So I’m a nerd who likes to learn new stuff, and one of my FAVORITE facts about our boa imperators is that their nostrils are pointed backwards so that they can sneak up on their prey… and what I love about that is that I think about this when we are getting snake snuggles and they poof their little boa breath on us…. Sooooooo sweet!
I love that boas still have vestigial spurs! I thought that when I got into them, I wasn’t going to notice them. But I can tell you, I have got full blown scratches from Kai lol .
When Kaluha and Red, my CA boas were babies they would wind themselves around my pony tail or my ears and across my face like glasses! lol! They were and still are so sweet, but not so much their daughter Charlotte! Lol! . And I think I remember them breathing on me……??
Finnley the baby Black Eyed Lucy Ball Python is sensitive to Barometric pressure shifts. He doesn’t seem to respond to the more minor ones, but when the pressure plummets fast, he’s all over his enclosure during his sleep hours.
According to Dāv Kaufman’s experiences and the locals he talked to in Africa, ball pythons, particularly young ones, tend to be up in trees when the Wet Season comes on them. So it’s not impossible that Finnley is instinctively looking for a tree to climb, presumably to get out of flash flood range, when his snakey senses tell him a storm is moving in.
I’ve observed the same thing with mine!. Whenever a storm is coming and the pressure shifts, they’re bouncing all over their enclosures, less likely to eat, and generally acting more excitable. It’s interesting to watch
@lumpy agreed! Their spurs are why I opt for our longsleeve VMB shirts during handling sessions. They really can scratch !
@caron ours do that, too. I think these behaviors (the breathing and face-crawling) are such a sign of trust on their part! And it is always so funny to experience how animals raised in the same space can have such different personalities… much like humans, I suppose!
@athleticshoelace and @chesterhf that is so cool! Reminds me of that old saying the old folks have about knowing when the “weather” is coming in b/c they can "feel in in their joints!’ Their instinct to get to higher ground is totally viable.
We (The VMB Crew) find this connection to nature is one of the coolest things about keeping boas:
for example one of my other favorite fun facts/behaviors is the post-breeding behavior of our Mamas: the scooping motion she will do with her head to get the babies moving and into the fresh air out of the goop directly after she gives birth is SOOOO neat to watch. It really shows the power of nature ie: the ability of that maternal instinct to kick in as soon and only after the babies arrive. Interesting indeed!!
Oh I’m not even old, and I can definitely feel it in my skull and all my nervous system when a storm is coming in. I have a neuroimmune condition and something about the pressure shift causes The Inflammation. I can definitely tell. I often have the pressure headache, then check with Finnley and the weather website- if two of the three agree, it’s a certainty.
Blue tongue skink tongues ward off predators by reflecting uv light in the face of birds (who can see uv light) effectively blinding them for a couple seconds which allows them to run away from the birds. One of the most fascinating ways of defense against predators.
On no! That sounds painful! Helpful maybe in terms of travel planning…? but painful! I’m sorry to hear that… Ugh. Does the pain increase with the severity of the weather? I could only imagine what that would be like during hurricane season down here in Florida!!
That is really interesting! We had BTS for a bit (5 years) and had no clue they could do that! Those little things were SUPER funny! The most interesting facts about them that I remember is they loved being hand-fed dog food from a paper plate (that might have been our fault, tho), some of them LOVE bananas, and they were great snugglers with incredibly expressive personalities.
Alas we missed our boas too much in the lo ng run so here we are… but those BTS are great animals.
Thanks for sharing ! I am loving all of this new info !
Thank you. It doesn’t hurt sharply so much as ache boringly, which I prefer of the two, tbh. I wonder if Finnley’s head feels squished by pressure of if he just gets a sudden urge to CLIMBE.
Another fun fact! Black (Brown) African House Snakes like my Sangfroid, (Boaedon fuliginosus) aren’t in the family Colubridae!
Despite looking almost like corn snakes, they act more like teeny tiny Retic pythons, and are part of Lamprohiidae along with their cousins the Elapids- cobras and mambas!
[quote=“voodoomagicboas, post:10, topic:35400, full:true”] The most interesting facts about them that I remember is they loved being hand-fed dog food from a paper plate (that might have been our fault, tho)
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One of my three blue tongues prefers to be spoon fed rather than eat on her own. She gives me a perplexed look if I just put the plate down. Definitely my fault because I spoiled her terribly being my first BTS.
Weirdly enough, mine is the same. And whenever I try to tongue feed insects, she needs a little bit of a chase to build up an appetite. If I just place the bug in front of her, she couldn’t care less. If I move it all around the enclosure and even out into my arm a bit, she’s all over it.
@ghsaltie@garciademueller We also found those BTS to be SERIOUS imprinters and quite the fussy eaters from time to time! They can be adorably high maintenance but as you mention a lot of it is our fault. I had gone so far as to knit them individual snuggle blankets. The spoiling on our end definitely got out of hand…
who likes to learn new stuff, and one of my FAVORITE facts about our 
boa imperators is that their nostrils 
are pointed backwards so that they can sneak 
up on their prey… and what I love 
about that is that I think about this when we are getting snake snuggles 
and they poof their little boa breath 
on us…. Sooooooo sweet!
buddies… and each other!
.
That sounds painful! Helpful maybe in terms of travel planning…? but painful! I’m sorry to hear that… Ugh. Does the pain increase with the severity of the weather? I could only imagine what that would be like during hurricane 
season down here in Florida!! 
(that might have been our fault, tho), some of them LOVE bananas, and they were great snugglers with incredibly expressive personalities.
!