[Behavior] Personality question.

[BigLou3]

Hello, I currently do now own a boa. However I plan on getting a columbian red tail in the near future. I know the males generally do not get as large however I was curious about temperament. Is there a noticeable difference between male and female boas? I understand that during breading and pregnancy the females will have more of and attitude but on a regular basis. Is one gender commonly more calm or friendly than the other or does it just come down to the different personalities of the snakes. Thank you in advance.

[L.West]

Re: Personality question.

I recently asked this same question on another forum. I was told that there really is no difference between male or female attitudes unless it comes to mating season issues. I currently have a male BCI although I had a female Hypo BCI some years ago who was very docile. One advantages to getting a male is they don't get as big.

I really think it depends on the individual animal.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Personality question.

I don't think it matters either...pretty much individual differences un-related to their gender. I had a large female BCI for many years that was always docile (& never bred)...my only regret was that she grew bigger
than I preferred...but I took her in as an unwanted rescue, and had I chosen the gender I'd have preferred male only for the size. And btw, she was "unwanted" because she was quite feisty as a yearling, so I also
think that with some patience, you can improve upon the temperment either way and you should always be "prepared" to do so.

[walla2GSP]

Re: Personality question.

...she was "unwanted" because she was quite feisty as a yearling...

This in my experience a little more key to attitude. Boas don't usually strike out of aggression but instead fear, (or feeding response, I'll come back to this). So a smaller snake is more easily freaked out by you reaching in to pick them up and will strike if you aren't mindful. With practice, they will come accustom to your smell like any pet and be less defensive. On the flipside, a large boa of any gender will be less scared of you, and will be willing to tell you when they want to be left alone (shedding, feeding, sick, stressed, etc.) I have had almost every animal in my collection hiss or strike at some point, but 99.5% of the time they are easy to handle and docile, with one hot BCC exception that is still very young so we will see. Coming back to feeding response, any animal can strike for "no reason" if they mistake anything for food. My "never bit anyone" girl will sit and strike at movement if she smells food enter the room and isn't fed within a minute, and many handlers have stories of feeding snakes with tongs and the snake mistakes the heat on the their hand for prey. If you have an animal that seems fiesty or aggressive the first question you need to ask, is "Am I making this animal think it's going to eat?". Hook training is a good way around accidently triggering a feeding response.

One advantages to getting a male is they don't get as big

This depends, I have an 8 ft male in my possession, that is currently my largest snake. My biggest female (same age) is actually a couple inches shorter, so it comes down to individuals.

So to answer your question, individual attitudes are more likely to determine an animals aggression level than the animals gender.

[acephantom903]

Re: Personality question.

This depends, I have an 8 ft male in my possession, that is currently my largest snake. My biggest female (same age) is actually a couple inches shorter, so it comes down to individuals.

So to answer your question, individual attitudes are more likely to determine an animals aggression level than the animals gender.

Great answer.