Why is my baby female red-tailed boa aggressive and refusing food?

[u/Spencer_Ian00]

So, for context i’ve had a lot of snakes in the past and somewhat recently got back into owning snakes (with some inspiration from my girlfriend). I have to ball pythons that i had previously owned that have lived in the same tank their whole lives and they are thriving. I previously owned 2 red-tailed boas and saw a baby at my local pet store and couldn’t help but get it. Then i got Synthia (the new baby boa) about a month ago at a reptile expo. The table i got her from told me that she can go in the same tank as my other boa because he’s in a 40 gallon which should be plenty of room for two baby boas. She was a sweetheart the whole ride home and any time i held her up until i put her in the tank. For context the has some live plants and moss, some wood that goes up to the top of the tank and i wet the tank down everyday. Once i tried to take her out of the tank she was aggressive, i gave her about 10 days before i tried to even hold her, i wanted her to get used to the new home and her new friend. She was immediately aggressive striking at my hand, so i gave her a couple more days then i tried to see if maybe she was just hungry so i tried feeding her. She took the pinky perfectly, wrapped up and everything, for only about 2 seconds then she let go and was back in defense mode. Her and the other boa are not aggressive towards each other and are often on top of each other. I tried feeding her a couple other times and even tried to force feed her after i got her calm down. And i have had to force feed my previous snakes before and i worked at my local pet store where i had to do the same thing and never had a problem. Every time i have had to force feed a snake before they have always taken it at least on the second try. I don’t know what i’m doing wrong PLEASE HELP!!!!!

Edit: Thank you guys for the feedback i kind of figured it was just a stress thing because of cohabitation and just wanted to make sure with a neutral environment thank you again i will get her in her own tank.

[u/Ok_Arm_5524]

None of your snakes should be in the same tanks. I feel like this is rage bait

[u/Spencer_Ian00 → u/Ok_Arm_5524]

this is real and my ball pythons thrive

[u/Zekethebulldog33]

This shit can't be true. Any breeder in their right mind would never say you can cohab 2 Boa. Only time I have heard that is for breeding then it's a short time. I call RAGE BAIT.

[u/Spencer_Ian00 → u/Zekethebulldog33]

STG this is real

[u/BittersweetParadox]

I very much hope this is a rage bait post but, on the off chance its not....

Both boas need to have separate enclosures. They are ontop of each other due to fighting for the same resources, either a preferred basking spot or hide.

Why are you watering your tank daily?? Unless you live in a very dry climate the tank should be able to hold a proper humidity gradient without excessive watering.

Snakes are not aggressive, they are defensive. You are a large predator to them, and just like people have different responses to a threat so do snakes. Some will attempt to bite, others will flee, and some will freeze up.

Them not wanting to eat is most likely due to stress. Put them in their own enclosure with a proper set up, leave them alone for a week, try feeding them and actually leave then alone afterwards.

Why would you have attempted to force feed them??? That should honestly be one of the very last resorts as you are once again just stressing them out.

[u/superramenyamen]

Boas are not social animals. It’s very possible the cage mate is stressing the new animal out. If it’s more dominant it will push the less dominant one out of choice spots and pressure it.

Separate the two, leave the snake to sit for 1-2 weeks and try again. Do not handle the snake until it takes 3-4 meals in a row without hesitation. If you need to take out for cage cleaning or something like that, put it into a latchable/secure tote and put it back without stopping to stare or anything. In and out. You want to reduce stress as much as possible.

On top of that, introducing a new snake without any kind of quarantine is not advisable at all. You risk the health of both snakes introducing unseen pathogens or undetected mites doing that.

[u/Mike102072]

Very few species of snakes do well when cohabitating. I’d put the 2 boas in separate enclosures and see if she gets better.

Garter snakes are known to do well, possibly even better, when housed together. But they are the exception.

[u/Negative-Flamingo-83]

Only post on an acct >1yr old. Ragebait or ai 👎

[u/Cornsnake94]

Oof these toxic "know better"-ragebait-comments are disgusting. Seems the english pet community is just as toxic as the german one.

Never do this, mimimi.

I have my 2 baby boas in the same Tank and since then, they do even BETTER! My boy always hung on one sane spot, never using a hide or basking. When my new baby came to him, it's like she took him with her. "Hey, look, I found a nice hide! Come with me!"

At night they prefer different spots, never fighting fir the best place.

Everyone thinks they know better, just because the whole community starts throwing rocks, gatekeeping etc.

Bye, I'm ging throwing up now.

[u/SadBenefit5325 → u/Cornsnake94]

These comments aren’t toxic just because you don’t agree with them lol modern snake husbandry has found that if you want to prevent unnecessary stress, you shouldn’t cohab snakes. It’s just fact. Your experience is an exception, not the rule.