Red Tail Boa

A friend of mine called me today and a gentleman that lives in his veterans housing is looking to get rid of his 5yr old 6ft long male red tail my husband and I have discussed getting a boa but I have a few questions one being is it safe to assume he is pretty much as long as he is going to get and 2 what would you recommend other than observation of having him around children and quarantine I have 2 ball pythons so feeding and care I am up to speed on. Also what would you recommend as far as looking him over other than the obvious signs of stressed breathing and rather or not he is nippy when handled, mites?

He might grow another 6 inches or so over the remaining course of his life, but yes he's pretty much fully grown. Since you already have snakes and know what you're doing in terms of basic care and quarantine you should be good to go, try to keep him in a separate room from the rest of your pets.

what other precautions should I take with him during quarantine and are they as laid back as pythons? I am always leery of getting an already grown snake and not having handled it from a few months old on up because you kinda never really know how they where handled or treated I know in our area he likely is on f/t already the only rats and mice for sale around here are 10-30$ a piece lol I just want to take all precautions with my children and other animals that I can

They can be cage aggressive, but once out of the cage they are fine. I'm sure it can be resolved with handling, if its not already more docile.


0.3 Normals (Coilette, Athena and Mary Jane)
1.0 Pastel (De Sol)
1.0 Spider (Zeus)
1.0 Mojave (Prometheus)

0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Stella)
0.1 BCI (No Name Yet)

A 5 year old boa is about as big as he's going to get. 6ft is a decent size for a male BCI. He will need a large enclosure though. 4x2x2 or similar as a bare minimum. And despite what many say, boas will climb if given the opportunity. Bigger is always better with boas.

Boas are generally pretty laid back. If you are going to the home of his owner to see him and handle him, you'll get a good feel for his personality. He should be curious and boas are usually pretty active so expect him to move a lot and climb all over you. But if you can get him out of his cage with no trouble, and there's no hissing or puffing, he's probably gonna be fairly tame. Don't worry if he's a pain in the butt to put BACK IN his cage though - boas hate to go back!

Quarantine is a vital must with boas, and be very strict with it. 60 day minimum and 90 is better. Boas can carry IBD (which although more rare than originally thought to be, is still a very real threat) and this is almost immediately fatal to pythons. Keep your eye out for any neurological signs. I would also treat the snake for mites whether you see any or not. Use this from Reptile Basics. It is by far the best product on the market - yes, even better than PAM - since it's safe to spray directly on the snake. I just give a quick spray down of any new arrivals and prevent mites right from the start. :gj:

Boas are usually garbage disposals and will readily take f/t. Did you say f/t rats in your area were $10-30 a piece?!? :O If so, order online!! Even with shipping, you'll save a bundle! I get mine from www.laynelabs.com and I've been very happy with them. Excellent quality. And you can order in small numbers if that suits you better.

Hope this is helpful! ;)

Its all kinda of interesting because my husband and I where just talking last night about my still wanting to get a red tail maybe after the first of the year then my friend calling me today I am kinda anxious to actually see him but needed opinions and info before seeing him to know if I should or shouldn't adopt him another question is what is average f/t size for him at his age and length on average I know to adjust according to his circumference and weight I assume much like my pythons prey should weigh 10-15% of his body weight and be no more than one and half times his circumference?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Boas are usually garbage disposals and will readily take f/t. Did you say f/t rats in your area were $10-30 a piece?!? :O If so, order online!! Even with shipping, you'll save a bundle! I get mine from www.laynelabs.com and I've been very happy with them. Excellent quality. And you can order in small numbers if that suits you better.

Hope this is helpful! ;)

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not the f/t the live ones are 10-30$ a piece I think they are priced so high to deter live feedings we have some pretty snooty pet stores here but yet when we opted to buy our pythons on sale from one of them they where only around 84 grams at 4-6 mths old and recommending we feed them pinky mice I laughed and bought larger mice for them lol f/t I can get from the local nature center we pay 30-40$ for 50 mice and 40-50$ for 50 rats

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dark Lady Kat

Its all kinda of interesting because my husband and I where just talking last night about my still wanting to get a red tail maybe after the first of the year then my friend calling me today I am kinda anxious to actually see him but needed opinions and info before seeing him to know if I should or shouldn't adopt him another question is what is average f/t size for him at his age and length on average I know to adjust according to his circumference and weight I assume much like my pythons prey should weigh 10-15% of his body weight and be no more than one and half times his circumference?

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Boas are not balls. They do not need as large of prey relative to their size. A rodent the same size around as the boa is perfectly fine. At his age, feeding once every 2-3 weeks is appropriate. The rat should not leave a noticable lump in the snake's belly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dark Lady Kat

not the f/t the live ones are 10-30$ a piece I think they are priced so high to deter live feedings we have some pretty snooty pet stores here but yet when we opted to buy our pythons on sale from one of them they where only around 84 grams at 4-6 mths old and recommending we feed them pinky mice I laughed and bought larger mice for them lol f/t I can get from the local nature center we pay 30-40$ for 50 mice and 40-50$ for 50 rats

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Yikes. I would still order online. Layne Labs is great, but there are others. Yes, there's shipping involved, but the cost per rodent is far less. And when you're feeding several snakes, that is definitely important to consider. :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Boas are not balls. They do not need as large of prey relative to their size. A rodent the same size around as the boa is perfectly fine. At his age, feeding once every 2-3 weeks is appropriate. The rat should not leave a noticeable lump in the snake's belly.



Yikes. I would still order online. Layne Labs is great, but there are others. Yes, there's shipping involved, but the cost per rodent is far less. And when you're feeding several snakes, that is definitely important to consider. :gj:

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even with prey 1 1/2 times the circumference of my balls by the time they consume it and constrict it it doesn't leave a noticeable lump I generally go with rats that are slightly larger than the snake and only once every 2-3 weeks why not weekly if you dont mind my asking

Here is a link to a free care guide for boas that I have found pretty useful

http://www.redtailboas.com/f110/down...ion-3-a-31312/