Red Tail Boas and Burrowing

Just wondering if red tail boas prefer to burrow? I haven't read anything about them liking to burrow, but they do like to hide, right? Our boa currently does not have a hide, and when I put enough bedding in the tank he is constantly under there. I purposefully didn't put enough bedding in there last time so we can see him/her, but this snake is unpredictable. I want him to be happy so maybe he is in a better mood when we hold him. He used to be in a very small tank, and this snake is not small and he was very unpredictable, but since we moved him to a larger enclosure, we were able to hold him without a strike until recently.

Can you put up more info on it's enclosure including temps and humidity? How big is your boa and the size of the enclosure. As for a hide I would say that you need put one in, specially if it's trying to burrow. The aggresion may be due to the animal being stressed. They need to feel safe and secure to interact well and have better lives. It's in their nature to hide and all snakes do to the best of their ability. You should have two as a matter of fact. One on the warm side and one on the cool side. I have three for my ball python with one in between sides so he can use that too. Depending on the size of your enclosure you can even add some branches for her to climb. They are somewhat arboreal and do like to climb around. The hides should be just big enought to fit her and try placing some cover in front of the openings so so can feel even safer. I have fake leaves draped over mine. As much as we may all want to see our animals we have to also consider their natural needs. You do this and I guarantee you she'll be less aggresive

It does nto surprise me that she has tried to strike you. You should not remove all feeling of security for the snake for your viewing pleasure.

She needs hides, plain and simple. If they do not have a place to hide and feel secure, they will always be defensive. They are not the apex predator in their natural environment, so they DON'T want to be seen. They want to be hidden.

I just got a young red tail boa in dec. and at first i did not have a hide for him. he would burrow a little bit but only after i feed him. it wasnt till i went to go see wat he was doing one day and i couldnt find him. after looking for a couple of mins i found him under his water dish witch isnt light at all.after that i got him a hideing rock. the funny thing is, is when i came into my room today i was looking for him and he had burrowed under the bedding but i almost couldnt tell where he was. so even with some place to hide my red tail boa still likes to burrow. im not haveing the aggretion that you seem to have though.

They may also burrow if their heat is inadequate (to get closer to a heat source) or if their humidity is inadequate, (to get more moisture from the substrate - this is typically done under the water dish, as there usually tends to be more moisture there.)

Thanks for all the advice ya'll! Currently I have measured 90.1 degrees and about 25% humidity, respectively on the side he's on a little closer to the basking bulb, which is just a 60w incandescent bulb, and in the middle of the 20g tank. he's got a large stick running just about through the length of the tank, with a large water dish always filled with clean room temp water.

I forgot to mention that he has not tried to burrow since I recently put in a good amount of aspen bedding.

Common Boa Constrictor Caresheet (Boa constrictor imperator)

Is the entire enclosure 90 deg? If so that is too hot. You need to have a basking spot and a cool spot, check out the caresheet

Can you post a picture of the eclosure?