An amazon tree boa bit me today~!

[TheaN526]

Okay, not really.. I was at the store and it was a continuation of feeding day from Friday because I didn't get to everyone(you know I had to wait on customers too!)

My manager insists I feed each snake in a separate container. I put these thick gloves on so I could get the nasty tree boa out. I placed my hand over the tree boa and he proceeds to bite the gloves and attack, attack, and attack some more. Luckily he didn't get my face, just the thickness of the gloves which were a great protective shield from the sharp little teethies! He was sure a nasty little bugger. I knew to hold him away from my face though as he would've bit my eyes out. I know that tree boas can be nasty but he's got a shed problem and I would be in a nasty mood if I couldn't get my skin off.

I had to clean out his cage because it was pretty nasty. There was urates and poop everywhere.

Two things:
I gave him the wrong size food. I couldn't take it back after I had put it in. He kept trying to eat it but not succeeding. I finally found something he could eat and he wasn't having good luck with it either. I think that he still had eye caps left over from his shedding issues so that contributed to the eating issue. Urgh.

On another note I battled with a Jungle Carpet Python. He was very bitey but he calmed after a minute or two of handling(with gloves). He has tagged my manager quite a few times but he wanted me to get him out for feeding anyways.

I am hoping this whole feeding the snakes thing will get easier with time. It seems to just take an awful long time. We have about 16 snakes right now. Some small, 1 large, and mostly medium sized(Ball Pythons, Corn snakes,etc) The small ones are easy.

I guess I'll figure it out soon enough.. LOL.
-Amateur snake keeper(lol)

Are all ATB's nasty? This is the only one I've met.

Always an interesting day at the pet store job.

 

[medusacoils]

Very Exciting! Ever thought of getting one of those face shields that Doctors use? Might give you a little more protection from the attacking ATB! Either that or a SWAT helmet!

Wayne

 

[Floof]

I've always heard ATBs can be nasty, but wow!! Lol.. Good luck with that. =)

Maybe try talking to the manager about feeding him in-viv? And the shed thing could definitely have a ton to do with it... Try upping his humidity to help him shed better..

Break out the wussy gloves and a get a Doc's face shield (great idea, Wayne!), and give him really nice, long baths. ... Wait. Maybe you should make that body armor! Or those suits attack dog trainers wear. Lol! But, yeah. When I got my RTB, she hadn't had a complete shed in several months (at least) and had all kinds of stuck shed. The vet "prescribed" daily, 45-minute soaks and ordered me to peel off all the stuck shed (when it would come, of course). I got lucky, though, and the snake's a sweetheart.. I haven't been bitten once, even though I kept having to manhandle her head and pull and tug at her chin and neck (where most of the stuck shed was).

If he has retained eye caps, you need to do something about them.. It should calm him down a bunch, too, when his eye caps are off. =)

Good luck with the little monster... Lol.

 

[jen murphy]

what an exciting job, snake wrangling in a pet store! i wish i could do that, i will job trade for a day if you're interested, lol!

i need to up my snake experience points. i only have garter, grass, milk and corn snake experience. so unfortunately i can't answer your questions, but i will continue to read your entertaining posts about adventures with the snakes.

 

[tricksterpup]

you should really use hooks on ATBs and not gloves.. Never force an atb cause you can cause serious damage especially on young ones. You can cause them to kink in fact.
Use one hook to get them out and control them with a second one. It takes practice but it can be done.

 

[TheaN526]

you should really use hooks on ATBs and not gloves.. Never force an atb cause you can cause serious damage especially on young ones. You can cause them to kink in fact.
Use one hook to get them out and control them with a second one. It takes practice but it can be done.

We only have one snake hook to use at the store. I have to get the nasty little thing out for a shed fix tomorrow. Urgh. I want to fix that though because he just looks awful and it looks uncomfortable. Unfortunately he was actually a return. Someone bought him and didn't want him. ATBs are usually display snakes only. No handling.

We'll see if I can take care of the ugly shed tomorrow. Someone took the gloves I was using though. I'll search for another snake hook.

 

[kathylove]

Although I always feed my baby colubrids in a little cup (to focus attention on f/t pinks, and so they won't pick up aspen on the pinks), I NEVER move my ATBs, big or small, when I go to feed them. They eat much better with either a live mouse, or a f/t on tongs, while they are gripping onto their branches. You are just stressing them out by moving them. Tell the shop manager that at least one ATB breeder said so, lol!

As for shedding, the tree boas I keep in the house, with A/C and heat, do have some shed issues, while the ones I keep outside on the lanai in the good ol' Florida humidity, virtually never have a problem. But my easy fix is that I just keep a plastic container handy, and a few handfuls of dry moss. When I see a stuck shed, I just take the snake out and put it in the container with the moss, after filling it with about 2 inches of water. After the moss absorbs the water, there will still be about an inch of water sitting on the moss. That is enough that the snake sinks into it a bit and gets thoroughly soaked, but not enough that the snake is swimming around furiously, trying to escape. After an overnight soak, the skin usually comes off in my hands. If it is still stuck, I leave it for a full 24 hours. If you do this when you first notice the skin peeling in pieces, it won't take as long as if you wait until the skin is REALLY dry and stuck on.