Albino or sunglow difference?

tommccarthy · October 29, 2024, 11:14pm

Hi

Here is some info I posted on older fourm for someone that needed help with their retic. This will work with boas to, if anyone needs to tame their boa. But you will need a smaller snake hook for baby boas. I have added some new info to this to help you out.

Just so everyone knows, Tigger passed away in 2012.

When I first got Tigger in 9 / 2005, she was not tame at all. She was 12 feet long and 28 lbs.

It took me about 3 months to tame her. Here is how I worked with her to tame her down.

For the first week, I used the snake hook to touch her a few times, and I would just put my hand on her body and the hook holding touching her head. I did this for about 2 or 3 minutes a day. I also put my shirt I was wearing in her cage at night so she would get used to my scent. I did the shirt trick for about 3 1/2 weeks.

The next 2 1/2 weeks, I would use the hook by her head and pet her on her body. She would jerk her body and throw my hand off, but I would put it right back on her. I did this for about 15 minutes a day.

Then, after the 2 1/2 weeks, I still did the same thing, but I would also pet her head. I did this for about 5 to 7 days.

Then, I started to take her out of the cage for about 10 to 15 minutes every day. I would let her go just about any ware she wanted to, but I would not put her down. I did this for about a week. I still would pet her in her cage just about every day.

(Never restrain a snakes head with your hands as they don’t like this at all. Remember, a restrained snake is a mad snake. I know I don’t like being held by my neck.

Just hold them loosely but in control of them and let them move around and change your hand position by going hand over hand as they move around. Never put your hand in front of their face. Always come from under their head / neck from behind.

If your snake stops moving, they may start thinking about biting. So keep them busy with moving around.)

The next week, I started to let her crawl around on the floor. But I had to use the snake hook to pick her up as she would strike at me.

After about 1 or 2 weeks, she was fine with me, and then I started letting my kids pet her when I had her out in the house.

The first time I took her outside (this was about 6 to 7 months after I got her), she went right back to wanting to strike at me, so I had to use the hook with her.

After about 2 weeks, she was fine outside with me, and I even let my kids pet her too.

I still used the hook every time I opened her cage to take her out. All I had to do was touch her head then, and she knew it was not feeding time.

The only time I would not do anything with her was on feeding day and the day after. Tigger used to stay in feeding mode for about 1 to 2 days back then. When she got older, she would only stay in feeding mode a few hours after she had eaten.

Tigger only bitten me one time in 2006, and it was just a little bump on my hand, and it was to let me know she did not want to come out as she was deep in shed. The bite did not even bleed, just 2 or 3 little marks in my hand. When she was in a deep shed, I would not take her out of her cage, but I could open it up and pet her. Tigger became one of my tamest snakes I have ever owned, and she was not head shy at all. I believe this is because when I first got her, I would pet her head a lot. In the last 3 or 4 years of her life, I didn’t even have to use a snake hook anymore when I opened her cage.

She did have bad shed allot, so after she starts to shed, I put her in my bathtub and help pull all the old skin off of her. I think she did this on propose as it seems like she likes me doing this back then.

There are pictures of her on my website if you would like to see them. Tigger

I always messed with Tigger’s head at home when I would have her out, so she was used to people touching her head. I could even slap her on her side or even hold her head and give it a good shake, and she didn’t care about it. I did this for years with her. I even let my kids at home play with Tigger a lot to help her get used to children. Whenever a snake person came over to my home, they couldn’t believe how tame Tigger was and the stuff she would put up with. After owning snakes for 48+ years, I feel I can read most snakes’ attitudes pretty well, at least the ones I own.

Update 6 / 2012
Tigger was probably the tamest snake I have owned, and I didn’t even need to use a hook with her the last 3 or 4 years of her life to get her out of her cage. When she passed away, she was over 16 feet long and 120+ lbs.

I had my vet do some tests on her, but nothing was found wrong with her. So I will never know why she died. Me and my family miss her very much. I owned her for 7 years, and in that time, she helped change a lot of peoples opinions for the better for all snakes.

Take care
Tom McCarthy

z-a-r-i-n-a · November 1, 2024, 8:28am

Yesterday, Zarina buried herself in the substrate and has been sitting motionless since. I gave her some fresh coconut chips yesterday… I’ve heard that boas can bury themselves, but she’s never done this before. She’s sitting in the part where the substrate is especially dry, as there’s a heat lamp above it, and the misting system avoids this spot so that water doesn’t spray on the bulb. Is this ok? She could go to the humid part of the substrate if she wanted to.

What does it look like when snakes are tagging? Do both males and females do it?

baby_yoda · November 2, 2024, 5:09am

I’m gonna assume that this is fine as my boa does this all the time. She lovesssss burrowing in her substrate

adon87 · November 4, 2024, 6:08pm

Looks like she is moving out of hide and diging by root stump. Probably looking to ambush some prey.

The substrate looks moist to me. Especially, at the level she is burrowing. Humidity doesnt always associate with substrate being wet. That ledge/wood/heat/ water dish combo will provide humidity pocket.

Tag - I was just referring to how she quickly bit you and raleased.

I recommend you take 120 grit sand paper and rough up/soften the eadges/points of your hide if you have not already done so. It will stab or slice your snake when she constricts or slithers under and over its hide.

z-a-r-i-n-a · November 4, 2024, 6:29pm

@adon87 The edges have been sanded down and feel smooth to the touch, although in close-up photos, two small notches are visible. I’ll check on that once Zarina stops occupying her hideout, as she’s currently post-lunch.

Also, why did you call the bite “tagging”? I thought you meant something like marking.

I’m wondering if there’s a way to tell when a snake is hungry?

adon87 · November 4, 2024, 6:49pm

I would just remove it and sand it more now or remove it completely as it wont cause any harm. The edges have plenty of points and edges that can and will slice or stab your snak like butter. You have more to loose by keeping it in there.

z-a-r-i-n-a · November 4, 2024, 7:15pm

This convinces me. It looks terrifying!!!

z-a-r-i-n-a · November 14, 2024, 5:19pm

She hid under the substrate again, and this weekend I’ll be offering her a rat. Could this behavior be interpreted as a hungry snake?

I was also wondering—I’ve been watching Brian Boas’ videos on YouTube, and he mentioned that he would feed snakes up to 3 years old every 2 weeks. She’s 1 year and 7 months old. The rats weigh around 70-80g, which seems ideal for her. I have a photo of her constricting, but I know I can’t post it… Anyway, I’m not sure if I should feed her every 3 weeks, as we previously discussed here, or every 2… I wouldn’t want it to be too little for her, and for her to be hungry.

An update about her hide entrance: it’s a strange type of plastic, and to the touch, the sharp bits felt soft, like sanded cardboard! I removed that texture effect so it wouldn’t look alarming in photos anymore. But she was safe.

caron · November 14, 2024, 11:38pm

I would continue with every two weeks because she’s only 1 year plus still and the rats are small. She is still growing so she can use a meal every 2 weeks. In my opinion of course