Taming a haed case!!!

Ok guys does anyone have any hints or tips on taming a young Boa,I have a little nut case and im going with the old slowly but surely approach but if anyone has ant suggestions i am all ears
Cheers
Steve

Cant really suggest any other method that what your already doing you could maybe just wear gloves until its tamed enough not to bite you but i find that you cant properly grip them if they try to wiggle away doing this

Aww Steve, I'm sorry you have a nut. Do what I did, cry, near s*** yourself, laugh and persevere, it works......honestly

On a serious note, everyone told me time will usually make it better and it has but I would not class my Satan (named for a reason lol) as tame like your other Boa is, but he has improved with age. Hopefully Phil can help with some better advice than me as I turn to him in times of panic :)

Ok guys ive been handling him for short periods each day and i think ive had a break through,for the last two days everything has been fine,not even a hiss,so i think i could be getting there fingers crossed(PS I love the snow Tan)

haha had to give the forum a Christmasy feel. Not long to go :)

I am so glad you are making progress Steve. I think it's just me but I've never been over confident with Satan and I think he knows that lol

If you are talking about your little sonoran I think any attempt to 'tame' is pointles and will probably be counter productive. These little guys are very defensive when young and 'tamming' them is trying to go against what they are. I find that with just gemeral maintance and care they will get used to your presence and calm in their own time,usually at about a year old.

DON'T TRY TO CHANCE ME BABY!

Tips on handling
1) sorry,your boa is not the problem you are.
2) don't be afriad of your little boa he is so,so small that his bites DO NOT hurt. Well maybe a little! not much!
3) when removing your little boa from a tub or viv don't hesitate,don't give him time to think. If you hesitate or start jerking your hand you will make matters worse. Quickly place you hand over him in a cupping fashion and lift. You can also quickly cover him with your other hand as well.
4) Once you have him lifted you can hold him in the palm of one hand or by the tail and if he is in defencive mode you can keep his attention from the hand you holding him with by moving your other hand to distract him.
5) expect the odd bit here and there they hardly break the skin.

All my adult sonorans are easily handled although they do have the odd off day in which case I leave them alone. If they don't wan't disturbed then I don't stress them unless it is nessacery ie cleanout etc.. OH! except at breeding time females are completely mental but then again most of my female boas are competely mental at breeding time and pretty much are unhandlable. In my experiance most species are touchy at breeding time.

Keep us posted

I found that cupping your hand over the snake (as Phil mentioned above), when reaching in to lift the snake, is great for smaller snakes. I've never been tagged when using this method.

Great advice from Phil

I'm useless with tiny snappy snakes, I jump and can be inclined to drop them :O So I don't bother handling them apart from the necessities until they are more mature. I'm much better at dealing with larger snappy snakes than little ones. They snap, I jump, I think 'what am I jumping for, a bite isn't going to hurt!'. But I still jump most times I open one of the baby boa tubs because they are snappy little devils at the moment!

It's just a reflex, and once I'm holding them I don't jump anymore. But to be honest, I have found most settle down with a bit of maturity. Overhandling a snappy baby is only going to stress him/her, and their teeth are easily damaged also. So personally, I would stick with minimal handling until the snake is a bit older

Just see Big Dogg's comment also - and yes it does work. We adopt a similiar procedure with our larger snakes, covering their head with a magazine or whatever is handy, as opposed to a bare hand!

Superb advice Phil!

Thanks for all the advice everyone,I cant wait to get my new camera and show you all how lovely this little guy is,I love him,Hes the best Boa ive seen around!!