Emerald Tree Boa with a serious attitude problem!

[sassysmama]

Ok, so I know that's not a huge shocker. But how do I remove her water dish? She's 5 feet, by the way. I have long tongs that I use to spot clean and so I placed a sheet of plexiglass over the water dish with those, temporarily, so she won't drink the dirty water. It's a very large, heavy crock and I can't get it with even heavy duty tongs without spilling it, and thus the dirty water would be spilled onto the substrate. I have a snake hook, but she holds so tightly to her branch with her tail that I can't get her off of it. This snake locks her focus onto me so intently it's scary. I've tried to shield her with a piece of plexiglass, but she always seems to know exactly where my fingers are.
Soooo, what do I do? I have seen her teeth and the speed in which she strikes so I'm not really wanting to get bitten by her. She has a vertically oriented cage and I can't seem to find a way to block her off. She is quite a pig and readily accepts rats, so I'm wondering if I should wait until she is swallowing a rat to quickly remove the water.
By the way, I've had her for over a month and she has fed twice for me. I have changed the water before by covering her with a pillowcase. But I guess she has settled into her new home because now she won't let me anywhere near her cage. I mean, she can be completely asleep, head tucked about three hours after I turn the lights on, and as soon as she hears the click of the lock on the cage door, she has her nose to the door, waiting to strike at me. Curiously, she has NEVER struck at the glass, the snake hook, or the tongs. She reserves her fury for when she has a close shot at my flesh. And yes, I knew this when I bought her. The guy said "She's the devil. She's gorgeous, but meaner than sin." I love her, and I wouldn't change her a bit, I just need to find a way to remove this bowl. Also, to solve the problem in the future I put a tupperware container in as a water bowl that can be easily removed with tongs. Thanks for any suggestions. Also, I will post pics soon. She really is a gorgeous snake. ;P
-Ally

 

[kingfarvito]

take a bite ....sounds like all you can do

 

[sassysmama]

Well, while taking a bite sounded like a lot of fun, I decided try removing her one last time and it worked! This time I waited until after I turned the lights off and she was not so tightly curled onto her branch. I feel really guilty though, because I'm sure it stressed her quite a bit. I would love to know if there is a better way, because I will eventually be moving her to another cage. Also, I wondered if she would be any less defensive once out of her cage, and that was answered with a resounding NO. On the plus side, I've been trying to think of a good name for her, and tonight she practically named herself. She will now be known as Witchy as it seems her personality is very similar to another green witch . Anyway, it certainly got my heart rate up.
-Ally

 

[Hedorah99]

take a bite ....sounds like all you can do

have you ever been bitten by an emerald tree boa? Not a fun experience.


To the OP. You can make a thing plexi glass shield. Just put a handle onit.

 

[crpy]

have you ever been bitten by an emerald tree boa? Not a fun experience.


To the OP. You can make a thing plexi glass shield. Just put a handle onit.

I agree, dont take a hit, it will damage you And the snake badly by ripping its teeth out and leaving them in you. A small plastic trash can lid works as well for a shield.

 

[JohnEDove]

Get some heavy leather gloves and do not jerk away when she hits you. That is how I do it with my big Bull Snake, aprox 67 inches, that acts the same way. When she latches on I just hold still and tell her what an idiot she is until she releases. Of course she has room in her enclosure so she can get out of the way and hide if she wants to so it is not a constant thing.

 

[sassysmama]

Ummm, unless I wear leather gloves up to my armpits, and a face shield as well, I doubt that gloves will help much. She basically goes for the face anyway. I do like the trash can lid suggestion, but I don't like the fact that I wouldn't be able to see her if she decided to try and manuever around it. I do like the plexiglass shield with handle theory! I guess I could make it have two connecting pieces, like a corner, and then have the top of the cage act as the top. Then I would be protected from front, bottom, and top strikes. Not to worry, I was never going to let her bite me. I have no desire to be a "woman's face ripped to shreds by ETB" headline. Not like people opposing the hobby don't have enough ammunition.
-Ally

 

[Red Eyes]

... Curiously, she has NEVER struck at the glass, the snake hook, or the tongs. She reserves her fury for when she has a close shot at my flesh ...
-Ally

Isn't that the heat pits doing their job? Your hand is warm so the heat pits sense that (warm = food). The Emerald Tree Boas are one of the "look but don't touch" snakes. It's amazing how far and fast they can actually strikeout at.

 

[UrbanJungles]

If she's well-adjusted (takes months) she will not wake up during the day and you will be free to do whatever you want in the cage as long as you don't touch her.

I have over 50 treeboas and once lights are out, all maintainence is DONE for the day, once they wake up all bets are off. Service your snake during the day without waking it up and you'll be fine.

Next time, this is something you'll probably want to consider BEFORE you buy the snake.

 

[hardlucktattoo]

Isn't that the heat pits doing their job? Your hand is warm so the heat pits sense that (warm = food). The Emerald Tree Boas are one of the "look but don't touch" snakes. It's amazing how far and fast they can actually strikeout at.

Yea try icepacks on your hands and arms