Bp Vs Rtb

Question:

I have about a 3 and a half ft ball python, love it to death, pretty tame for the most part, only struck at me a couple of times, barely snagged me once, but it was my fault.

I know they're a pretty laid back snake, and that's what i love about it.

Over the last few months i've fallen in love with the RTB and have been looking to get one. This guy i know who works at my petstore wants to get rid of his RTB with everything for $350. It's 5ft and very tame, so i was thinking about getting it.

My question is, How are they compared to the BP? Are they similar in attitude, housing, and what not? I've been reading up on them, and of course they're not going to be identical, but is the RTB an aggresive snake, or laid back like the BP?

I figured i can do all the reading i want, but when it comes down to my decision, i figured i'd ask the people who have already had them, own them, and experienced them.

What do you guys think, and say?

I don't actually own one, but I've done some research on them so I will try to answer your questions. :)
Attitude: I really couldn't tell you since I don't have one.
Size/housing: RTBs can get over 7 feet long, so they need a tank bigger than what you would house a BP in.

Also: it isn't too good of an idea to keep them near each other, as boas can carry IBD without showing signs, which is potentially fatal for BPs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sausage

I don't actually own one, but I've done some research on them so I will try to answer your questions. :)
Attitude: I really couldn't tell you since I don't have one.
Size/housing: RTBs can get over 7 feet long, so they need a tank bigger than what you would house a BP in.

Also: it isn't too good of an idea to keep them near each other, as boas can carry IBD without showing signs, which is potentially fatal for BPs.

---

DITTO

Temperment: Basically the same, however RTB's hate to go back into their cage once their out, and can be defensive of their cage when taking them out. It's almost as though they don't know what they want. lol.

Find out it's a BCI or a BCC if it's the latter and female the snake is capable of reaching 10'+. Basically ask yourself if you're comfortable working with a snake that has the potential to be get this size----->Click

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Snake_Eyes

Find out it's a BCI or a BCC if it's the latter and female the snake is capable of reaching 10'+. Basically ask yourself if you're comfortable working with a snake that has the potential to be get this size----->Click

---

almost but not quite.
Colombian BCI's reach 10+ which I would almost guarantee is what you're going to get, they're the most common boa in the pet trade, so if you're serious about this be ready for that.

Most petstore boas aren't pure colombian. I have seen many boas sold as colombian that were clearly full of central American blood. Now on to the size. Assuming it isn't B.c.c., you likely won't end up with a 10' or even 8' snake unless you try for it by feeding a lot of food. Its rare, even with power feeding for a B.c.i. to get much over 10' and in my opinion shouldn't even get over 8'. There are a ton of localities of B.c.i. with some that will never get over 5' even with a lot of food to the ones that can occasionally get to the 10' mark.

For $350 with cage and all, I would pass. I would much rather start with a guarenteed(sp?) healthy animal that you can raise on your own. I would have been fairly intimidated had I jumped into the game with a 6' boa vs. a 18" baby that grew into a 6' boa over the period of 3-4 years. You'll be far more satisified if you start with a baby vs. an older one. Starting with a baby, you should have no fear of a giant snake since you have control over this when they are babies.

Hope this long post helps

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mighty Monty

My question is, How are they compared to the BP? Are they similar in attitude, housing, and what not? I've been reading up on them, and of course they're not going to be identical, but is the RTB an aggresive snake, or laid back like the BP?

I figured i can do all the reading i want, but when it comes down to my decision, i figured i'd ask the people who have already had them, own them, and experienced them.

What do you guys think, and say?

---

For housing and temperment.
I've only been nipped during feeding time and guess what, it was my fault!
Housing is pretty simple. They do fine is tubs but they also make awesome display animals as well. I don't even use hides of any of my 4(that sounds like a lot) and they all eat flawlesly every week, even is shed. I've never seen a boa that with time won't take frozen thawed.
I bought 2 of my boas on strictly live mice feeders, first meal for both was a thawed out rat. Not picky at all

I would go with no less than 1 square foot of cage for every foot of snake(just a rule I find that works well for me) but the good thing is, a big cage won't stress them out easily so you can go wild where with a BP a huge cage could cause some big problems.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

Most petstore boas aren't pure colombian.

---

I know

Quote:

---

I have seen many boas sold as colombian that were clearly full of central American blood.

---

and me too

Quote:

---

Now on to the size. Assuming it isn't B.c.c., you likely won't end up with a 10' or even 8' snake unless you try for it by feeding a lot of food. Its rare, even with power feeding for a B.c.i. to get much over 10' and in my opinion shouldn't even get over 8'. There are a ton of localities of B.c.i. with some that will never get over 5' even with a lot of food to the ones that can occasionally get to the 10' mark.

For $350 with cage and all, I would pass. I would much rather start with a guarenteed(sp?) healthy animal that you can raise on your own. I would have been fairly intimidated had I jumped into the game with a 6' boa vs. a 18" baby that grew into a 6' boa over the period of 3-4 years. You'll be far more satisified if you start with a baby vs. an older one. Starting with a baby, you should have no fear of a giant snake since you have control over this when they are babies.

Hope this long post helps

---

I wouldn't say it was that long, but then again I can be rather long winded. And I agree about the getting a baby would be better, but I have seen a roughly 9 foot common boa. I agree it's not common, but yeah it happens. I would say it's kinda nice to know the extremes before you get into something which is what I was saying, but you're right.

you said you don't use hides at all? is this common with alot of boa keepers? i will be moving my bp to a rack and will have a 20gal long tank free. my bp lives 99% of his live in his hides, so he really isn't a display snake. people come over and are like... where is he? so would a boa be more active, or just put it's self on display?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kagez28

you said you don't use hides at all? is this common with alot of boa keepers? i will be moving my bp to a rack and will have a 20gal long tank free. my bp lives 99% of his live in his hides, so he really isn't a display snake. people come over and are like... where is he? so would a boa be more active, or just put it's self on display?

---

Yep, no hides. Most boa keepers that I know of do the same, hides aren't necesary for most boas IMO. I have a female that is just over 1 month old(thanks Jimi) and she doesn't hide at all, she even ate the day she got here. My big female(6'+) almost always is just curled up when I come in and by the time I get around to opening the cage, shes springin into my arms.

My female was in the 7 foot, 17-20 pound range when I sold her. That seems to be a pretty common size for a healthy boa. As it was already mentioned, she HATED going back in her enclosure. Here is a pic that shows the fun I went through one time to get her back in.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...4/000_0085.jpg

She wrapped her tail around the loop on my bed and stayed there for a good half hour.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...4/000_0086.jpg

I also did not have any problems switching her to f/t rats. Boas are known to be less picky than BP when it comes to food and are much more forgiving of husbandry errors. I also suggest getting a small one to learn its' behavior. I would hate to get a 7 foot boa that decides to strike everytime I opened the enclosure.

She also was not a fan of her hides. I offered them at first, but she just pushed them out of the way whenever she wanted to lay over the hot spot or on the cool side so I pulled them out.

I think that BCI are pretty different to keep than BPs are. I have one BCI, and the main difference I notice is, of course, boas do not ball up if startled. They try to get away, or they bite.. but mine has only struck at me once. It was a case of me removing prey that I thought he did not want.. completely my fault. Mine is definately very hard to get back into his cage after handling..! He is pretty active when out of his cage, but then again I have a BP who acts smiilar.
Their feeding responses are different also. They rely on motion of prey, instead of a pythons' heat-sensing ability.
Boas do not really need hides. I do have them in with mine, and he does use them, but I know that every snake is different, and I figure if people have snakes that don't use them, why bother with them. I like providing some artificial plants and clean driftwood though, because mine seems to like being "cozy" and sidled up to something in his cage, as opposed to a barren flat wasteland. I like using a burrowy substrate for mine, because it seems like he enjoys the little tunnels he makes in it (it is coconut fiber) and it adds a feeling of security.
I should add though, a big boa is no joke. My friend has a female who is around 8-feet, and she is a challengs to handle, definately, when compared to even my largest BP! It can be fun trying to uncoil a big boa's tail from your ankle, especially when your fellow snake-handling friend stands aside and lets you figure it out on your own! ;)

I think you should opt for a baby, as suggested. The store I chose my baby from bred them, and the parents are on display. It was a little intimidating and I don't think I would have been prepared to take a full grown boa right away, but working with my baby and watching him grow and learning things in the process is much easier.

You will LOVE how they eat. Mine switched to frozen the first week I tried, and he doesn't need you to do the dead-mousey dance either. He doesn't like being watched while he's eating, so I just drop it in and close the door, a few minutes later... GONE. :)

I would definately be sure to handle a fully-grown adult (of any species, really) before buying :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by darkangel

I think you should opt for a baby, as suggested. The store I chose my baby from bred them, and the parents are on display. It was a little intimidating and I don't think I would have been prepared to take a full grown boa right away, but working with my baby and watching him grow and learning things in the process is much easier.

You will LOVE how they eat. Mine switched to frozen the first week I tried, and he doesn't need you to do the dead-mousey dance either. He doesn't like being watched while he's eating, so I just drop it in and close the door, a few minutes later... GONE. :)

---

I was sure that switching to frozen would be easy. Boas live to eat

Ya, as stated before. RTB have a better feeding response then BP's and most of the time are just as tame. A little more active when handled and as stated before can sometimes be hard to get back into the enclosure. I'm sure a RTB would make a better display animal because with no hides you will always be able to see them and they dont need hides. Of course your going to need a bigger enclosure once full grown but i agree with every one else. It is better to start with a baby then to get an adult to start.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by slither9192

Ya, as stated before. RTB have a better feeding response then BP's and most of the time are just as tame. A little more active when handled and as stated before can sometimes be hard to get back into the enclosure. I'm sure a RTB would make a better display animal because with no hides you will always be able to see them and they dont need hides. Of course your going to need a bigger enclosure once full grown but i agree with every one else. It is better to start with a baby then to get an adult to start.

---

If it NEEDS a hide is up to the snake. If the snake shows less signs of stress and eats better with hides, then I would never take them out just so he looks pretty to me. Just my :2cent:

Everyone else has covered just about everything, but I'd like to also add my vote for starting off with a baby...though, this may sound like I'm being hypocritical. Why? Well...

I originally had started off with Kona, my less-than-1-year-old Colombian. Such a tiny little thing, very defensive, but I worked with him and we're almost over that. I made the mistake of going to a pet store (shame on me! someone should lecture me about this!) and falling in love with a 5-6 ft lovely "little" boy. This store was being shut down (it is fully closed, now) and the owner did not know what she was going to do with the snakes. She didn't want them. They were just animals she took from people that no longer wanted them, and she was just trying to make a penny off of them. This snake was being kept in a rather small enclosure, a tub of grungy water, old, filthy bedding, NO heating what-so-ever...I did not want to support the person doing this to him, so I did not purchase him. I told the story to my grandparents and everyone in general, and my grandfather ended up going down there without even saying anything. He came back and plopped a heavy white pillow case in my lap. That's how I got Marley.

So, perhaps I truly am hypocritical, suggesting starting off with a baby, but I do think that is the best idea. I personally feel very prideful when I take so much time raising a healthy snake. I got all of mine as babies, aside from Marley, and every time I look at them, I feel so accomplished and excited. I feel very confident saying, I raised him! whenever someone asks how they got so big.

To be truthful, I'd have loved to have been there through Marley's baby stages. I'd have loved to have raised him into the beautiful boy he is today, but someone else did that...I am still very, very proud of him and he is the most docile, calm, laid-back snake in my (small) collection.

About the hides, Marley doesn't use his...Kona doesn't use his alot, either. Occassionally he'll pull a Houdini and disappear into his rock hide for a few hours, but he really enjoys being curled up next to something, like someone else had mentioned. I don't keep any of my snake tubs/tanks completely empty...even Marley DOES have the option of a hide, he just doesn't utilize it. He's either stretched out, or curled up in a corner.

And, boy oh boy, is it fun putting boas away when you're done! I have a small shelf above Marley's enclosure that I have to take everything off before I try putting him in. He's knocked almost everything off 3 or 4 times until I decided it'd be a better idea to clear it off before. Soon, I'll move the shelf to a different area so that I'll have a better chance at getting him in. He isn't defensive of his enclosure, he'd rather be out and about. As soon as he sees me go to the lock, he's got his nose resting against the side at the top, waiting for the lid to open so he can zip out onto me.

Whatever you decide, good luck! I'm just rambling, now. ;)

Since we are on the subject of general pre-ownership questions...

Do you hook train your RTB?
At what age do RTBs reach full size?
Whats up with their posture, are they always in the S?

Monty,


I have BPs and boas, got one boa as a full adult and the other four as babies. I have used hides, and not hides, and Petey still coils in his tree, even though he's 1250g. LMBO :lmao: :giggle:Sort of a black lab thinking he's still a lap dog/puppy size and sitting in your lap!:D :D

Wrigley is very friendly (now that I've handled him regularly for months). I had him as a baby, but he's tagged me recently. I don't know what caused it at the time, but I got tagged. Hera is 6' and 18.5 lbs. She's the one I got as an adult. She's nailed me once and is really pi**y during shed, but doesn't mind being held...just isn't a lap snake.

Petey is a sweety and no matter what, hasn't tried to tag me at all, and he's just a year.

Pinky was very docile, but nailed me a couple of weeks ago, and I don't know what triggered it. It's the first time she's tried or been miffed. She was 3 mo. old when I got her. Apollo was about 2-3 months old when I took delivery, and is very shy and retiring....even now.

They all have excellent feeding responses, vs. the balls, who have gone hungry for months, and I don't know why. My temps and humidity are fine. Right now, I have one of my hets (I bought the 5th of Apr) who still hasn't eaten. I just tried a new home setup last Sunday and will try to feed her again in a couple of days.

They're all their own personalities. Hera is in an underbed box, w/o hides, but when I had a taller box for her, she had two hides, and used them. Petey uses his tree and burrows in the aspen bedding in his 65g acrylic tank. The others are in tubs. Wrigley has hides (igloos) and uses them. Apollo and Pinky used to have hides as little guys, but quit using them when they got bigger, so I took them out.

You have to be willing to provide the necessary care for a MUCH bigger snake, but I enjoy both the balls and the boas...(but I prefer the feeding response of the boas!). I don't regret getting Wrigley or Hera and starting my love for boas, at all. :)

I would never base my decision on an animal, on whether or not it made a good "display" animal. What if you get a boa, thinking that he'd make a nice display piece, and it turns out that he likes to hide all of the time? My male will spend time either in his hides, or sprawled out in the cage, or sometimes burrowed into the substrate. For display purposes, we have fish in tanks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ginevive

I would never base my decision on an animal, on whether or not it made a good "display" animal. What if you get a boa, thinking that he'd make a nice display piece, and it turns out that he likes to hide all of the time? My male will spend time either in his hides, or sprawled out in the cage, or sometimes burrowed into the substrate. For display purposes, we have fish in tanks.

---

Emerald Tree Boas are my choice for displays! They can be handled, but aren't as "user friendly" as BCIs are.

I don't use any hides with any of my boas, except Dumerils. They are the only ones who need it, imo. For them I use lots of crumbled up newspaper instead of hides, but it's the same effect.

All of my breeder females are no bigger than 8ft (and that's only one, the others are 6-7 feet). I've only saw one "10" foot boa. It looked huge, but it only measured a full 8.5 feet and was VERY thick. In my humble opinion, once a boa is over 7 feet, a foot or two doesn't matter much...a hand full is still a handful :eek: haha

I also would agree with most on the fact that a baby boa is a much better route to go for a first boa. After that you will have no problem with a bigger boa, but get the first one as a baby to make it easier on you and the boa. I have some big boas that get scared still and will wrap to you like no tomorrow if they feel unsecure, which can be pretty tight!

Best of luck!