Getting a RTB

well, i went to a friend who has a 4 foot red tail boa. he needs to get rid of it. he said i can go pick it up tomorrow. ive done the same research as i did with my first ball python. everyone says they have the "potential" to get pretty big. well being 4foot, what size tank should i put him in? i have a spare 55 Gallon, 2x20 gallons, 3x10 gallon tanks laying in my shed. he currently has him in a 20 long and to me he is way to big for it. especially being a species that isnt like the ball python and has to have the snug security in a hide. my other friend has a rtb in a 55Gallon and a few rocks and branch's in there. dont know the size of his tank though. i believe its 55. so 55... yay or nay? id like to know soon so i can start setting it up now and getting temperatures ready. any information helps. sorry for asking but when i got my first snake this site helped very quickly. i just want to know from some experience boa people. i know balls and kingsnakes not boa's.............. yet! thanks for all the info on RTB in advanced :rockon: :rockon: :carrot: :salute:

Have you thought about using a plastic tub to house your new boa in? They work a lot better in keeping in heat and humidity plus you don't have to worry about glass being broken either during a cage cleaning or from a hard feeding strike that dosn't quite hit the mark. A fifty five gallon should be fine if glass is the way your gonna go but it won't last forever. Have you looked at the boaphiles yet? I think that is what I will be getting when the time comes for me to upgrade my boa to a larger enclosure.

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Originally Posted by snakedude56

Have you thought about using a plastic tub to house your new boa in? They work a lot better in keeping in heat and humidity plus you don't have to worry about glass being broken either during a cage cleaning or from a hard feeding strike that dosn't quite hit the mark. A fifty five gallon should be fine if glass is the way your gonna go but it won't last forever. Have you looked at the boaphiles yet? I think that is what I will be getting when the time comes for me to upgrade my boa to a larger enclosure.

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yes sir! i currently have a cb70 rack for my ball python and albino banded kingsnake. they do work well with temps and heat i must say as well. only reason im gonna go with a tank compared to tub is that everyone and everywhere ive researched, states they are great " display" snakes. doesnt really need hides and are active. i went to my friends house who had the 55 gal tank with a rtb in it and i look, and WOW his RTB is just laying in the middle of the tank chilln. i was like damn with my ball would do that and i could have him in a tank to watch as well. i dont mind cleaning the tank with a lil chlorexadine and i HAVE been able to get that tank to perfect 92 hot/83 cold and about 54% humidity.
so you say 55 should be fine for a 4foot? thanks. i thought it might. everyone says aspen, or cypress or whatever.... question is people SAY what you can use, i wanted to know what do actual RTB owners PREFER to use? i saw a guy using reptile sand and i thought that was a no no but maybe im wrong. some say they like to climb.. some say burrow.... dont know who's really right here. got pics of a RTB setup in a tank btw? thanks again

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Originally Posted by snakedude56

Have you looked at the boaphiles yet?

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sorry for not answering. yes i have but i dont quite have the $$$$ ya know? in the army and have a wife who's pregnant and a 3 yr old daughter... army pays me 100 and takes back 99. :P wish i could afford one. i was thinking of making one out of melamine but dont know if that will work.

There is only one tub that your Boa can live in for it's whole life. I'm not sure where to find it, but it's huge. It is the VE series tube from Reptile Tubs.

The best way to go for a Boa is a plastic cage. You need a cage that is at least 4'x2'x2' for a male and a 5'x2'x2' for a female. It is preferred that you get a 6'x2'x2'. Taking in this boa is going to cost you alot in the long run. Are you prepared to buy this huge cage for $200+, feed it L rats and XL rats? Not to mention, you need a second person with you once the snake reaches around 6 ft. It is totally unsafe to handle a big snake by yourself. I'm pretty sure the 55 Gallon might be good for him now but they grow pretty rapidly and you will need that bigger cage pretty soon. If I were you, I'd get his cage, temperature, etc ready for him before he comes. I would take the boa in after I research alittle more. I'm not trying to be harsh or anything but I just hear of so many snakes getting taken in and their new owners getting rid of them once they get big. I'm not saying you would do that, but I just want you to know all you can before you take the snake in.

Good to know you ask before you get it. That is a very responsible thing to do. Good luck!!

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Originally Posted by K80tik

sorry for not answering. yes i have but i dont quite have the $$$$ ya know? in the army and have a wife who's pregnant and a 3 yr old daughter... army pays me 100 and takes back 99. :P wish i could afford one. i was thinking of making one out of melamine but dont know if that will work.

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Ok,if you can't afford the big cage, then don't get the snake. BUT, if you think you can actually make one, that would be good too! You just have to be exact so there are no major flaws. Sorry if i sound rude, I'm really not intending to be, but we all want whats best for the snake. I'm sure you do too!

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Originally Posted by bpkid

There is only one tub that your Boa can live in for it's whole life. I'm not sure where to find it, but it's huge. It is the VE series tube from Reptile Tubs.

The best way to go for a Boa is a plastic cage. You need a cage that is at least 4'x2'x2' for a male and a 5'x2'x2' for a female. It is preferred that you get a 6'x2'x2'. Taking in this boa is going to cost you alot in the long run. Are you prepared to buy this huge cage for $200+, feed it L rats and XL rats? Not to mention, you need a second person with you once the snake reaches around 6 ft. It is totally unsafe to handle a big snake by yourself. I'm pretty sure the 55 Gallon might be good for him now but they grow pretty rapidly and you will need that bigger cage pretty soon. If I were you, I'd get his cage, temperature, etc ready for him before he comes. I would take the boa in after I research alittle more. I'm not trying to be harsh or anything but I just hear of so many snakes getting taken in and their new owners getting rid of them once they get big. I'm not saying you would do that, but I just want you to know all you can before you take the snake in.

Good to know you ask before you get it. That is a very responsible thing to do. Good luck!!

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you dont come off as harsh. reason I HAVE to take him in is he's leaving tomorrow overseas. its either me or to a pet store for free and by looking at the pet store here who has over 100 bp in 1 tank i would say it has a better chance with me. i already got the 55 gallon setup right now and temperatures are all rising. im supposed to get him at 12pm tomorrow. im pretty sure i can get temps just right in next 14 hours. as far as me buying a boaphile. yes id love 2. i love the look. i might not have the dinero right now but by the time the 4 foot grows out the 55gallon im sure i will have the funds for a boaphile. i already told my wife tax season im getting at least 2 boaphiles. i do love tubs cause they are WAY easy to clean and hold the temperatures. i dont have the problem with the 55 neither. only reason i switched my snakes to tubs right now is cause all they do is hide. friends come over and ask "whats in there, a frog?" i say no a snake but he's nocturnal. most people use tanks for "show", but mine never came out so i use the tub. i do have alot of stuff to fill the tank with. as EVERY person knows, when you first start out you buy WAY more junk then you need. I have soooo many different hides/water dish's/ logs/branch's/ rocks/aspen like 8 heat pads/subtrate.. plus the nonsense crap, in the tank humidifier/ lots of red basking bulbs/5 lamps/lamp holders/7 different type of screen lids. ive always wanted a snake and last tax season i used my share of the money to buy what i want... a snake... i believe i spent about 700 on everything. come to find out i spend about 650 more then i needed 2. we live and learn i guess. as far as rats.. i breed rats :P i got a bunch right now and mommies are about to pop the bread out the oven again! plus i have a reputable friend who has over 100 large rats :) thanks for your input though. well noted!

Well it sounds like you have it all figured out. Good luck and take pictures!!!

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Originally Posted by bpkid

Well it sounds like you have it all figured out. Good luck and take pictures!!!

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will do boss.

yea thats pretty much why i bought a rack. having a bunch of tanks for snakes that hide all day is pretty pointless.

sounds like a good job you are doing.

I've got boas in tubs, and one in a 65(?)g acrylic six-sided tank. All of them are on aspen bedding.

Hera is my adult female (6'/ 18.5#), and she's in an under-bed box w/little wheels on the top shelf.

Wrigley has igloo hides that he lies in, on top off, and even though he's two, he still likes to burrow.

Petey is in the acrylic tank & is the only one with a tree, and even tho' he's a yearling, he still hangs in the tree every once in a while. (Which is hilarious----seeing this wonking fat snake's loops hanging and coiled in this tree! :D :D :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ).

Pinky and Apollo are both in tubs. I took out their igloos (and other hides) b/c they'll burrow before they'll use the hides. Pinky's 18 mo. and Apollo is just over a year.

As long as you have the heating and humidity dialed in, the tank should be just fine. I don't know about the striking though. As hard as Wrigley and Hera hit, if yours hits the glass there is a high possibility that it would break. W & H have both thumped the plastic tubs pretty hard a couple times when they've been in pi**y attitudes or during feeding day and they got impatient. Petey's a real sweetheart, and since he's been in the acrylic (or even b4 for that matter) has never tried to strike or hiss at me, so that wouldn't help you. For the first year of Petey's life (just until we moved in March in fact) Petey was in a 42g breeder (glass) and didn't have any problems at all, when I had the lid covered and could maintain the humidity and temps.

I enjoy having Petey in the tank. It's nice to look in and see him either in the bedding, coiled up, or in the tree. Sometimes he's peeking out from under the "bushes". He's in the tank b/c I couldn't get the tank thru the bedroom (now snake room) door, and it was originally Freddie the BP's tank...I didn't want Freddie in the higher traffic / temp fluctuating room (the family room), so it became Petey's home instead. It's worked out really well so far.

Let us know how it goes. :)

We've currently got two young male boa's in their own seperate and large tanks. They do quite fine though the big tanks aren't always the most fun to clean LOL. We keep them on aspen and as they mature and get heavier we'll go to an aspen/double milled cypress mix. The cypress holds the humidity a bit better (always a hassle with the large mesh lids on glass tanks) plus with their heavy body weight it helps the aspen not compress so much. The double milled is better though, the regular cypress has way too many large slivers.

We do offer them one large hide on their warm side. One male, Severus, loves his hide, the other male Diego does not use his much. They both enjoy burrowing however so their substrate is quite deep.

Because the glass tanks are large we also have dark blue sheets (old flat bed sheets) that we put over about half of the cool side. It helps keep in temps and offers them a bit more privacy as they move about. I usually undercover them for part of the day then cover them back up for some of it or if there is a lot of traffice around their tanks (company over or whatever). One of them, Diego, will not eat until you cover his tank. He likes his privacy LOL.

thanks alot for the info. so aspen is going to be what it is. i got the temps up 2 the right spot and im off to go pick up my new addition. so excited! ill post pics as soon as he get settled in. thanks for all your info and help! god i love this site! if it wasnt for the cool, very smart people on here i probably would have all my snakes in tanks with just a water bowl like most of the herps here in el paso. thanks again!