First Red Tail... What do you recommend?

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Originally Posted by starmom

Thanks Connie????? :O
I do believe that is a compliment :gj:
Thanks Jo :D
:rofl:

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LOL sorry McKinsey....Monday brain fart...more coffee quick somebody!

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Originally Posted by LizardofOzz

Lots of great info! As far as housing is concerned- I was planning on building a single-tub enclosure for the boa, since i'll be living in an apartment next year. Since you said they like climbing- sounds like i should build one that has a decent bit of height to it as well? as opposed to a ball python tub that just needs to be flat and wide enough for them to move around.

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Personally I like to start little boas just like little BP's...in a baby tub on plain white paper towels, a water dish and a couple of hides. Anything too huge right away can I think intimidate any snake so if you go the route of a nice new little boa, I'd stick with a small plain tub and hold off on anything too big till it gets some size on it and is settling in really well for you.

On thing with boas and tubs. Even more than BP's I've found that boas like to test their enclosure and boy they are strong snakes. Make sure that the lid on any tub you use is as secure as you can make it. Basically my rule of thumb with a tub and a boa is if it looks good to go for a ball python....add more security LOL.

Just my thoughts.

What i was going to do was this:

Get new snake in July

Quarantine for a month

Move into new apartment, and build a double tub rack, to house my Ball and my new snake (be it a new ball or a new BCI)

I know its IDEAL to have boas and pythons housed completely separately, but i'll only have one room to myself anyways (dunno what my roommates will think of having snakes in our living room :P)

So if things look good after quarantine then I think it shoudl be safe having them in different tubs on the same rack

As long as you buy your boa from a very reputable breeder, then you are probably fine. I wouldn't house them near each other if the boa was from an iffy source or a pet store but then I'm really, really paranoid about disease transmission with our collection so I tend to err on the side of caution.

The ball I got was a yearling and I'm very happy with her, and she still has quite a bit to grow so I'm not missing out on much.

Whats the difference between an '08 hatchling and maybe an '07 in BCI's? On the one hand, I had good results with my yearling ball, she's nice, good feeder, healthy, etc... On the other hand, I don't want to miss too much of my new pet's growth.

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Originally Posted by LizardofOzz

The ball I got was a yearling and I'm very happy with her, and she still has quite a bit to grow so I'm not missing out on much.

Whats the difference between an '08 hatchling and maybe an '07 in BCI's? On the one hand, I had good results with my yearling ball, she's nice, good feeder, healthy, etc... On the other hand, I don't want to miss too much of my new pet's growth.

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One thing you'll never have to worry about (most likely!) is a boa that is "well started," if that's what it is. They eat in a way that's hard to believe - in fact sometimes I refer to them as garbage disposals to feed off food that the balls will refuse. Do you know where you're getting the boa from?

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Originally Posted by darkangel

One thing you'll never have to worry about (most likely!) is a boa that is "well started," if that's what it is. They eat in a way that's hard to believe - in fact sometimes I refer to them as garbage disposals to feed off food that the balls will refuse. Do you know where you're getting the boa from?

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I'm going to the reptile show in Manassas on July 26. I'm going to take a look around and try to find the best one I can for a decent price (not looking for anything special, just a normal BCI)

Think the average price I saw them for was about $75 at the last show I went to. That seem right?

Which leads me to another question. Any east coast breeders planning on being at that show? :P