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Feeding Issue with Boa

Posted By:

Blaise and Echo

OK. I haven't posted on iHerp in a while, but here goes. My science teacher has a fairly large boa constrictor (Not totally sure what species exactly, Red Tailed is what I want to think). She inherited "Felix" from a previous science teacher who is now a principal. Felix is a rescue snake, who was found several years ago wrapped around a radiator in a broken down house, so he has scars on his body from overheating, and has had blood problems over the years. However, our teacher has a new problem.

I am not totally sure how Felix's first teacher/owner fed him, but a problem has arisen from how our teacher has been feeding him. She dangled the rat near him, and he would strike it. But now it has gotten to the point where she can't put her hand into the cage at all, because Felix will strike at her. We have tried putting the rat on a folder (so Felix doesn't ingest wood shavings when he does eat the rat), so that he learns that his food comes with the folder, not the hand.

My question is this: Has anyone else had a similar experience? How did you
deal with it? And are there any other suggestions for how we get him out of this trend?

Thanks,
Jim


Points:	150
Topics:	Feeding
Tags:	Aggression, Bci, Cage, Feeding, RTB
Species:	Boas > Large Boas > Boa constrictor imperator
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Member Comment

11/18/2009 5:52:00 PM

Carusima

You're not supposed to stick your hand in a larger snakes cage anyways, your hand is the size of the prey they eat. And it's most likly a Common Columbian Boa. They are not Red Tails. Just buy a snake hook, they run $15, and use that to lift the boa out of the cage, then it is handleable once out of it's secure area.

Member Comment

11/18/2009 5:59:08 PM

krackerdactyl

dont feed inside the cage. usually. problem solved.

Accepted Answer

11/18/2009 6:38:28 PM

dalvers63

Feeding inside the cage is not the cause here - how often is the teacher in the cage to change water, clean or handle the animal? All of my snakes are fed in their cages and NONE have aggression problems related to food. They all know the difference between rat and people.

You can start hook training the boa by gently tapping/rubbing with a hook before reaching in to pick the snake up. This will let them know that food isn't coming.

Assisted Answer

11/18/2009 8:09:48 PM

Sonja K. Reptiles

Absolutely what Deb said.... Start hook training - could even use a dowel or yard stick to touch him with - just need to turn off the feeding response, and you'll be surprised what a difference there will be. Remember since snakes don't have eyelids, you can never be sure... they may be sleeping and you startle them which could lead to the possibility of getting bit, too. "Hook training is an all around good idea.

Member Comment

11/19/2009 12:06:04 AM

FyreFocks

I normally tap the glass before i remove the lid to the cage if im feeding. If i dont tap, they dont wake up. It will take some time for your snake to come around, but it normally works.

Member Comment

11/19/2009 3:15:39 PM

JohnJohn

With my bigger snakes, I do like Nate said. Before feeding I tap on the glass, kind of like mimicing the sound of little rats' feet running around. After doing that for a while, now, when I do the tapping they instantly go into a feeding response. I have to open the door and throw the rat in quickly. It usually never touches the ground!

Member Comment

11/19/2009 6:26:08 PM

Damiens daddy ken

I always feed my snake in their enclosures and have never had a problem.But here's the difference i don't dangle the food in front of them i just drop it it in from above that way my hand is not in the picture when the snake is actually striking and eating.Therefore it doesn't associate my hand with food that plus i handle my sanke on a regular basis like at least a few times a week.But anyway to answer your question like was said before get a snake hook and start by just touching the sanke with it once or twice a day for a few days so that he gets used to it then you should be able to get him out with the hook and once out he shouldn't be a problem.

Member Comment

11/19/2009 6:28:59 PM

Damiens daddy ken

It is snake sorry i can spell duh.And snakes as in more than one sorry my brain is not funtioning today.I'm having a blonde moment.

Member Comment

11/19/2009 6:29:46 PM

Damiens daddy ken

Once again spelling lessons functioning.

Member Comment

11/21/2009 11:25:49 AM

shellboa

I started conditioning my boas when they were young by spraying them with the water bottle a) when feeding time was over and b) when they exhibited feed response behavior when I was going in to clean or simply handle. By spray I mean slightly heavier than a mist but not actually a stream. However, I did not get all of my boas as babies, so for the big girls I feed off of tongs for starters and if it is not feeding time I go right in and touch them about mid body and pat or rub with my hand flat. As I say this I have to also say our cages have sliding doors on the front so I am not reaching down (like a tank) to touch. I have not personally hook trained a snake but I have heard from people (not just on this site) that it works well. I have had my big boas for about 6 years now and have been tagged a few times by a few, I have never (knock vigorously on wood) been bitten by a "biggun". It sounds like this animal simply needs to be reconditoned by whatever method is going to work well for this person be it a hook a water bottle or simply tapping it. I would recommend no longer dangling food by hand, get a pair of tongs, even salad tongs! Just some thing so the hand is not associated with food.

Assisted Answer

11/22/2009 5:37:15 AM

amarilrose

I agree with the comments on the use of a hook and the questions about the hygiene and husbandry the animal is kept with aside from feeding time.

Personally, I prefer to feed my animals in a separate enclosure when possible, though there are several caveats to my stating that. With the collection I grew up keeping (given the time period) we cohabitated a TON of our animals. Feeding in separate enclosures was the ONLY safe answer to feeding time. Fast forward to today, and I am very against cohabitating reptiles other than for breeding, but I will grant that there are times when it is justified, they are just very few and far between! Anyhow, in my current collection, I was feeding everyone in a separate enclosure, with one or two exceptions (some individual animals just will not eat in a separate enclosure, and it isn't right to try to force them to do so), until I moved most of my Ball Pythons into a rack system. Now, it's really only my boas who are fed in separate enclosures, and that is based upon how they are caged. Among other things, I find it easier to use the time I am feeding animals in a separate enclosure to tear apart their cage & clean everything, so it is a matter of convenience for me, as well as a long-established habit, to feed in separate enclosures.

All of that being said, my biggest boa at this time, my male Duméril's Boa (Courtney), is absolutely awesome to handle, but he is kind of an idiot in his cage (yes, even for as much as I sing his praises); he's never offered to bite, but he "shoves" at me & postures and glares. He is also an awesome feeder in a separate enclosure, and I am very happy for that; I've had a lazy streak or two, and I can easily see the difference in his behavior towards me upon opening the cage, between when I was feeding him in his cage for a while, and both before that and now that I have switched back to feeding him in a separate container. He is much more reliably non-aggressive when I feed him in a separate container... and he knows what the feed bin is for!! It's great to see – he gets placed in the feeding bin & goes into instant feeding mode!

Anyhow, I know this is long, but feeding the boa in a separate enclosure could likely help this boa a LOT! Additionally, it could potentially add to the teacher's ability to keep his cage hygienic for him, which should help a lot of other things about his behavior. Hook training would likely be very useful for getting him out (I have yet to ever hook train myself). Shellboa's note about spraying with water is also good.

One last thing: tell the teacher to NOT feed him by hand! Get some tongs, hemostats are my personal favorite. Many times, especially in reptile circles, they are priced by their length... and there is a good reason for this! The longer the hemostat, the further your hand is from the prey!! I would say the teacher needs a hemostat of NO LESS THAN 18" to be safe. I wish you the best of luck. Please let us know how it goes. :)

Member Comment

11/22/2009 5:52:16 AM

krackerdactyl

That's how my boa, Powerthighs, gets when I put him in his feeding area.

Member Comment

12/7/2009 7:19:34 AM

PythonHouse

Remove the snake from his house and place him in a large lidded plastic box (like the ones you pack your winter clothes away in) say 2' x 3', that has secure clips to hold the lid closed. Feed him in this. He will associate the being removed and placed in the box with being fed. It won't take him long to know what's what. This is how we feed all of our largish snakes (the burms have their own room to feed in) We have not yet been bitten when feeding our snakes. Placing my hand in their cages and entering their enclosures DOES NOT trigger them to eat or even a feeding response. Placing them in the box does though! I hope this helps, good luck with Felix.

Member Comment

1/18/2011 12:00:24 AM

abi21491

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