Help! Rescue red tail boa!

Hey everyone, here is the situation. A customer came in today to purchase frozen large rats. She asked me if we take animals? Anyone that knows me....

i asked what what she wanted to give up. A red tail boa!

She he explained that her mom is starting to experience dementia and can no longer care for it. He is a young boa. I said I would take him since I do have contacts and will be able to find him a home.

My questions are:

1.will a 40 breeder be ok for him?
2. Im going to use paper towels to start since I want him quarantined to make sure no mites. Is this ok?
3. What kind of hide or other stuff needs to be in the tank. Obviously he will have a water dish.
4. Any other tips you can give me.

She said her mom had a ret tail for years so he was very well taken care of. Had a huge tank from the last snake. Eats well when fed. (Again dementia and forgetting to feed).

This was not a big box store purchased snake. She knew how to,take care of it before her dementia started.

thanks everyone!

Here is a picture she just sent me. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5ba066f85c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2ac3a5bc91.jpg

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1.will a 40 breeder be ok for him?

Should be fine, especially if just a temporary situation. I've also kept juvi boas in tub set ups like we do for BPs

2. Im going to use paper towels to start since I want him quarantined to make sure no mites. Is this ok?

Yes that is fine.

3. What kind of hide or other stuff needs to be in the tank. Obviously he will have a water dish.

Hide and water dish. If you want to provide something to climb on, go for it, but when in QT, best to keep minimal. 2 hides if you have the room.

4. Any other tips you can give me.

Boas are pretty hardy and easy to care for. They don't need to feed as often as BPs. They can be very foody and stay in food mode for up to an hour after feeding sometimes.
I'm sure you'll do great!

Hard to advise, what size is "young boa"? (and by whose memory? :rolleyes:)

Paper towels are fine as substrate, hide boxes can be cardboard temporarily if need be until you find what you want & need. (easy to make, also)

Don't keep as warm as for BPs...the BCI I had for many years often liked the cool side of her cage that was 72-76*. Like most snakes, they need warm &
cool side hide options.

Lucky boa to "find you"! :)

I will be keeping him at work until I find a proper home. I can't keep him with me at my house since there is absolutely no room. And if someone drops off an animal at work it stays at work. I will have him set up with proper temps and find him a home or turn him over to the local Herp society once out of quarantine.

I will ill get him weighed on the dog scale At work lol. He is eating large rats. Poor little beep has to lose his mommy. Such a sad situation when a snarent gets older and sick. Yes...I said snarent lol. Thanks ttaylorr

I am out but will write some parameters when I get home.

Basically:

Hot side: 86-88f

Ambient: About 80f or a little higher.

Cool side: 77-80f.

Some people say lower for cool side. However. BCI’s like 60-75%+ humidity. I bump to 75-80% when in shed. Do not get respiratory infections as easily as BPs but can get. I don’t like high humidity with low temps. Less margin for error.

If eating large rats could be a juvenile or a normal male BCI.

An an adult male at 6-9 pounds can do great on large rats.

Please get a weight and we can advise on what and how often to feed.

Very food driven. Be careful when feeding and realize they will think foood for a long time.

If you keep him for a while or find a good home. I’d recommend hook training.

Usually puppy dogs when out but want food all the time.

I’ll write more later.

Good luck.

Should I use a uva/uvb heat bulb? Or are they nocturnal as well. I know nothing about the bigger snakes.

I will ill be repurposing boxes at work for bigger hides for this guy. If I need to shelf pull stuff product for him I will do that as well.

Snakes do not need UVA/UVB and yes, boas are generally nocturnal.
:gj:

Ok here he is! He is a sweety and just hung out around my shoulders. I wiah i could keep him but he is too big for me. I couldnt keep up lol. I put paper towels down sprayed the paper towels with mitw spray and let dry.

He weighs just about 2kg and eati g f/t large rats.

Here are pictures of him in his current set up. If i am missing anything please let me know.

No he doesn't have any mites i could see and i checked him over. It is just a precaution. And he is quarantined with no other animals in that room.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5151364235.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...be37eab6dc.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2d90ff485d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1cf34bdd6b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...52b1574133.jpg

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Sorry...he weighs 2120g.

He looks quite comfortable, good job! Too bad about his momma, he looks to have good body weight and appears healthy. As already said, boas are VERY
into their food, so use long tongs when you offer food. Hope you can find him a good home. :gj: He looks like a big cuddler...what's his length, approx.?

He looks nice health, so he can't have much of a problem eating, good luck

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Looks good Sunnieskys.

Watch the temps and humidity and he should do great.

Less is more with BCI's when it comes to feeding. If he's eating large rats, feed every 3-4 weeks (probably closer to 4 once you know he's a good weight).

Good luck and keep us posted!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

He looks quite comfortable, good job! Too bad about his momma, he looks to have good body weight and appears healthy. As already said, boas are VERY
into their food, so use long tongs when you offer food. Hope you can find him a good home. :gj: He looks like a big cuddler...what's his length, approx.?

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He has my wing span maybe a little more and I am 5'3"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dakski

Looks good Sunnieskys.

Watch the temps and humidity and he should do great.

Less is more with BCI's when it comes to feeding. If he's eating large rats, feed every 3-4 weeks (probably closer to 4 once you know he's a good weight).

Good luck and keep us posted!

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Oh I don't feed every week? Good to know lol. I would have fed him every Friday with all the other snakes. Is he an adult? I think they said he might be close to two but they were not sure. He was a rescue from a rescue org.

Definitely every 3-4 weeks on large rats, at that weight I would say pretty much adult as males are small than females

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So do you guys think he will get any bigger? He really is lovely!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

So do you guys think he will get any bigger? He really is lovely!

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If he's a BCI, and I'll leave that up to the experts like Richard, 2-3K grams is average. Males generally are 4-8 pounds or so, although there are exceptions. Females usually 6-8K Grams. The females are much larger.

Regarding the feeding. BCI's have very slow metabolisms compared to colubrids and even some other boids. My 2 year old female is 1K G and eating small rats every two weeks and growing. When I bump her to mediums, she will go to every 3 weeks.

Obesity can happen fast if you are not careful with these guys and it can be lethal. Less is more.

Aside from a strong food response, once out, BCI's are often total puppy dogs. Behira is confident, chill, and calm. Nothing scares her so I never have to worry about a defensive bite. I do have her hook trained. It has worked wonders. A few rubs with the hook and I take her out no problem with my hands.

Once out, she's a total dream.

If you have any inkling of keeping this guy, get a hook and start hook training.

Here's a link to the thread I started on hook training: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...=hook+training

Good luck and keep us posted.

I reckon he's not far off fully grown, as dakski said 2-3k is about right for a male, my 10year old male is 3.2kg and 6ft ,boas as said are on the whole pretty chilled and not easily spooked, you get the odd exception who had not been handled regular from young.

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Are you sure it's a male? If so, he should stay smaller than a female. The only boa I had was a female BCI- she stayed around 5-6' for quite a while,
but then grew to 7'6" by the time she was 13 years old. She was always a cuddler, though she had a few days where she was cranky upon approach
but once she was cajoled into handling, she was perfectly fine. Sometimes they need to be touched to be reminded they "know" us, whether by hand
or by hook training.

You definitely don't want to feed him every week. :O If he was my snake, I'd probably try to feed mediums every 2-3 weeks rather than large rats,
which can be more fatty & less healthy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

So do you guys think he will get any bigger? He really is lovely!

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Snakes grow their whole lives, as you know, but it slows down when they're adults. I'd be surprised if he isn't MUCH older than 2 years, at this size, but
if he really is only 2, I think you can expect quite a bit more growth, though I'll happily defer to those here who breed & keep more boas than I have.

It would be awesome if he stayed around this size, but so hard to guarantee...

Well his spurs should be quite prominent at that size if he is a male

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I'll check the Spurs. No one is allowed into his exclosure but me. He is pretty intimidating to others. I already have a lot of interest in him from others but I'm holding him until I know someone can properly care for him.

My guess is he is 3-4 years +.

BCI's, when fed properly, meaning less is more, should take 4-6 years to reach adult size/maturity. Yes, reptiles will grow their entire lives, but at a much slower rate after reaching maturity.

At 2,120G, he could be pretty much there as a male, or could be 3 years old and have more to go. No way to tell. There's also no way to tell how he was fed previously, although he certainly doesn't look heavy.

For perspective, Behira, my BCI Female, is 1,050G now at 2 years and 2 months old. She has never been overfed.

However, I've seen 2-3K Gram 2-3 year old BCI's. Sadly, these boas are likely not long for the world.

Basically no way to tell his age from looking at him at this point, but feed properly and he will happy for a long time. If you do give him to someone else Sunnieskys, make sure they understand the feeding schedule too. It's for the benefit of the Boa, period.

I will tell them once a month for him. He is such a sweet curious boy! Thank you everyone. I am a little attached lol

Boas Are great especially,when you get a chilled one
He has a great body form, so must of been looked after


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Did you decide to keep him yourself ??

No I chose who he went too. He went to his forever home on Wednesday. They rescue all their animals and wanted a boa to learn and love. I gave them all the info they needed and I check on him as well. I knew he would be to much snake for me. He is a puppy dog but....I knew he would get to big.i have some pics of me holding him.