressive snakes in this world, and they tend to all be in the cape cobra and mamba family (they will actively chase you down if you annoy them)
I've never personally met an aggressive boa, colubrid or python, although i have met tons of defensive ones.

[MoreliAddict]

I don't think grabbing it behind the head will help with that temperament...

[Tekpc007]

i had a my super docile hog island girl out yesterday and decided to feed her while she was out and hanging on some plastic shelfs . She got one smell of rat in the air and went crazy ! she coiled tight to the shelf bracket and reached out a good 2 and half feet , mouth open wanting rat right now! i will never do that again , she was reaching farther than my arms length and in super predator mode so i had to be extra careful. was cool to see though , totally different snake .

[StudentoReptile]

Since it was brought up, if I am ever in such a situation, I just usually put the snake gently back into its enclosure. As I've stated in another thread, I generally accept the real possibility of getting bit if I'm working with a potentially cantankerous animal. I have never felt the need to restrain the snake's head and get it more pissed, and make it distrust me even further.

The only exception would be if there were children around, and I didn't want anyone besides myself getting bit. That would be an extremely rare occurrence since I typically would not bring out any snake that I knew had a history for being "overly defensive" in the presence of kids.

[exwizard]

Since it was brought up, if I am ever in such a situation, I just usually put the snake gently back into its enclosure. As I've stated in another thread, I generally accept the real possibility of getting bit if I'm working with a potentially cantankerous animal. I have never felt the need to restrain the snake's head and get it more pissed, and make it distrust me even further.

The only exception would be if there were children around, and I didn't want anyone besides myself getting bit. That would be an extremely rare occurrence since I typically would not bring out any snake that I knew had a history for being "overly defensive" in the presence of kids.Good for you. I have already said that I will never handle this snake again and it was good for me to handle her the first place for experience sake. My main purpose in this thread was to relay what that experience was like because it made an impression on me. I have also stated that I do what I do because I do it. I dont care what people's reactions are especially after the fact. If the results of this thread are negative feedback so be it. I grabbed her behind her head precisely because I didnt want to get bit. I had no intentions on taming her down because I knew that that was the last time I would ever handle her again. Now Im ready for more negative feedback so bring it on.

[StudentoReptile]

If the results of this thread are negative feedback so be it.

Such is the nature of posting on a public forum. Sometimes the reactions you get are not what you anticipated.

[exwizard]

Such is the nature of posting on a public forum. Sometimes the reactions you get are not what you anticipated.

I don't care. It's all good.

[lumpbump]

People need to learn the difference between Aggressive and Defensive behavior.
There are very few aggressive snakes in this world, and they tend to all be in the cape cobra and mamba family (they will actively chase you down if you annoy them)
I've never personally met an aggressive boa, colubrid or python, although i have met tons of defensive ones.


LoL yea I agree but you have to accept the fact that some people lack the power of observation and instead handle their snakes and purposely/inadvertently cause defensive behavior for their own amusement.






My buddy has a cape cobra and its like 7 foot and full of attitude. Actually his collection consists mostly of HOTs and just one boa, and one retic. Its crazy how his cobras hood up and shoot first then ask questions later...

[MrBD1980]

Man if you care so little about others views and opinions then why post? So we can be enthraled by your story....so we can mutely appreciate your experience of doing something we are uncomfortable with?

Really, either engage in dialogue or don't post.....

[CK SandBoas]

I truly do not understand why anyone would allow any snake near their face, be it a Kenyan Sand Boa, or a Larger Constrictor. I hope that the new members that see this do not think it's okay to let any snake near their face, because nothing happened to you when you did it. :no:

[exwizard]

I need to respond to these from a point of thought rather than from rash emotion so I gave it a day.

Such is the nature of posting on a public forum. Sometimes the reactions you get are not what you anticipated.You are right. Truth is Im not anticipating anyones reaction to be a particular way. That belong solely to the person replying to the post.

I don't care. It's all good.

Man if you care so little about others views and opinions then why post? So we can be enthraled by your story....so we can mutely appreciate your experience of doing something we are uncomfortable with? Really, either engage in dialogue or don't post.....This was my attempt to be "thick skinned" because several months ago, I was accused of being too thin skinned in another situation here. Im sorry if that came off bad. That was not my intention.

I truly do not understand why anyone would allow any snake near their face, be it a Kenyan Sand Boa, or a Larger Constrictor. I hope that the new members that see this do not think it's okay to let any snake near their face, because nothing happened to you when you did it. :no:You are right. While I wont excuse I will explain why I did what I did. I am used to handling my snakes which are all dog tame. I never saw it as an issue with them so I wasnt thinking with this Argy. Looking back I shouldve done it differently with this one just as a precaution, and yes, as a general rule it is not a good idea to allow a snake close to your face. I agree with that.

I do enjoy this forum as well as most of the people on it. I just wanted to get this out there. Thank you.