Moody Lady!

[mutley375]

Our young red tail has been in a very very bad mood the last two days :main_huh: She was fine up to then for feeding , handling, etc. but now she watchs our every move and has even struck at me from inside her tank!!!!! She is eating very well, could this be preshed moodiness. This is my son's (our) first Boa, we are Gecko Freaks, so I just wanted to be sure she is ok.

 

[T&KBrouse]

Theres a few different theories to what could cause this behavior. How big is she? And what is her feeding schedule, size of prey, and how many prey items is she fed at one feeding?
(Boas tend to get really grumpy if they're still hungry)

 

[Alliemac]

My first thought was that she was still hungry too. Or that your hand smelled attractive to her which also links to hungry. I always wash my hands before sticking my hand in our tank because I've been struck a couple of times because I smelled like food (gecko, beardie, mouse etc).

My other thought is that you startled her. Babies are jumpy so a fast moving hand can look like a big predator.

 

[animalhouse27]

one thing my roomate always says about Bigger breed Snakes.. Feed them in another container then there cage. cause they will start Associating Feeding with your hand in there cage. :-/ I am Not a snake person, So I have NO idea. But, Maybe see if you can start feeding it in a seperate tupperware tub type thing. So, when it is in it's main cage, it wont associate your hand with Food. :-/

 

[Alliemac]

Whether or not to feed in a separate tank is a huge debate in the snake world. Some people swear you have to and some people swear you don't. My personal feeling is that if you have your snake on a loose substrate it's a good idea to feed in a separate tank so they don't inject the substrate but other than that it isn't necessary.

ETA: I feed in my tank and ONLY times I've been tagged by my ball are when I was slack about washing my hands between handling animals or when I start a rat to defrost and don't wash my hands before I open the tank. Interestingly enough my sister only feeds in a feeding tank and has been tagged way more than I have since her snakes associate the feeding tank with a frenzied feeding free for all. They get really worked up just being put in the feeding tank and have bitten on the way in several times.

 

[T&KBrouse]

All of mine are fed in their enclosures and we've never had a problem. My "big guys" are all hook trained. When their enclosures are opened, we touch their backs and the tops of their heads with the hook, they lay their heads down and are receptive to being picked up. I'm still cautious, of course, but this method has worked great with all of these guys.
Allie, I had the same problem your sister had when I was using seperate totes for feeding. I was guaranteed to get bit atleast once, every feeding day.:main_thumbsdown:

Like anything else, find what works and use it, IMO.

 

[mutley375]

Thanks everyone! She is approx. 8 weeks old. Feeding on frozen/ thawed young mice once a week. I also thought that she may still be hungry after feeding last Friday so I offerd another Monday. I am wondering if she is associating my personal scent with dinner!! Also may have some lingering Gecko or feeder odor as they are all in the same room. I noticed tonight that she postures up when I am around but was more relaxed when my son was in the same spot???????

 

[T&KBrouse]

Babies are notorious nippy the first year. They instinctually know they are the Universal lunchmeat for everything else.
Maybe try graduate her food? An extra mouse or upgrade to a rat pink, maybe? It might help. She'll still maintain a hyperalert nature, but it may help with the nippyness.