Redtail or Blood

a RTB could do a 20L for about a year give or take depending on feeding's the major diff between BCC/BCI is size for the most part BCI's will stay smaller and are easier to care for than a BCC. BCC typicaly hold better color and a large female BCC will most likely end up on small thumper's as her dinner.

I keep 32 reptiles in my house and I have a 4 y/o little girl who adores all of them. I have never felt that I have had to worrie about any of my snakes or lizards around my daughter. Now dont get me wrong I wont let her hold my Savannah or my argus monitors but she has "her own" Bearded dragon named Scout that I take care of. I have a 5 1/2' BCC at one time that while my daughter didnt hold she did like to pet and did take a few photos with him at her feet. The call will have to be yours though.

I have both blood/bci. I love both. Pick what you like better.

BCI (boa constrictor imperator) - more common (colombian boas) smaller, less stunning color/pattern wise, cheaper, calmer

BCC (boa constrictor constrictor) - less common, bigger (up to 12', though rare), drop dead GORGEOUS, more pricey, can be high strung

Baby bloods like SMALL cages. You won't need a 20g for awhile. Red tails grow fast, need 20++ faster.

Kids + snakes is fine.. IF. You.. keep the herps locked away, out of reach! Supervise kid/reptile time! Use common sense.

Secure tank = buy a nice vision cage or a boaphile cage

So Im really lucky because a guy at the petstore is breeding and his female is pregnet right now for redtails so should i go with a redtail from him how long until they are ready to go she just became gravid. He's giving me one for free, do bloods take to more handleing?

Bloods need more handling to be tame. Some are pretty docile early on, but one of mine is a livewire. Need gloves for him.

BP&dragon.. PM isn't working for me, so I'll paste my answer here:

Well, I'll say it's almost guaranteed that the petstore boa is a BCI. No one in their right mind gives away a BCC. :) they're fairly uncommon in petstores anyway.. except for specialty reptile stores.

Baby bloods should be kept in small cages. Smaller than a 10 gallon. Rubbermaid containers are best, especially ones with not clear plastic. Bloods are very shy as babies. I keep mine without a temp gradient.. a solid 82 degrees the whole tank. As they grow, a normal heat gradient is fine.

Tank size.. 6' for a BCI, 4' for a blood.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ballpythonandragon

Im just wondering which would be better to keep redtail or a blood also what is the difference between a BCC and a BCI and how long can i keep a baby in a 20 gallon long tank?

---

I have a red tail, I chose to get a red tail because I did not want to have a snake around that my kids or hubby "feel" afraid of, however, the worry itself lied more with my hubby who has only just become interested in reptiles to begin with- took me 4 years to talk him into a boa, 3 for the bp's..and about 15 minutes for the beardeds and geckos. My boa, is calm and easy to handle, never been agressive toward me or any other human, but does however feed aggressively. I have had him close to a year now, and he has yet to refuse a meal. Caleb was about 17 inches long when I got him, I started him in a rubber maid that was very close to the length and such as a 20L. He is now in a HUGE 50gallon rubber maid, and will go into a bigger enclosure more than likely by the end of this summer, seeing as though he is right around 3 foot now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ballpythonandragon

And do you all keep reptiles and have kids also? and how do you keep them secrure in their tanks? Thanks Aaron

---

I have 2 kids, a 14 year old and a 13 year old, both my kids have ALWAYS been around reptiles and many other exotics including Mackaks (sp?). Mackaks being a type of monkey- the ones with red butts. I have never ever ever had any problems or issues associated with keeping any kind of exotics around my kids. In fact, they love them as much as I do. But I have also taught them "rules" for being around and handling exotics from the time they were old enough to understand. All my tanks/housing for any exotics have always had locks of some sort on them, not just to prevent my own kids from messing with the exotics without me, but thier friends who come to my house as well. My rules for the exotics are very clear, and I went one step further in making sure thier friends have the same respect for them as well, by posting rules and warnings regarding the animals in my home above thier cages... now call me anal retentive if you would like, but in addition to my collection being safe, I also want the kids that come into my house to be safe. And because I have done these things, not just my own kids, but thier friends respect the animals and even ask alot of questions about them, especially thier friends who have never been around alot of these exotics. It is kinda neat being the first to educate kids on these animals because most of the time around here, I find the kids have not really been exposed to these animals until they come to my house.. other than seeing them in pet stores.

ive never had a blood, or ever worked with one. but i do have 1.1 BCIs, and i will say that honestly their the best thing ive ever bought. i love em, their calm, never bit me, but they are aggresive feeders.