Lunging at everything?

[sweatshirt]

Hey guys, I thought I would ask this question before I drop off for bed. Magenta has been lunging at pretty much everything that moves for the past few weeks.

She's always been kind of hissy and reluctant when I need to take her out of the enclosure, but this is straight lunging whenever something comes near her enclosure.

Case in point:
- I have a recliner a bit past her enclosure that I sit in a lot and I walk past it to get to it, and sometimes she'll lung when I walk by.
- She's lunged at my dad when he goes to turn off the light behind the recliner.
- She just now lunged at my cat when she jumped by her enclosure, which is what prompted me to ask this, but she just ate 30 minutes ago so I guess she's still in "feeding mode".
- It's a strong lung and there's always a loud thump when she hits the plastic, I'm kind of concerned about her hurting herself.
- When I open the top of the enclosure to give her water or whatever, I have a sterilite bin, she will lung at me and then immediately start flicking her tongue erratically and moving her head to stare at me intently, like she's threatened or waiting for something.

I know there's an ongoing debate about it, but I DO feed her in the enclosure. I'm definitely not blaming it on that, but I do tong feed her and I'm kind of worrying about her associating my hand with food, although when she lunges she does it pretty much as soon as I unlatch the top. Should I start just dropping it in her enclosure and walking away? Can a snake even associate me opening the top of her bin with being fed? Or is this some kind of defensive thing?

She has a VERY strong feeding response and she lunges lightning quick and squeezes the prey (I feed f/t) for a while before she eats it.

I'm guessing I should buy a snake hook and start with that? I do not handle her often, probably once every 2 weeks. Should I be handling her more...?

Thanks!

[wrecker45]

How big is she and her prey items. She need bigger. I have a long peace of plastic I touch Coffee with before I take him out.

[MDT]

based on the ongoing thread about how much snakes love their owners, i'd say, she's trying to tell you how much she loves you

seriously.....some snakes have a a nuclear powered feeding response (retics, for one). mine will stay in somewhat of a heightened response for about 48 hrs after feeding and are inclined to strike if there is a sudden movement outside of their enclosure. also, when they start "roaming" about 7-10 days after their last meal, often they will show the same striking behavior...i know it's time to feed again. their feeding schedule (and behavior) is vastly different than my carpet pythons..

i can also say that when i owned a b.c.i., it was unbelievable just how aggressively she constricted her prey items. it was as if (i know, i know...i'm putting human qualities on her) she really hated the rats and wanted to kill them beyond dead. it was impressive. not sure if that is typical of boa constrictors as a genus/species, but impressive nonetheless.

btw, a cage hook is prob a very good idea. i simply do not reach into my snake's enclosures without tapping them with it, or "scooting" them just a bit, to "short circuit" that feed response.

[Obsidian_Dragon]

If you are opening her cage for things other than feeding, she shouldn't have a feeding response to just that.

Hook training is never a bad idea, although I've had no need with my two so far.

[SSSSnakes]

Has anyone taken into account that the snake is just defensive and it could have nothing to do with a feeding response? Try hook training and handling the snake more and see if the problem starts to go away.

[bigsnakegirl785]

It sounds like she's in a high traffic area, she could just be stressed. If you've never noticed this before, I don't think it's a feeding response behavior. The erratic tongue flicking also speaks defensive. Try moving her to an area where there's little to no traffic, and see if she calms down. I'd wait until she seems less stressed, and then you can handle her a couple times a week or even every day if she doesn't mind. A hook likely won't help if she's being defensive, but it will give you a way to safely handle her when you bring her out, so it's worth a try.

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by MDT

i can also say that when i owned a b.c.i., it was unbelievable just how aggressively she constricted her prey items. it was as if (i know, i know...i'm putting human qualities on her) she really hated the rats and wanted to kill them beyond dead. it was impressive. not sure if that is typical of boa constrictors as a genus/species, but impressive nonetheless.

I would say my pair of cay caulkers do this consistently with each feed. Sometimes the rats will explode.

[sweatshirt]

Just an update, I was able to get her out and clean her cage and stuff. I got a 28" hook but it turned out to be too small to get around her body haha. And when I was able to fit it around her, it was too flimsy and bent under her weight. I guess that's what you get when you go cheap. I'll buy a better one soon. I used it to let her know I was there though (I tapped her), and was able to grab her. She's always calm as soon as she gets out of her enclosure.

To answer Wrecker45's question, I don't know her exact measurements, but she eats small rats, and they're getting a bit too small. Maybe I'll buy some mediums. Kinda wanted to use the last of the smalls though.

Thanks for the answers!

[CosmicOwl]

I think she might just be defensive. Given time, she might settle down.