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What's it like to have a BIG snake?

hypnoctopus

hypnoctopus

Olivia Barron
Staff member
So far, I just have my corn snakes, but sometime in the future I'd like to get a Dumerils boa. I'll probably wait until at least some of my corns are adult size to get anything larger.

So for those of you that own larger snakes, what is it like? Do you feel comfortable handling them? Is it more annoying to feed larger prey items? How big is the poop and does it stink more than a little snake poop? Have you been bitten or musked? What species' do you own?

I'd love to hear your overall experiences with big snakes, so feel free to add things that I haven't specifically asked about!
 
I have a six foot Dumerils, he is a cuddle bug. Dums are so so placid and even tempered. He really isn't much of a handful, he's been through a lot, including a round of meds which I had to pry open his mouth and inject as far down his throat as I could get. And it was easy, he took it all in stride. (He was sick when he arrived to me) He's pretty easy to get out of his viv, he pretty much just climbs right up my arm and perches on me himself, I have to lift his big butt out and hold it because he's so long. I'm more than comfortable handling him, I let him sit on the bed with me and after a bit of exploring he curls up next to me and chills. The feeding isn't bad, they don't need to be fed as much as corns, just order some frozen rats in bulk. It can cost a bit in one pop but it's worth it long term. Dums pee a lot more than most boas and yes the poop is stinky, but clean it up and the smell goes away. Just make sure to have an absorbent bedding and scoop out all the wet when they pee. I'll admit, when I first got him, him being my first big snake, I was nervous. He is just so easy going, my nervousness went away fast. So, I'd be glad to answer any questions and help in any way I can. I can't really find a whole lot of information on google about dums and I'm trying to collect all the info and experience I can find.
Here he is chilling on the bed with me. Typical of what he does when I have him out.
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Weda, nice snake!! Are you 100% sure that is a Dumeril's though and not a Madagascar Ground Boa? Just wondering, his pattern is a little different than my females and the head looks like maybe a different shape. Could just be the picture and natural pattern variation, though!

And to the OP, a Dumeril's boa would be a seriously excellent choice for your "bigger" snake. Mine is the most chill snake I own, I love her to death. We snuggle every Saturday morning! She comes in bed with me and we spoon, it's awesome. She lets me scratch her under the chin and give her kisses and everything. I've never so much as heard a hiss!

She is very easy to handle and I'm 100% confident I can handle her by myself. She has a nice heft to her without being too big.

I don't find her poop to be overly stinky, and they don't go NEARLY as often as corn snakes.

I feed mine the largest rats I can get and will soon be moving on to small rabbits if I can get her to switch over. Not a problem at all for me, I just order everything for all our snakes in bulk. Obviously bigger prey items are a bit more expensive but boas should be fed much less than colubrids anyways.

I think you should go for it!
 
What sort of bedding do you guys use? It seems like a lot of people just put a sheet or two of newspaper down for their big snakes. Do your Dumerils burrow at all because they're ground-dwelling snakes?
 
I love my bci, not sure how much different they are from dumerils, but by everyone's description I'd say not much. Dastan weighs six pounds, not sure how long he is though. He is a big sweet heart, but I have to get him out with a hook, at least to get him to start moving. I don't stick my hands near him in his cage if he's facing me.
 
I've got several big snakes. My biggest two are my adult Burmese pythons- thorn is 12' and Relic is almost 17'. I had to move out of mecklenburg county because of relic. Snakes can't weigh over 50 pounds there. I love my big guys! They are big hits when I do reptile shows at schools and stuff. Relics kinda hard cause I can't hold her by myself. :/ I have two big boas too- rose is about 6' and Sebastian is about 7'. That's a more manageable size.

Their poop is bigger and stinkier lol! Plus the cages are so big you have to crawl inside them to clean them instead of just rinsing it out in the sink like a corn snake sized tub. My boas eat rats and young guinea pigs but my Burms eat large rabbits, adult roosters (beak and feat removed) and relic will eat small goats. They eat less often but i swear Relics poop is as large as a horses.

Make sure your city/county/state doesnt have ordinances too. I was totally unaware it was illegal to own a snake over 50 lbs in mecklenburg county until I took relic to the vet and she weighed 65 lbs and my vet told me.
 
Should also mention that thorn has bitten me several times. He was badly mistreated when I got him and I got bit a lot administerin medicines and cream
To his burns. It hurts. A lot. He always bit and released but you end up with a hundred holes in your arm and an interesting story to tell your doctor and co-workers. If he ever bit me and coiled I'd be in trouble. I never handle any snake over 10' without someone else in the room as well.
 
Had some friends we knew at one time, they were breeding a green python of some rather rare type -- sorry, not very python-oriented now, and certainly not 20 yrs ago when we knew them. The female python was in a very, very large habitat that makes my 90-gal breeder aquarium (24 in deep, 18 in tall by 6 feet wide) look tiny, and the snake's diameter was a good 8 inches. They were raising rabbits for her to eat (the snake, I mean), as well as feeders of various types for local pet stores, in their garage, because it was cheaper than buying them. The snake was coiled in its 12-foot wide habitat about 3x -- I joke not, this glass cage was about wall width in their living room. And the snake could've easily had one of my cats for dinner, maybe one of my (30 lbs) dogs. They had several locks on the cage/habitat to keep it closed, although it had several air vents in it as well, though I did not count, I did remember noticing them and thinking that yes, those vents looked more secure than wire-mesh on top of the cage. I wish I could remember more about the snake to tell you, I know it all sounds like tall tales, but the snake was too long to take out by a standing adult of average (6 ft, say) height without at least doubling it. I didn't pay any notice to what was in its habitat other than the snake, I was a little, um, shocked? yes, that's a good word, by its size.
 
I have two burmese pythons and one retic, and recently just sold my rock python. I have been bitten by one of the burms, and it wasnt a bite meant for me, and she released immediatly, however it did break my finger from the impact of the bite. I am 100% comfortable handling them, although i do keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol on top the the enclosures for one of those "just in case" deals.. I dont mind feeding the larger prey it just takes longer to defrost.
I actually prefer the larger species to colubrids(dont get me wrong, corns are my first love), but i have my limit of 4 giants, and i have three at the moment. Big snakes are pretty awesome.
 
SquamishSerpents said:
Weda, nice snake!! Are you 100% sure that is a Dumeril's though and not a Madagascar Ground Boa? Just wondering, his pattern is a little different than my females and the head looks like maybe a different shape. Could just be the picture and natural pattern variation, though!

And to the OP, a Dumeril's boa would be a seriously excellent choice for your "bigger" snake. Mine is the most chill snake I own, I love her to death. We snuggle every Saturday morning! She comes in bed with me and we spoon, it's awesome. She lets me scratch her under the chin and give her kisses and everything. I've never so much as heard a hiss!

She is very easy to handle and I'm 100% confident I can handle her by myself. She has a nice heft to her without being too big.

I don't find her poop to be overly stinky, and they don't go NEARLY as often as corn snakes.

I feed mine the largest rats I can get and will soon be moving on to small rabbits if I can get her to switch over. Not a problem at all for me, I just order everything for all our snakes in bulk. Obviously bigger prey items are a bit more expensive but boas should be fed much less than colubrids anyways.

I think you should go for it!
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I'm no expert but I've had suspicions that he's mixed with maddies, He is a dumerils, but with his size and how fast he has grown for me, how frequently he sheds, I really thing he has madagascar ground boa blood in him somewhere, he also seems to do much better with more humidity than a typical dum needs. And thanks for the complement, I love this big guy.
 
As far as bedding, I made a post a while back that didn't really get much attention. I've been having trouble finding a good bedding for such a large burrower, they tend to get everything into their nostrils and even in the mouth. The reptibark is working out well so far except that he pees so much, you have to be careful to get it clean. Aspen is too dry, gets in his nose and the little pointy pieces get in his mouth, carefresh absolutely dried his skin out and the dust caked up in his nose, cypress mulch worked but I didn't like how sharp and rough it was.
 
Sorry for the multi-posts... I just keep remembering stuff to add. About burrowing, he doesn't do it all that often at all, just gets a wild hare up his butt sometimes and decides it would be fun to redecorate and dump his water. He never stays burrowed, He never even stays hidden. He's always always peeking around the edge of the blanket I keep over half his viv. They say dums are shy and like tight dark places. I read something about dumerils evolution in Madagascar and since they have nearly no natural predators, (nothing bigger than a fossa) they didn't really evolve the defensive fear aggression you get with other species, as much as I love our red tail, Dums just have that something special.
 
I find my Dumeril's does love to burrow, usually when she's burrowed herself that means it's time to feed! It seems she burrows to tell me she's hungry. Afterall, dumeril's are ambushers...they spy until their prey is right there and them BAM the poor rat never knew what was coming. I often find my Dum with just her eyes and nose sticking out, like a croc in the water!

I use aspen for her and don't have any issues that were mentioned, but I use aspen chips and not the shredded aspen, so maybe that makes a difference? It says "triple screened" on the bag so maybe that makes it less dusty as well.
 
I have a dumerils as well. But Dexter's just a baby, so I can't really say yet what it's like to have a big snake - watch it, Airenlow ;)

Tom Tuttle: I absolutely love the way bloods look. They have something of a reputation though, as you probably know. How many do you have or have had, and what kind of temperament have you experienced?
 
How big do dumerils get? I want something bigger and girthier than a corn, but not like a burm or retic! Would a medium-sized teenage girl be able to handle one okay? Are males smaller than females? I love Hog Islands too, but I kinda want something bigger than that. Thanks!
 
My understanding is that male dums get about 6 ft, and pretty girthy. Girls get about 6-8 ft, I believe. They're known for a great temperament, but usually shy too. Even my baby dum is super sweet and cuddly. He usually finds a spot in my lap or on the back of my neck and just chills while I watch tv. Here, we're watching football together:

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I have a very large Hog Island and im not 100% she is pure but she sure has Hog blood in her. She is about 7 feet long and 18 pounds, and she is a big puppy dog. I sit on the couch with her and she just stretches out and wont move for hours If I stay there. She has never tried to bite or hiss and I much prefer their poop over corns, it is less frequent and smells alot less, atleast to me. I also have a Hypo Hog Island that is about 5 feet and 7 pounds and he is about the same as her. I love my "big" snakes and have no problem handling them by myself.
 
Aww big snakes rock! I have a giant Pastel Boa (BCI) named Sienna that I love. She is about 9 feet long and roughly 50 pounds. She's 14 years old and as sweet as can be. She is very gentle and for the most part, easy to handle. She is a BIG girl though.
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Also, has anyone told you about Carpet Pythons yet? They can get long, but stay pretty slender. They vary in different temperaments as well. Here is my largest, Malakai, measuring at about 5 feet long. He is easily one of my favorite snakes. Very intelligent and calm.
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Sorry for the multitude of pictures! :D
 
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