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Carrrriiee
Snake mite
USA
10 Posts |
 Posted - 04/07/2012 : 20:20:59
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I got a baby rainbow boa (about 8 months old now) a few months ago and it seems like EVERY TIME I try to pick her up, she strikes at me, or my husband, or my daughter!
What's the deal? Are they all like this? Or is it just mine?
I've handled reticulated pythons, burmese pythons, ball pythons, rat snakes, and corn snakes, and I've never had a snake try to bite me before, but my rainbow boa literally stikes at us everytime we try to pick her up!
Any ideas on why she's like this? Any tips on how to fix it?
Go easy on me :) This is my first post on this site :) Thanks! |
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CDN_Blood
Rainbow oddball
Canada
489 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2012 : 11:06:36
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| Rainbow boas are very shy snakes, so you have to respect that and move slowly with them until they're used to you. If you don't treat them with respect, they'll let you know they're not happy about it, and often new snakes take a few months to settle-in and can be a bit nippy during that time. Just treat it respectfully, don't put it down when it bites and it'll get over it eventually. |
TODD
25 Years of Commitment and Responsibility in Private Herpetoculture |
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MrBD1980
Snake mite
United Kingdom
45 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2012 : 11:44:58
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| When you say she strikes at you when you try to pick her up, do you stop trying when she strikes? If so she will learn that striking means being left alone and will perpetuate the behaviour. Just be firm and smooth and it will settle in time. |
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IncurableFlirt
Yearling
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2012 : 18:06:29
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It is really difficult to not be scared by a bite-y snake, so believe me...I feel for you and understand how you feel. However, CDN and MrBD are correct in that it takes time for the snake to learn that you are not a threat. If you put the snake down immediately after it does bite you...or if it tries to bite and you stop trying altogether, then the snake learns that by doing so it has effectively "scared you off" and can do it again when the time comes around to being handled again. Snakes are not domesticated animals....they are actually wild animals that have learned to live in a domestic situation....but we must teach them how to behave and that we won't be scared off by their tactics. ;) Before we go too far, could you give us a little specifics on what your Rainbow's setup is like? What are the temps you keep it at, how is the humidity? What kind of enclosure do you have it in and what sort of hides, substrates are you using?
Having any of these things off could be the cause of your RB's bad attitude, so correcting any problems could only serve to help you in taming your pet down. Seriously, though, the most important thing about having a nippy neonate is to not give in to it's "threats" and to hold it calmly and gently...even after being bitten...so that it learns that its behavior isn't going to make you go away. ;) |
Jenn.
11.8 Ball pythons
1.0 BCI boa
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow boa |
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Snakesitter
Rainbow Master
USA
2718 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2012 : 00:46:35
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Well said everyone!
CarrieAnn, rainbow boas by nature are bitey snakes until worked with. A baby rainbow's theory -- correct in the wild -- is that anything coming close si either edible, and must therefore be attacked, or a predator -- and must therefore be attacked. This behavior is what helps a baby grow into an adult. If I were neon orange, sparkly, and alone in a jungle, I'd do the exact same thing! ;-)
As already outlined, the key here (after checking environment) is to teach the baby that you are not a threat. Babies that are regularly and calmly handled with see a decrease in the biting behavior over time. My newborns bite often, my yearlings infrequently, my juveniles rarely, and my adults almost never.
Good luck! |
Cliff Earle
Living Gems Reptiles
Premium Brazilian Rainbow Boas from a disease-tested facility
Website, Facebook |
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Carrrriiee
Snake mite
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2012 : 20:19:59
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| I will take a picture of the enclosure tonight and post it up maybe tomorrow? I don't have internet at my apartment, so I have to go a friends or family member's house to use the internet. I'm lame. haha. |
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Snakesitter
Rainbow Master
USA
2718 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2012 : 20:53:15
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| Not lame. After all, you spent the internet money on reptiles. That's worth points in our eyes. ;-) |
Cliff Earle
Living Gems Reptiles
Premium Brazilian Rainbow Boas from a disease-tested facility
Website, Facebook |
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She keeps biting me!
