Red Tail Deal of the Century!!

Ok well I was on craigslist and found someone looking to re-home a boa. I've been looking into this quite a bit, but was just waiting for the right oppritunity. Well looks like its here. The guy said first 125 bucks in his hand take a 100 gallon tank, red tail boa(yearling), light, heat rock(don't know why he has this kinda scary), and some other supplies. How sweet is that?? I thought it was a great deal considering most red tails im seeing are like 100 bucks anyway! He said the snake is 100% healthy and nothing to worry about, and is tame. How much better could a deal get?

awesome 40 views and no responses :rofl:

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Originally Posted by Animals As Leaders

Ok well I was on craigslist and found someone looking to re-home a boa. I've been looking into this quite a bit, but was just waiting for the right oppritunity. Well looks like its here. The guy said first 125 bucks in his hand take a 100 gallon tank, red tail boa(yearling), light, heat rock(don't know why he has this kinda scary), and some other supplies. How sweet is that?? I thought it was a great deal considering most red tails im seeing are like 100 bucks anyway! He said the snake is 100% healthy and nothing to worry about, and is tame. How much better could a deal get?

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Anyone on the net can say anything, that doesn't make it true. The snake my have mites, or an RI or 20 layers of stuck shed, or be covered in its own feces or not eating. At least with CL you can inspect something before you pick it up but still.

Im not knocking CL, ive gotten one of my cats and 3 of my reptiles from CL through a rescue or trade. My boa is one of my CL animals. He was rescued by another person from a kid who was neglecting him.. A year and a half old nic eating 2 mice a month. This snake is thicker than my bicep now (at 2 years old and 6 months of care from the guy i got him from) and healthy but his growth is permanently stunted because of how he was treated as a baby.

If she is healthy and mite free, congrats, but given he was using a heat rock as a heat source she may have some burns :/

If you are looking for a normal boa, then yes, it may be a good deal. However, I would be leary of buying from craigslist, and especially from someone who uses a heat rock. Personally, I would buy from a breeder. You could buy a morph for the same price as the boa, less the fish tank.

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Originally Posted by Animals As Leaders

awesome 40 views and no responses :rofl:

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There are alot of people on here that just read and don't post much.

Congrats on the boa!

Yes, just be careful. I got a pastel BP from craigslist who was a "deal" also! LOL But he was infested with mites, and so cost me extra $$ to rid him of them. I am glad I was able to give him a proper home ,and take care of him, but not sure I'd do the craigslist thing again.

yea be careful i just picked up a pastel for $30 the guy didn't know w what a morph was haha. i told him i would take it he wanted 150 and i worked him down to 30 haha i should be a car sales man

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

Anyone on the net can say anything, that doesn't make it true. The snake my have mites, or an RI or 20 layers of stuck shed, or be covered in its own feces or not eating. At least with CL you can inspect something before you pick it up but still.

Im not knocking CL, ive gotten one of my cats and 3 of my reptiles from CL through a rescue or trade. My boa is one of my CL animals. He was rescued by another person from a kid who was neglecting him.. A year and a half old nic eating 2 mice a month. This snake is thicker than my bicep now (at 2 years old and 6 months of care from the guy i got him from) and healthy but his growth is permanently stunted because of how he was treated as a baby.

If she is healthy and mite free, congrats, but given he was using a heat rock as a heat source she may have some burns What!!?? I use heat rocks in all my racks theyre the HOTTEST snake accessory to have J/K:rofl::/

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Originally Posted by iCandiBallPythons

What!!?? I use heat rocks in all my racks theyre the HOTTEST snake accessory to have J/K

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i c wut u did thar

Sounds like it may be a good deal if the animal is healthy and it is an animal you are interested in. I would quarantine for an especially long time being the unknown factor of where it came from/ Other wise good find

yeah if the snake isn't 100% then I'm not taking it. I just thought with a 100 gallon tank its hard to pass up. I want to set up some kind of fish tank in the future so thats going to be perfect. Killing two birds with one stone really haha
I will make sure to post pics as soon as I got both in my possession.

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Originally Posted by Animals As Leaders

yeah if the snake isn't 100% then I'm not taking it. I just thought with a 100 gallon tank its hard to pass up. I want to set up some kind of fish tank in the future so thats going to be perfect. Killing two birds with one stone really haha
I will make sure to post pics as soon as I got both in my possession.

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Good luck, and if you want the fish tank anyway, that's a great deal.

Ok, just got home and its 11:45pm.

Well, just with every other CL ad this one was no different. I got there and no 100 gallon tank, and no healthy snake...It looks like a 75 gallon tank which is still a nice find, but the snake has seen better days for sure. He told me the snake recently shed. LIE. Shes gotta stuck shed so I'm soaking her, and her skin is very stretchy due to her being underweight I guess. I was going to tell the guy forget it but looked at the snake, and its home and couldn't just leave her there. I paid him and took the snake. I'm putting her in a 32qt bin, with heat and water. I'm going to try and feed her what do you guys suggest in terms of size? Adult mouse?

I know a lot of you probably think I'm pretty foolish, but I think its better to adopt if possible. There are plenty of people that are going to buy new hatch lings, but not a lot of people who are going to buy already bought snakes. I'll post pics asap.

Alright, well good news.

First off. I really wish I got a picture of her when she was stuck in her shed because it was unreal on the amount of color this person was missing out on...I soaked her in a nice warm bath for about an hour, and began peeling. It seemed like there was more then one shed stuck, but I don't know if thats possible. It was just soo much skin that came off, and I don't know if it was because I lost track but it seemed like I was removing skin where I peeled already. After about a half hour of that she looked soo much better, but still skinny and weak.

The guy told me he was feeding her every friday using mice. I didn't bother asking how big they were, or anything else because who knows if it was true due to all the other lies he told me. I knew whatever he was feeding was either too small, or he wasn't really feeding her once a week like he said. I was going to leave her alone for a week and let her settle in, but she displayed such a puppy dog personality and seemed like she was appreciating what we were doing for her so I offered her a f/t adult mouse this morning and she ate it!! I'm thinking about getting another one and seeing if shes still hungry. She could definitely use the extra weight thats for sure. Also he only had her for a few months he said, so I don't think shes even a year old.

I'm thinking he was feeding realllly small mice the whole time, or not feeding often enough because the of skin/bone to muscle ratio is just not right. She seems very weak, and honestly I don't know if she could even kill a live rodent right now, so I'm glad she took the f/t with such gusto. I couldn't come across any signs of RI, or rot anywhere on the body. No burns. No mites. She seems ok besides the underweight issue. I fell in love with her already, and it didn't take long. She is the most well mannered snake I have and I only had her for a day haha. Don't know of a name yet, but I'm thinking really hard...Here are some pics.


http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/...n/101_0484.jpg
SETUP

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/...n/101_0486.jpg
PIC 1 (full stomach)

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/...n/101_0487.jpg
PIC 2 (full stomach)


Its hard to see but her skin is actually really loose, but hopefully that will soon change! Thanks for looking :)

btw I got Tstat to control all my snakes temps so don't worry about the heat pad, and the room is 78 degrees in case some of you were curious

good save. sometimes you just cant help it!!

You have moved or redirected all the pics and we can no longer see them..

You apparently know what your doing so just make sure the boa's husbandry is correct. Keep a close eye on her and feed her slowly. Boa breeders will tell you they always do best and build more muscle mass, as opposed to just fat, when fed smaller prey or less often. If she was underfed just start out a little smaller than what should be expected for a boa of that size and work her up. Once she is of a healthy weight she should do good on about 2 to 3 feedings (oppropriatly sized) per month given her age.

Keep her seperate from any other reptiles for a few months or so and post us some pics in about a month after she shows improvement.

Good job on the rescue. In essence thats what you did. Its better she went to you than someone who knew nothing about them and only wanted a "cool" pet to look at.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

You have moved or redirected all the pics and we can no longer see them..

You apparently know what your doing so just make sure the boa's husbandry is correct. Keep a close eye on her and feed her slowly. Boa breeders will tell you they always do best and build more muscle mass, as opposed to just fat, when fed smaller prey or less often. If she was underfed just start out a little smaller than what should be expected for a boa of that size and work her up. Once she is of a healthy weight she should do good on about 2 to 3 feedings (oppropriatly sized) per month given her age.

Keep her seperate from any other reptiles for a few months or so and post us some pics in about a month after she shows improvement.

Good job on the rescue. In essence thats what you did. Its better she went to you than someone who knew nothing about them and only wanted a "cool" pet to look at.

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I agree. I like to keep my boas on an every week diet until they are about 1.5 years old. I then switch them to an every 10 to 14 day diet. This will ensure that they do not become obese.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

You have moved or redirected all the pics and we can no longer see them..

You apparently know what your doing so just make sure the boa's husbandry is correct. Keep a close eye on her and feed her slowly. Boa breeders will tell you they always do best and build more muscle mass, as opposed to just fat, when fed smaller prey or less often. If she was underfed just start out a little smaller than what should be expected for a boa of that size and work her up. Once she is of a healthy weight she should do good on about 2 to 3 feedings (oppropriatly sized) per month given her age.

Keep her seperate from any other reptiles for a few months or so and post us some pics in about a month after she shows improvement.

Good job on the rescue. In essence thats what you did. Its better she went to you than someone who knew nothing about them and only wanted a "cool" pet to look at.

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Whoops!

I'll post em again.

Being that she ate a lot the past few days, I'm going to wait 7 days and start feeding her smaller meals more often like you said. That seems like a better approach for skinnier snakes. I can't wait for her next shed it'll be like the reset button for her. Out with the old life, in with the new. Very exciting for me and her :)

Thanks Foschi!! I always try an adopt when getting a new animal, unless I am buying something like a morph. I adopted a ball once, and it feels great once they are back to there normal selves.