Changing colors?

[Will0W783]

I've never heard of red-tailed boas changing their colors. Some scrub pythons, diamond pythons, and certain reticulated python morphs are capable of photochromatic changes; meaning their color varies from day to night. But it is more in tune with the time of day and not so much the animal's mood. Chameleons change color based on mood, but snakes generally do not.

That being said, there are warning signs that can clue you into your snake being less than happy. If it begins to tighten its hold on you, it is feeling insecure and tense. A hiss is a dead giveaway. But the best indication is body posture. A snake that is feeling defensive or aggressive will hold its head and neck in a tense "S" shape. This contracts the muscles to give it the maximum strike range. If you see this posture, your snake wants to be left alone.

One way of dealing with smaller snakes that are routinely aggressive is to put a pair of gloves on, and flatten your gloved hand out completely. Lower it down on top of the snake's head and just gently press its head down. Snakes that are battling will try to pin each others' heads down, so GENTLY pinning your snake down with your hand is a natural body language they can generally interpret. I saw that method on a You Tube video and it actually works. I use it with my white-lipped pythons, who are very cage aggressive. Once they've been approached this way though, they are calmer and tractable. However, I'm not sure if repeated simulations of "losing" could do anything to the snake's psyche. I do not have to do it very often with my white-lippeds..once every few months, if that.