red tail boa

i want to hear the opinions of fellow ball python owners. i want to get a
RTB (red tail boa) what are some pros or cons to it in your opinions.

My co-worker had one (or family had one). He liked it but it sounded like it was a bit "bitey". But, more importantly, it got so big they had to find it a new owner. According to him they can get really big!

I am also planning on getting a boa. I have a thread over in the boa section you should probably read. Basically research which species stay smaller and buy a baby that you can bring up and learn its temperament and feel comfortable with it before it gets bigger. So far after the research I have done I am leaning toward a Colombian boa.

Link: my rtb thread

edit: Pros: a more outgoing snake that isnt going to stay in its hide all day and able to handle daily. From what I have read they can be as docile as a BP (of course this depends on species and the particular snake).
Cons: they can get big. There are a lot of different boa species that have been bred together making knowing the background of your snake hard to tell and predict. Possibly more bitey.

Yep, RTBs can potentially get big, but that's something you need to be ready for before buying one. It'd be a good idea to find someone locally with a full grown one that you could go see/hold. That way you'd get a good idea of their size. :)

I'm also looking into getting one... right after a GTP.

We had a boa in the household when I was a kid. I do not know what kind it was but I seem to remember it was colored more along the lines of a normal BP - nothing fancy like a red tail. But, I used to play with it when I was but a wee little tike. It only lost its temper twice: Once I tried to "introduce" it to the dog. It promptly struck the dogs nose. The second was a time that I tried to forcibly unwrap it from the leg of a peice of furniture. It only hissed at me then and it didn't hold a grudge either.

There are a number of size-limited pythons to choose from too. I was at the store I got Snakey from the other day and they had a carpet python out. It was definately a cool snake.

They have some boas in there that I would bet ended up there because the owners didn't want them any more. They are just massive - 5 inches thick with a head that would fill your palm nicely. They just don't appeal to me at that size for some reason.

Personally I adore boa's, specifically the colombians. For me the list would look like this...

Pros:
- realitively easy keepers
- not terribly prey specific
- generally a very good prey response without a tendency for refusals
- not as easily stressed as ball pythons
- responsive to correct and appropriate handling
- laid back temperment (for a snake)

Cons:
- too available in pet stores so often not a "quality" snake so best to get from a good breeder
- females can get large so confirmed gender is important to some owners
- larger snakes need larger enclosures
- very strong at maturity so appropriate and safe handling is a must
- very long strike range so smart feeding methods need to be learned
- able to carry diseases that kill BP's so health history must be known at purchase (impossible in a pet store purchase)

I think a colombian boa makes a wonderful pet snake if one does the research you should always do and is prepared for it's size at maturity. These aren't giants by any means but if you don't respect the sheer power and strength of a mature colombian boa, especially the bigger females, well you're ten kinds of a fool.

I have an RTB and he is great!

He is pretty chill most of the time.

Mine is about 9' so he is fairly strong.

He is in a pretty big tank and I have to practically climb in it t get it clean and he never even bothers me.

He has only struck once and that is because Jeff had him around his neck and Sara (now 14 then 6) went to tap Jeff on the shoulder and Prince was just peeking over his shoulder and she tapped the him on the nose and he struck. He was just warning her as he only scraped her hand. Then, I didn't know much about RTB's...he was a rescue...and so I took her to the hospital and they just put some bandages on it and cleaned it. Of course she really did not need bandages but she was 6 so you know....:rolleyes:

But I love my RTB and I am considering getting another! Maybe a female...

:devilish:

I have a baby RTB. He is so curious about his environment and me, much more outgoing than my BP, will eat ANYTHING you offer him everytime, and he's absolutely gorgeous. The only problems I have had with him is being hissed and struck at when he is in shed. He is EXTREMELY tempermental in shed, and the only time I have been tagged is when I put my hand in his tub while he was in blue. Other than that he is docile and a joy to have.

Great, curious, and handleable pets. If you get a male, it shouldn't ever see 7 feet (Meme- are you sure you have a 9ft male? wowza!). My breeder females are only 6-7 feet long and 20 lbs or so. The biggest girl I have is maybe 9 feet and 28 lbs, but she is an exception due to someone, old owner, putting her on rabbits.

Here is a few pics of kids handling baby boas with no problems:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88...02007/06-4.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88...02007/06-2.jpg

Here is my 6ft Salmon Female trying to hug the barber!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88...02007/06-3.jpg

Boas are amazing! You will never regret it, as long as you get one from a reputable breeder that has handled it often. Most of the time, babies come in "fiesty" due to lack of attention. They soon will get out of that stage though, if that does happen.

Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by darkangel

The only problems I have had with him is being hissed and struck at when he is in shed. He is EXTREMELY tempermental in shed

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Prince is the same in shed.

I usually just don't mess with him if I don't have to but about a month or so ago I put a rat in there with him and realized at the last minute he was in blue and he hissed so loud it scared me! He just didn't want that rat in there! It took us 30 minutes to get that danng janx out of there!

Another thing I can remember is he hates for someone to touch his tail!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jim020cricket

(Meme- are you sure you have a 9ft male? wowza!).

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actually no...we are not 100% sure.

As I have said he was a rescue and we were told...he was a male. and since he doesn't like to be handled a lot...he gets stressed, so I have never had him sexed.

We can take him out but he doesn't really like to be held once he is out.

and 9 ft is an estimate but he is for sure between 8 and 9 feet.

we have always joked that one day we are gonna find out that Prince is really a Princess! :eek:

I'd put a $100 on it right now, Prince is a girl! It happened with Rauri, Jo's Foster Boa, too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jim020cricket

I'd put a $100 on it right now, Prince is a girl! It happened with Rauri, Jo's Foster Boa, too.

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Sucks you are so far away! I would totally have you sex...him...her. lol.

We have always said the Prince's attitude is probably because we had been calling it a boy! lol

There is nobody around here that I would even trust to sex him.

I will have to get some pics up for you with a measurement referance.

but if it helps I usually call him Princey-poo...so it's kinda girly. lol :P ;)

Awesome...lol

Pros
Awesome snakes
Awesome snakes
Awesome snakes
Awesome snakes

No but seriously
Pros
-Great feeders 99.9% of the time(3/4 of mine will eat in shed every time and all of them will eat f/t rats or mice with no hesitation)
-Not as secretive as ball pythons(None of mine, babies to adults have hides and do fine)
-Tame if you have the time to put into the few nippy ones out there(never had one)
-Can handle them every day and they will still eat as usual(Not likely with ball pythons)
-Some stay smaller, some get larger so you always have a wide variety of choices(Some stay under 5-6' awhile others have the POTENTIAL to get over 10' which isn't common)
-No two look alike, The colors and patterns of any two are so different so there is always something to suit your likings. With balls, I have trouble telling one from another by sight because most look the same to ME.

Cons
They take a slightly larger cage(4' by 2' is ok for most) than Ball Pythons(although some of the smaller ones can live the same size enclosure as an adult ball python)

Hope this helps a bit

How is the boas bite compared to a ball python? I have heard that a balls bite doesnt hurt it just feels like a scratch, but have not heard much referenced about the boas.

I haven't been bitten by an adult. My baby's bite was a prick, I saw one little dot of blood, and it itched for a few minutes. A couple hours later, I couldn't even see where it had occurred. I'm sure it gets a little more intense when they're older :) I've decided to always use a glove to lift him out of his cage since he's more likely to strike then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jim020cricket

I'd put a $100 on it right now, Prince is a girl! It happened with Rauri, Jo's Foster Boa, too.

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Yep Ruari was "assumed" to be male by everyone but with the larger growth patterns we saw, we warned Becky ahead of time that he might well be a she. I had probed Ruari once, not easy with a big, strong snake and got what I took to be male on one side, but much less depth on the other so basically undecided gender wise. Rauri, now renamed Sonja, is definitely a big girl! :)

As far as bites, maybe other BCI's are more aggressive but we never saw a lot of it with the big boa or with the smaller, younger one we have now. Not saying they couldn't deliver a hell of a bite and granted, Rauri was very snitzy when hungry or deep in shed but the only bite ever delivered by this snake....

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...heldbymike.jpg

was this bite (can you see it LOL).....

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...Rauribite1.jpg

Basically a love tap. Poor RoRo was in blue but had done a huge dump, while I cleaned it up Mike held the snake and got a grumpy tap for his troubles. Very obviously a 6 foot plus snake can do a LOT more damage but Rauri (aka Sonja) just dealt a very restrained reminder that it wasn't the right to be messing with her.

We just tried, as we do with all the snakes, to get to know this particular snake as a unique individual and learn to read it's signals, body postures, etc. and respect that.

The bite is slightly worse than a balls. I felt no more pain than a simple scratch. Lets put it like this, stubbing your toe 99.9% of the time hurts worse than a boa bite unless you have a low pain tollerance(sp?).

This was a feeding response from a 5' boa. Almost no pain at all, just a scare really. This was a feeding error and she went into full constriction on me.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...Picture039.jpg

I got bit by a 7'+ boa once and the bite was just a tag and release, no constriction like the above and there was almost no blood, just a bruise from where he got me at.

Man your hand looks pretty bad. Im not too worried about it though, to have 4 boas and only be bitten twice id say its not too bad. I cant wait to get one.

There great snakes and In my opinion I would get them real small.
So this way you can hand raise them and see what they like and dont like.
You get to know your snake in time,but again you cant go wrong with a
red tail boa. Just have the right space ready and enjoy him or her growing
up. :D

The only time I've ever seriously worried about getting nailed by the three boa's we've cared for is during feeding night. These snakes are serious hunters, no fooling around when they are hungry and ready to go and a very long strike range.

I watched Diego, the summer boarder boa eat last night. He's only about 3.5 feet in length, a male 05. He nailed his rat from across his long tank...easily 18 inches or more from his coiled position and you literally could not see it happen. It was that fast! The rat took maybe two steps, Diego fired out, grabbed in and whipped back into his constriction position in the flash of an eye. A very impressive and incredibly efficient hunter is Diego! :)

Of course afterward he did the typical boa beg LOL. Snout upright to the place his enclosure opens, tongue flicking and intent gaze. "hey lady! over here! here is where you put my rat in! might I have another?" Took him awhile to realize he'd had a perfectly acceptable and appropriate dinner and he should take his fat butt off to his warm side and begin digesting LOL.

[QUOTE=Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]
This was a feeding response from a 5' boa. Almost no pain at all, just a scare really. This was a feeding error and she went into full constriction on me.
[QUOTE]

What do you do if your 6 - 7 foot boa begins to go into full constriction on you? and your by yourself??? grab its tail and start unwraping if you can. or grab it's head?? or should you always treat it like a anaconda or burmese and make sure you have a second pair of hands handy??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonny2184

"This was a feeding response from a 5' boa. Almost no pain at all, just a scare really. This was a feeding error and she went into full constriction on me."


What do you do if your 6 - 7 foot boa begins to go into full constriction on you? and your by yourself??? grab its tail and start unwraping if you can. or grab it's head?? or should you always treat it like a anaconda or burmese and make sure you have a second pair of hands handy??

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over 6 feet you should probably have a second person. but i too have had a 5 footer completely wrap up my arm in a feeding response. i wasn't using tongs and my hand was warmer than the rat. i was first shocked, then i just kinda stared at her in disbelief for a little, then i started carefully unwinding her from the tail. fortunately she ate for me still after that. i'm not sure why you single out annies and burms, because any large snake should be handled with more than one person no matter what the species. any snake species can have foul tempered individuals, i have even come across dog take annies before. so i think that's a little unfair. but yeah, many people maintain the rule, over 6 feet, never handle without 2 people, because even a 6 foot nice snake (or even a 2 foot mean kingsnake, but thats a different story) can hurt you if not handled with respect.

I didnt mean to single out burms and anacondas. I just couldnt think of the word for BIG SNAKES. Boids?? I could have even added rock python and reticulated.

No offense to the big snakes! lol

Thanks I'll keep that in mind when I decided about a third snake. Perhaps Ill stick with a GTP. but I'd love to have a BCC.
Beauty snakes!
:rockon:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonny2184

I didnt mean to single out burms and anacondas. I just couldnt think of the word for BIG SNAKES. Boids?? I could have even added rock python and reticulated.

No offense to the big snakes! lol

Thanks I'll keep that in mind when I decided about a third snake. Perhaps Ill stick with a GTP. but I'd love to have a BCC.
Beauty snakes!
:rockon:

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we like to use the term "giants" around here. Boids covers BP too as well

Jonny2184: don't let that turn you off a RTB. They really are great snakes and if handled and fed properly this will most likely not happen.This doesn't mean you shouldn't have someone around while holding one over 6' but they really are great snakes.

I won't let it turn me off but it just gives me something to think about when I choose my next snake.
Good point.
I'd have to get a friend ome over everytime I want to feed him or her.
and most of my friends are afraid of my BP let alone a 7-8 foot snake.
I'm sure my dad would love to help but he also seems nervious sometimes with the snakes.

Ah well.. I'll keep doing reasearch on a BCC. Cheers! :rockon:

Do you have to feed a rabbit to a RTB or BCC??
I have a pet rabbit and could never see myself doing that to a rabbit.

or can you just use Jumbo rats??

No rabbits. Rats should be just fine.

Why are you going BCC instead of BCI, out of curiousity?

You know... I sat and tried to think of a good answer to that question but I can't seem to think a good reason.

What would you chose, and why??

I think a RTB would be nice also but what do you think??

Well research BCI and BCC. Red-tail boa is usually used as a more general, all encompassing term used to describe boa constrictors. BCI is the more common of the two, and if I'm not mistaken, tend to stay smaller than BCC.

Check out this link. http://www.reptileguides.herpcenter....boa+localities

Ah I C...

I will do that!

You have a RTB? So would it be a BCC or BCI?

or am I saying this wrong??

RTB is a group of different kinds of boas?? and BCI and BCC belong to the RTB family??

Check out that link I posted above. I have a Central American boa constrictor, and he is BCI.

I have a 3 year old BCI female(common boa) who is 7.5ft and 24lbs(give or take some as she was in a pillowcase inside a sterilite(and that weighed 26lbs altogether). She eats a live or f/t 2lb rabbit every 2-2.5 weeks. Those keep her MUCH fuller for a longer period of time. With the rats, she was ready to take my hand off at about a week to a week and a half.

I keep her in a modified VE-175 tub from Reptile Tubs, and while she is outgrowing it, she's still ok for a bit and can curl up without touching the front and back walls. Even at her length/weight/size, she still uses her cat pan hide sometimes, especially while digesting.

She's very curious about what you are doing, always. Very aware of her surroundings. She's a handful, but really is a great snake :) They can get to be a workout when you have them out, because they are always looking for something to latch on to(refrigerator handle, shower curtain rod, bookshelf, your leg or other unmentionable body parts).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

They can get to be a workout when you have them out, because they are always looking for something to latch on to(refrigerator handle, shower curtain rod, bookshelf, your leg or other unmentionable body parts).

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LOL takes me back to the days she lived with us Becky. Does she still like to grab random pieces of furniture and haul them around. I remember her getting under Mike's "man chair". That was fun! Mike had to physically haul the chair and heavy arse boa attached to it up in the air so I could unwrap her (we were scared to try to tip the chair and accidentally smush a coil). She sure can give you a work out when she's out for some exercise! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonny2184

Ah I C...

I will do that!

You have a RTB? So would it be a BCC or BCI?

or am I saying this wrong??

RTB is a group of different kinds of boas?? and BCI and BCC belong to the RTB family??

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red tail boa is just a general name for many of these boas. Boa constrictor imperator (BCI) usually stay smaller than Boa constrictor constrictor (BCC). There is also different locales to choose from. Some locales stay smaller than other's and some get larger than others. Suriname and guyana are BCC and they get the largest. There are Colombian BCC but they are hard to find and usually arent actually BCC. There are many different locales for BCI and these are usually smaller than the BCC (not by that much though).

Haha Jo! YES she sure does! She grabbed onto a bookcase, the front door to our house, my butt, my face, etc etc. THEN I had to shove said big butted snake into a too-small pillowcase, that I had to close with zipties. I can't knot any of them now when I bag her up :eek: :D

Her middle can sit on my shoulder and her tail touches the floor.. I'm 5'6 if that says anything. She's gotten BIG, but is definitely not fat at all. Nice squared up boa body :)

well as one of the most bitten people around been bit by a big ball -python our girl brennagh and a big red tail sonya or rauri, the bp's bite was more of a violent attack the boa's more of I really don't want to do this leave me alone.But if your afraid of getting bit you shouldn't own snake's it's going to happen,but if I wasn't in love with snakes for pets and morp-genetics,and I was only going to have one snake for pet it would be a redtail. They fit that role where you can have interaction and just watch them without causing them any harm.