Things are going really well with my Boa, to the point that they’re now somewhat of a challenge to get back into their viv… they just go Nope turn around and go back up my arm it takes several attempts to get them back in. To minimize the stress i give a few minutes between each try.
Anyway to my actual question…
When they’re in my hands, they struggle a bit to move against my skin, and i can feel their belly scales getting a little caught up…
I wash my hands thoroughly before handling with dish soap. Ive also tried normal hand soap as well as viv disinfectant, and have the same issue.
It’s similar to the juddering you’d get with a pencil eraser if you drag it gently across a table/piece of paper.
Does anyone else have this issue? Is it even something i should be concerned about? Is it just a normal thing?
I have thought about using Talc on my hands to increase the smoothness but I’ve not tried this because I worry about the risk of them inhaling any fine dust.
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Yeah, putting a boa down when they don’t want to be put down can be…challenging. I’m still figuring out the best ways to manage that issue myself. The method that has so far worked best for me and my girl is that I’ve found she really likes one of the pieces of cork bark in her enclosure. So if I direct her head towards that piece of cork bark, she’ll usually move off my hand and onto the cork bark. So maybe see if there’s a piece of decor your boa likes, and see if they’re willing to climb onto that piece of decor.
As for the belly scutes catching a bit on your skin, I don’t think that’s anything to be concerned about. Snakes’ belly scutes are naturally a bit grippy. It’s part of what enables them to move and climb so effectively without limbs. I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think it causes the snake any pain or distress or anything like that. I’d advise against using talc or anything like that, because you do still want your snake to be able to hold onto you, and I’d be concerned about them potentially inhaling or ingesting such a fine powder, and I’m not sure what that would do to them.
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