Boa bite help

My boa has only bitten me once but it was my fault for preparing his mouse but yesterday he got me again. I have been handling him a little bit more because I don’t want him to be cage aggressive when he’s older. He has been doing really well at allowing me to pick him up without being too sassy till yesterday.
We are having our house remodeled, so could the vibrations from the construction be causing him to be more aggressive?
He does well once I take him out of his house but it’s just trying to take him out is the problem.

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have you been hook training him? use a snake hook to tap him will get him out of food mode and realize he isn’t eating

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Use a hook, paper towel roll if you dont have a hook and gently rub the boas head to let him know hes not receiving food. Most boas have strong feeding responses and some more than others. A gentle rub on the head will develop a good routine and hopefully help those feeding responses turning into bites reverse course :+1:

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I do have a snake hook and I’ve tried that but unless I fully take him out of his cage with the hook as if he was venomous then he will still strike at the stick or me if I reached my hand into his cage. Does it just take time for him to realize it’s not food? Or is my snake just a little special?

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Its just gonna take time with regular handling. Some snakes are just fiesty but most will calm down. Try to show confidence when handling, no sudden or jerky movements. I had an argentine boa that was extra fiesty and with steady handling and consistent technique and multiple bites she eventually came around and was worth the extra work.

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It is different for each individual snake! My large girl retic, I just show her the hook or spray bottle, paper towel roll, whatever and she is automatically perfect. My male I have to hold the hook to his head and not push but keep it on him until he moves away before he comes out of the food mode. I have found a bigger object(unless like my small retic they strike out of any gap in the opening) makes them realize it easier and is safer if they do strike. Side of plastic water bottle vs a small diameter metal hook. Of course these bigger objects are no good controlling the snake if you really need to. Good luck, keep at it they usually catch on.:+1:

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Hey @jumpedimpala! Just curious about what type of boa you have, and how old is he? So everyone pretty much attributes his aggression as food motivated but I am not so sure. Especially since this all started during this construction phase. I think the noise and increased activity has affected him. Snakes do have a heightened sensitivity. Has he been food aggressive before this? :thinking:

How long is this construction going to last?

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My neighborhood goes pretty crazy on the 4th of July with fireworks. I had quite a few hissers when checking tubs/enclosures the next morning. Vibrations can stress them for sure.

That being said I have a boa that takes me a few minutes to snap out of feed mode. Less tapping with a snake hook and more redirecting her head until I can reach in and pick her up. Not safe until I get her to start retreating from me, really.

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He’s just a regular Colombian red tail and he’s a little over a year. He hasn’t been super food aggressive, there were a few times where he struck at the glass when I’d move in front of it but I don’t know what to attribute that to. The construction is probably going to go till December or January, it just depends on materials and workers.

But like I said in the first bit, I have taken him out with my hands for the past couple weeks till just that other day when he bit me then I got out the hook and pulled him out.

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