How big do redtails get in captivity?

[alysalouise]

Just wondering
I hear 12 feet
But I know of one thats 14 feet

[Kinra]

It really varies. Females will get bigger than males, but true red tails (BCCs) get bigger than common boas (BCIs). I think most BCI females fed moderately get to be about 5-7ft. I think average lenght for a female BCC is 8-12ft, but I could be wrong. I did all of my research on BCIs before I bought mine.

Boas can easily get over weight too so if you ever see a round boa they are over weight.

[alysalouise]

What can cause them to get over weight?
Can ball pythons get over weight too?
A lot of people tell me my python is a fatty, Lol
I dont think she is.....

[Kinra]

What can cause them to get over weight?
Can ball pythons get over weight too?
A lot of people tell me my python is a fatty, Lol
I dont think she is.....

Over feeding causes them to get over weight. Boas should have a boxy shape to them. I believe it's possible for BPs to get over weight, but it's unlikely. They usually got on hunger strikes when they start to put on too much weight. Ball pythons should be round, so yours is probably fine.

[alysalouise]

I dont know whats a propper feeding for a redtail
But i feed my girl 1 mouse a week usually
I cant find mice that are the size of her head (i was informed to feed her mice about the size of her head, but her head is tiny)
So she gets what ever sized mouse i can get, but were switching her over to Gerbils soon, Im getting a whole population going for me and the shelter i help out at cause they have tons of snakes in and they need a better food supply, their trying to get the gerbils they just got in to breed but nothing so far from what i know
They have these 2 really cool snakes i want, but you have to always have pinkies on hand for them for the rest of their life

[Cendalla]

I had two BCCs. The female was 9 feet and the male was 11 (he was older then her). They ate rabbits and maintained great weight without being too fat. I have a couple of pictures of them in my profile. I got rid of a bunch to clean it up but there should be some pics left.

[Kinra]

I don't know about feeding based on the size of the head, I go by girth. I feed my boas a meal that is almost as girthy as they are once a week. When they reach 4ft I will be switching to feeding them once every 2 weeks. This is the feeding advice I got from the breeder of my first boa and it's been working for me so far.

What snakes are you interested in that need to be fed pinkies for life? I don't know any that stay that small, even my little adult male kenyan sand boa takes hopper mice.

I also wouldn't recommend gerbils. Those are an expensive diet, you will probably be better off with rats. I know BPs tend to stick with one type of food and I believe boas are much more flexiable but rats are much cheaper than gerbils.

[Cendalla]

I don't know about feeding based on the size of the head, I go by girth. I feed my boas a meal that is almost as girthy as they are once a week. When they reach 4ft I will be switching to feeding them once every 2 weeks. This is the feeding advice I got from the breeder of my first boa and it's been working for me so far.

What snakes are you interested in that need to be fed pinkies for life? I don't know any that stay that small, even my little adult male kenyan sand boa takes hopper mice.

I also wouldn't recommend gerbils. Those are an expensive diet, you will probably be better off with rats. I know BPs tend to stick with one type of food and I believe boas are much more flexiable but rats are much cheaper than gerbils.

And they can give nasty bites!

[cmack91]

for feeding pretty much any snake can safely eat something 3x the diameter of their neck, or a hair bigger than the widest point on the body, usually which ever is smaller is the better option

[cmack91]

What snakes are you interested in that need to be fed pinkies for life? I don't know any that stay that small, even my little adult male kenyan sand boa takes hopper mice.

the only ones i can think of are garter type snakes, or green tree snake(like the florida), i know both of those are primarily insect eaters, the florida is actually supposed to be very difficult to feed rodents to