Dumeril boas.

[Redjunior]

Has anyone ever had adult males attack younger males ? In a chase the other down and strike attack? Mine have been fighting the last few days, my bigger male will chase down and sometimes stalk the younger male, inevitably attacking. one is 4ft the other is a bit over 2ft. My female is 4ft and she leaves them both alone and is also left alone. I have to separate the males at this point, but they lived together fine for over a year with no issues, until now, which is odd. Anyone else ever experience this with dumerils?

You can see all 3 here.
Talla my female, bottom left, Tonic my larger male top, and, Willis my smaller male in the bottom right.

 

[CWilson1351]

What size is the enclosure they are all in? It sounds like the males might be having a territorial issue, especially with the female in there too.

 

[Redjunior]

What size is the enclosure they are all in? It sounds like the males might be having a territorial issue, especially with the female in there too.

They're in a 6ft by 2ft by 2ft terrarium. i was thinking maybe territory, But then its curious because, They lived together for over a year without ever showing aggression. my males have even been found bundled together sleeping. Im thinking my larger male may just be a dink. Cause he was a rescue. ( both males were rescues ). Maybe something is up with the husbandry of the environment. its just odd to me, cause they have never gone at each other before, except a few occasions. usually during feeding they will bite each other, but soon let go realizing its not food. the 1 time my male ever attacked my female, even though hes bigger, she sure got the upper hand super fast and has since never been attacked again, Funny enough my female intimidates both males. My males Have never attacked one another. until recently. im not sure whats happening. They were all fine for a year, through breeding season and all. Google is zero help as all information is from 2008 or earlier and in that time ( almost 10 years ) a lot has been changed as far as knowledge on these snakes. Ive heard maybe i have 2 dumerils and 1 Madagascar ground boa. being so close in comparison it might have been overlooked. I try looking at other forums but no reptile forums i come across are any help, due to they are either obsolete, or have next to no members or recent posts ( recent as in after 2009 ) . ive also read young boas can be cannibalistic, but my young males never initiates the confrontation. its my larger male chasing him down, and its usually at the same time every night. between 10pm and midnight. its not quiet either, they really get rolling around. If you catch them as they are chasing around and turn the lights on they stop what they are doing and go separate ways, Almost instantly that the light is turned off, im having to get in there and pull them apart. Which led me to think it almost like hunting. But any info or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for anything you have to say.

 

[Redjunior]

Anyone got any Dumeril photos they want to share, Id love to see em!

 

[CWilson1351]

They're in a 6ft by 2ft by 2ft terrarium. i was thinking maybe territory, But then its curious because, They lived together for over a year without ever showing aggression. my males have even been found bundled together sleeping. Im thinking my larger male may just be a dink. Cause he was a rescue. ( both males were rescues ). Maybe something is up with the husbandry of the environment. its just odd to me, cause they have never gone at each other before, except a few occasions. usually during feeding they will bite each other, but soon let go realizing its not food. the 1 time my male ever attacked my female, even though hes bigger, she sure got the upper hand super fast and has since never been attacked again, Funny enough my female intimidates both males. My males Have never attacked one another. until recently. im not sure whats happening. They were all fine for a year, through breeding season and all. Google is zero help as all information is from 2008 or earlier and in that time ( almost 10 years ) a lot has been changed as far as knowledge on these snakes. Ive heard maybe i have 2 dumerils and 1 Madagascar ground boa. being so close in comparison it might have been overlooked. I try looking at other forums but no reptile forums i come across are any help, due to they are either obsolete, or have next to no members or recent posts ( recent as in after 2009 ) . ive also read young boas can be cannibalistic, but my young males never initiates the confrontation. its my larger male chasing him down, and its usually at the same time every night. between 10pm and midnight. its not quiet either, they really get rolling around. If you catch them as they are chasing around and turn the lights on they stop what they are doing and go separate ways, Almost instantly that the light is turned off, im having to get in there and pull them apart. Which led me to think it almost like hunting. But any info or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for anything you have to say.

Hmmm I'm still thinking territory issues. That's a good sized cage but given the size of the males, and that there is a female in with them, it seems possible they do not have enough room individually. Also the larger one could be reaching maturity. If so, he could be seeing the smaller male as invading his space, or possibly competition for the female.
Considering the time being so late, it sounds like it happens right as they really get up and moving. Which pushes me closer to thinking it is territory/mating issues.
If at all possible I'd move the younger male and female to their own cages. Let the big guy keep his space. Even though they are on the smaller side, Dumerils really do best on their own.

Also, as a long time Dumerils fan, your 3 are beautiful animals, and thank you for rescuing them from the previous situations.

 

[Redjunior]

yeah i have them separated. the smaller male (willis) is in his own tank at the moment, my larger male (tonic) seem fine with the female (talla). Ill have to keep them together cause i dont have any more tanks to put them in... well i do, but nothing to the size they need. I like having All my reptiles in tanks big enough to stretch fully and move comfortably. When my older dums get fully grown at 6-8ft theyll be transferred into a 9 or 10 ft tank. Im not worried about tonic and talla being housed together. shes had no problems showing him who is boss hahaha. ive even caught her eye'ing up my 6ft blood python from across the room, pacing like she wants a piece of him, so i had to move him cause he was seemingly stressed out. i appreciate the input and will take action accordingly. i got some photos to post up of them as well. For the archives of course

As far as the rescues, they were good finds. Tonic was in a pet store ( was shut down for animal abuse and neglect ) he was neglected had signs of dehydration, starvation and had a god awful smell to him, he had no hide and was stuck front and center with newspaper substrate and super bright and hot heat lamp. Willis was saved from a couple that couldnt take care of him i found on kijiji. He has respiratory infections, scale rot, disfigured tail, stressed out to the max, stunted in growth. Willis is the same age of both my dums but is a third the size, he has scars and all. they wanted 300$ for him.. I got him free for what i pointed out to them. poor guy.
I also saved my blood python... and what a vet bill that was. i had to give him needles and pills, lubricants for his eyes from years of poor shedding, he has scared eyes as well im sure hes partially blind now. he had years of dead skin on him that i had to bath him and massage off, he has muscle displacement and erosion ,also stunted growth, a bone disease ( cant remember the name of it ) usually an orange snake, he was brown when i got him. he has come back 100% also. Love my slithering friends. i wish i could have more!

 

[Redjunior]

heres some of Tonic my Large male.

An epic shot right there.

 

[CWilson1351]

yeah i have them separated. the smaller male (willis) is in his own tank at the moment, my larger male (tonic) seem fine with the female (talla). Ill have to keep them together cause i dont have any more tanks to put them in... well i do, but nothing to the size they need. I like having All my reptiles in tanks big enough to stretch fully and move comfortably. When my older dums get fully grown at 6-8ft theyll be transferred into a 9 or 10 ft tank. Im not worried about tonic and talla being housed together. shes had no problems showing him who is boss hahaha. ive even caught her eye'ing up my 6ft blood python from across the room, pacing like she wants a piece of him, so i had to move him cause he was seemingly stressed out. i appreciate the input and will take action accordingly. i got some photos to post up of them as well. For the archives of course

As far as the rescues, they were good finds. Tonic was in a pet store ( was shut down for animal abuse and neglect ) he was neglected had signs of dehydration, starvation and had a god awful smell to him, he had no hide and was stuck front and center with newspaper substrate and super bright and hot heat lamp. Willis was saved from a couple that couldnt take care of him i found on kijiji. He has respiratory infections, scale rot, disfigured tail, stressed out to the max, stunted in growth. Willis is the same age of both my dums but is a third the size, he has scars and all. they wanted 300$ for him.. I got him free for what i pointed out to them. poor guy.
I also saved my blood python... and what a vet bill that was. i had to give him needles and pills, lubricants for his eyes from years of poor shedding, he has scared eyes as well im sure hes partially blind now. he had years of dead skin on him that i had to bath him and massage off, he has muscle displacement and erosion ,also stunted growth, a bone disease ( cant remember the name of it ) usually an orange snake, he was brown when i got him. he has come back 100% also. Love my slithering friends. i wish i could have more!

Good news on being able to separate the males at least. You don't want to go with too large of an enclosure for them though. I would say a 6ft cage is fine for an individual. It's pretty uncommon for a Dumerils to get much past 6ft if at all.
It really sounds like you love these 3 and your Blood Python (another one I've liked for a long time) always good to hear others care as much about snakes as I do.

Man... Those poor snakes were in hell...

 

[Redjunior]

heres is Talla. my female.

Thats Tonic n Talla together.

 

[Redjunior]

And heres Willis.

Thats all 3 on 1 arm. i dont got many Pics of Willis.

And sorry all the pictures are so big, my laptop will only let me Copy and paste images rather than share or save them.

 

[Redjunior]

Good news on being able to separate the males at least. You don't want to go with too large of an enclosure for them though. I would say a 6ft cage is fine for an individual. It's pretty uncommon for a Dumerils to get much past 6ft if at all.
It really sounds like you love these 3 and your Blood Python (another one I've liked for a long time) always good to hear others care as much about snakes as I do.

Man... Those poor snakes were in hell...

yeah man, I love em. They listen to all my problems hahaha. And i know they dont get much past 6ft. But im hoping with feeding weekly and having large moving space that they can reach the Rare 9ft. Its super rare, but ive seen videos of 9ft dums, either way ill love em till the end. I plan on getting more snakes, just not sure what ones yet, i like dums cause their personality and the environment in madagascar they come from, if simulated properly the tank can be gorgeous. its all in all a really good time. im hoping to grab some water cobras here soon. they looks kinda like a venomous sharper version of dumerils. in my opinion anyways. But my dums defs went from hell to the highlife. You can see the difference in previous health by looking at the pictures and seeing the scars and how the 2 males scales are much more beat up than the female. but at least they are all good now. ready to live that 20 years or more life they got left in them. cant wait to add more plants to the tank, hoping to create a self sustaining tank setup, with live plants and a water source that is filtered through a custom made system outside the tanks. HUGE project for these babes. But will be super cool when finished. and i know they will love it.

 

[Redjunior]

And heres Jynx. My blood python

 

[Redjunior]

Hope you enjoy the pictures. If anyone had any dumeril Pics id love to see! thanks again wilson for the info, Ill be doing my best to keep it more chilled out for them. Again, sorry the pictures are so big, The format they go on as cant be changed cause my laptop is a p.o.s. But hopefully you can see them.

 

[CWilson1351]

yeah man, I love em. They listen to all my problems hahaha. And i know they dont get much past 6ft. But im hoping with feeding weekly and having large moving space that they can reach the Rare 9ft. Its super rare, but ive seen videos of 9ft dums, either way ill love em till the end. I plan on getting more snakes, just not sure what ones yet, i like dums cause their personality and the environment in madagascar they come from, if simulated properly the tank can be gorgeous. its all in all a really good time. im hoping to grab some water cobras here soon. they looks kinda like a venomous sharper version of dumerils. in my opinion anyways. But my dums defs went from hell to the highlife. You can see the difference in previous health by looking at the pictures and seeing the scars and how the 2 males scales are much more beat up than the female. but at least they are all good now. ready to live that 20 years or more life they got left in them. cant wait to add more plants to the tank, hoping to create a self sustaining tank setup, with live plants and a water source that is filtered through a custom made system outside the tanks. HUGE project for these babes. But will be super cool when finished. and i know they will love it.

I am the same with my snakes. Particularly my Brazilian Rainbow Boa Pandora. She is my baby, and she knows it. Spoiled little brat lol
Be extremely alert any time you are near water cobras, they are deceptively fast and from what I have seen and been around, beyond unpredictable. As beautiful as they all are, I know I will never own any Elapidae. They can be too erratic for my tastes. Viperidae are more "calm" in general in my experience. One day I'd love to keep a few species.
Your snakes are all beautiful and honestly I'm a bit envious lol I've been told no more snakes until we move to a bigger place. You can see all of my reptiles in this thread: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/all-my-vertebrates.292187/