Rainbow boa help needed

[evilbob200]

I have recently purcahsed a male brazilian rainbow boa and i am having a bit of trouble. I am keeping the snake in a 29 gal long rubbermaid container with humidity at 80% and the warm side at around 90-95. Outside of this enclosure the snake is very docile and shows no signs of agression, inside the enclosure on the other hand he is very agressive and often strikes at my hands. Does anyone know what might be causing this or is it just the snake itself?

 

[misfitsfiend]

make the enviroment more comfortable for the snake. Get some decent hides, not just some cut up cardboard box. Put in some decent bedding, keep it humid and warm and it should get better if it is the container. Handle it often to tame it, BRB's can be tamed easily if not already tame, But they will snap if you startle them,

 

[Ishkabibble]

One thing I'm going to add to misfitsfiend advice is: after you've made the investment in time and money for an enclosure it likes, never feed it in its enclosure. Get a second feeding container for this purpose. It will associate feeding to this enclosure only and reduce the chance of a strike due to mis-association of reaching in to being fed. I have 4 snakes and feed them only in the enclosure for feeding. One was aquired as a sub-adult and would occasionally strike when hungry when I reached into its enclosure to check on it or hold it. Soon, it got used to the feeding tank and never strikes anymore when I reach into its regular tank. Besides, it keeps its living quarters cleaner. Just my opinion though. I do have a question for you, do you keep T's as well? A recent report noted that herp collectors also seem to keep T's as well. Since I keep herps, T's and Amphibs, I was curious.

 

[Carole]

90-95 is WAAY too hot for a brb. Baby brb's shouldn't be kept any hotter than 80 degrees, with 85 being on the very warm end. Humidity could stand to be another 10% or more.

Something to remember is that most snakes are simply 'cage defensive'. Its their home, and naturally, they feel they need to 'protect' their territory from the intruder (you!). Once picked up and out of the cage, they start figuring out you're not trying to eat them.

I do not subscribe to the feeding out of the enclosure theory. (This is a forever on-going debate).....personally, it never made any sense to me to take an animal out of their cozy little hidespot, plop it down somewhere else, and then ask it to eat. But that's just my two cents. Pretty much whatever works for you!

You didn't mention how old the brb was. If its a baby and you've put it in a 29 gallon, its might be freakin from being in too large an enclosure. Like misfitsfiend said, just handle it and your snake will come around. If you've just gotten the brb, give it a good week or two to settle in before you really start on the taming process.

Might want to check kingsnake's rainbow boa forum out; Jeff Clark is one of the leading authorities on brb care...
http://forums.kingsnake.com/forum.php?catid=189