Keeping Red Tail Boa Outside in Florida

Has anyone ever kept a boa outside. I have a few ball pythons and they are all in tubs inside but i just got a male redtail boa. I am thinking about keeping it too but i am woried about their large size. he is only about 3 feet at the moment but if he gets over 6 i will not be able to keep him inide. Has anyone kept one outside? i live in South Florida, Burmese here are doing it in the wild, Why cant a Boa?

One of the many reasons I would be worried to keep a large snake like that outside is the chance it may escape or another animal may attack it (break the cage etc.).

Another thing to consider is a wild snake has miles and miles of room to travel. If they get hot, they find a burrow or water to cool off in, if it storms, they can find shelter. Your snake will be stuck in a cage and you will have no way to regulate the weather and temperatures.

I wouldn't, for the snakes sake. I would find a home that would be able to provide indoor housing for it.

My thoughts.

Can i expect him to stay at around 5.5 feet?

It depends on the local he is, genetics, husbandry, among other things so I wouldn't be able to tell you yes or no.

A 5ft snake really isn't that big. Our Hog Island is pushing 5 and she is housed in a 40 breeder which will be good even if she hits 6ft.

What about a xmas tree bin? I would think that would be plenty big enough for him at least for a few years.


http://www.irisusainc.com/p-680-ve-175w.aspx

Did you read about the escapee boa in Juno Beach a couple weeks ago? I do not recommend keeping him out side, I have an 8+ foot boa and she's doing quite well in her enclosure that is 4ft.

I dont know if its recommended or not but I have a buddy with a huge snake collection down here in miami. He has a shelter with some homemade melamine/wood cages under it and his snakes all look very healthy. He does however bring them inside when it gets too cold and regularly monitors the temps, etc.

in addition to what everyone else is saying, i dont even let my BP crawl around in the grass because of all the bugs!

The VE175 are great. They are close to 4" x 2', the minimum recommended size cage for adult boas. Both these females are are between 6-7 ft.
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