| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| mystique1 |
Posted - 30/12/2010 : 01:07:13
Thanx for all the warm welcomes. As well as being new to forums I am kinda new to BRBs. I have wanted one since I was a small child but wan't allowed to have one because of their rep for being ill tempered. This didn't stop me from reading everything I could find on them though. A few weeks ago I came across a male and female at my local and favorite reptile store and it brought back my love of BRBs. I redid all the research from childhood and decided to purchase the female who at the time seemed the sweetest. After having her for a few weeks, she has turned aggresive,very random. There seems to be no guarentee when she will bite. What would you recomened for taming? I already plan to give her a bigger home where I can provide more cover and do better by her temp and humidity, which brings me to my next question. I see alot of controversy on the recomened temp. I see over 80 can be deadly and I see over 85, which is it? Sorry such a long post, I got excited and couldn't stop typing, lol |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 04/02/2011 : 00:04:46
Dunno how the spam wasn't spotted earlier by our reptilian spam detector:
 |
| Snakesitter |
Posted - 03/02/2011 : 20:44:06
Wow. Biochemical substrates, what *will* they think of next? --->Note sarcasm directed at last two spam threads<--- ;-) |
| Snakesitter |
Posted - 01/02/2011 : 23:35:48
LOL makes more sense now. No worries, we all know you're a good guy. |
| oakleyman18 |
Posted - 01/02/2011 : 23:30:50
That was @ the spam! :) which has since been deleted, so now it looks like I was being rude.. lol oops! apologies! |
| Snakesitter |
Posted - 01/02/2011 : 19:33:49
Huh lol? |
| oakleyman18 |
Posted - 01/02/2011 : 18:08:02
yawn.. |
| hiper2009 |
Posted - 17/01/2011 : 15:54:31
Hi and welcome to the forum. |
| benji54 |
Posted - 31/12/2010 : 01:37:26
i use coconut block stuff that you hydrate. hold moisture well but you dont lose em so easy! |
| mystique1 |
Posted - 31/12/2010 : 01:07:12
thank you everyone for the advice. She is aproximatly a foot and a half to two feet long. Not sure exactly how old, haven't had a chane to ask yet. I put her in a 20L gal with sphagnum moss as subsrate, a few sticks, fake plants, and another hide house on the cool side. She is about 80-83 on hot side with 70% humidity. Having trouble keeping that up. Debating a fogger ( wanted to get one for my iguana anyway). I figured I would give her a week or so to settle in before I start working with her. Although, I just had a thought, with all the cover I gave her, how am I gonna find her? lol |
| IncurableFlirt |
Posted - 31/12/2010 : 00:13:20
Hey Mystique. Great questions! Just wanted to specify something first off....something that is VERY important. Any temperature over 85 degrees for a BRB is going to kill them. These snakes prefer a slightly cooler setting than most others. An 80F warm side should be sufficient in keeping your BRB happy...with a cooler side no lower than around 72-73F. As Benji mentioned...watch your snake and see which area it is hanging out the most. If it is always in the hot side, you might need to up your temperatures just a TINY bit. In the cold side....you may need to lower them equally little.
Humidity is also a huge important matter. The younger the BRB, the more it will need a higher humidity. I kept Marius' at around 83% when I first got him as a hatchling. He's gained a few sizes since then, and now I keep it at around 80%, but I've even heard people going as high as 90% when they are little. If the humidity is too low, they will get a respiratory infection and could possibly die.
It honestly does not matter how big the enclosure is that you get your snake....just so long as you provide tons of good, secure feeling hiding spots and lots of foliage and moss. BRBs sometimes like to climb, sometimes like to burrow, and occasionally like to hide out in a moss box for extra humidity.
As Cliff said, the aggression is actually the snake's way of testing you to see just what it can get away with and what will get it put down and left alone. Never EVER put your snake down and avoid it after a bite, because then it will never stop biting you.  I never worry about whether Marius is in his hiding spot or not when I get him out. Just lift the hide and set it aside, then gently pick up the snake. Don't hover your hand near their head, but just confidently slide your hand underneath their belly and lift them up. If you should happen to get tagged, hold the animal for several minutes (like...at least 15), so that it will learn that even if it bites you, you are NOT going to put it down. It may take a great deal of patience, and you may get tagged a few times before you make headway. With diligence, you'll win.
You can also try the "T-shirt" method of getting your snake used to you by wearing a T-shirt around all day and then placing it near the hide that your snake uses the most. This will then help the snake associate your smell with "home" and it might calm down more quickly when being held. I hope that all of our suggestions will help you out and if you need further assistance, just say the word! |
| Snakesitter |
Posted - 30/12/2010 : 19:26:51
Benji covered the temperature side well -- good job, Benji! Sully's thread is also a good reference.
The "ill tempered" bit on Brazilians is a persistant bit of myth. As a general rule -- and there are always exceptions -- babies nip frequently, adolescents occasionally, and adults rarely. The keys to getting them to calm down are three:
1. Meet their needs. If the animal is comfortable (temp/humidity) and secure (solid hide), it will be less stressed and therefore less bitey.
2. Handle regularly, but appropriately. It is regular gentle contact that teaches them you are not a threat. This means being careful when picking them up and setting them down, fully supporting their body, not moving suddently and scaring them, etc.
3. Don't be deterred by bites. If you let a nip drive you away, you teach the snake that biting means privacy. I always make sure to pick an animal up right away after a bite.
That said, there are always exceptions. Out of my 30, I currently have two that bite. One is an adolescent female that nips when you "offend" her (every few holding sessions, as if to keep you on your toes), and one is an adult make that came to me fully diabolically posssessed. ;-) I still try with both though!
Good luck, |
| sullysteve |
Posted - 30/12/2010 : 11:51:25
Hey Mysti!
I had a lot of trouble calming my girl down too. Check out my "introduction" thread here... http://www.therainbowboa.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=477&SearchTerms=biting
You should find some usefull info in that thread |
| benji54 |
Posted - 30/12/2010 : 11:09:29
hehe! grats on gettin a brb, i got my first one a couple of weeks back! hope non of my advice is patronising/obvious as i know you've done your research already.
right... how big is the viv? How old/ big is the snake? id keep temp at warm end around 80 and watch her behaviour. if shes basking all the time, you know she could be made slightly warmer. if she explores, sits lots in her hide and frequents the "cool end" you know your ok! If she stays in the cool end all the time, its too warm (not a hard and fast rule but a good initial judge). Mine is around 80 at the warm and but its hard for me to regulate as my viv is like 2x2x2. also make sure the humididty is high enough and her water bowl is big enough for her whole body to fit in.
with regards to her temperament...never pick up a BRB from above. they climb a lot in the wild so they dont think of anythin coming from above them as a good thing! pick her up slowly but puposefully and make sure you stroke her before lifting so she knows your there. Dont feed her in the viv. get a seperate feeding box and only feed her in that so she doesnt confuse your hand ith a mouse when you get her out of her home. Make sure she has branches/vines etc to climb on. they love climbing and feel safe in trees etc so that should calm her down maybe. Dont pick her up from her hide, wait until she is out. ideally when she climbs, pick her up from underneath. other than that, handle 4-5 times a week for 15 minute intervals and after a lot of patience, compation and antiseptic, you should hopefuly have a tamer friend! hope that helps, good luck! |
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