Might get a bigger snake

When I was little we had two snakes, a ball python named Aries (who was a sweetheart) and Sheena, a red-tailed boa, who didn't know the difference between a mouse and hand. :P Sheena was but a baby when we had her, no more than 1-2ft long. I can't remember exactly how big she was at the time. We ended up having to find a new home for both snakes when we moved in with my grandmother, so I never got to experience a red-tail as an adult. Actually he only snake I experienced as a full grown adult was Aries who was a small male.

So, after looking at some pictures of red-tails, I realize they get much bigger than a ball python. :P But I still have an urge to have one. So, I have a few questions.

How are they to handle? Are they bulky and hard to keep hold of? Or are they rather calm?

How often should they eat? I read that its best to feed them either small meals once every week or a good sized meal once every two weeks. What is a good sized meal for a full grown adult male red-tail?

Enclosure requirements? Tub or Tank? (I'll be looking that the caresheet momentarily for temp and humidity requirements.)

Temperment? Mean little SOB's? Puppy Dogs? In between?

Compare their bite to a ball python bite. Worse? Doesn't hurt that bad? Do they bite and wrap? Or is it more of a bite and let go kind of thing like ball pythons do?

What do you do if a red-tail starts to wrap around you?

There are many different species of Boa constrictor to choose from. Some are on the smaller size and some larger. I am assuming that you are referring to the common red tail, aka Boa constrictor imperator - Columbian locale. Males will generally reach 6-7 feet long. A large or jumbo rat once a week or every two weeks should be fine once he has reached his adult size. If you prefer a smaller boa, I would do some more research about different species and locales.

Most of the boas I've had the pleasure of handling or keeping had good temperments. It seems to be a good idea to handle them every now and then to keep them "tame." If I were in your situation, I would talk to a breeder to find one with a nice temperment to begin with. Then as it grows, just continue to handle it. Once large, they are very muscular and super strong. They are more aboreal than ball pythons, so their body is more adept to climbing and wrapping. A large feisty red tail can be a challenge to handle.

While they are younger and smaller, a tub is a good choice of enclosure. As they get larger, and if you'd like a nice display enclosure for them, a well-manufactured reptile cage would be a great choice, and easier to control than an aquarium.

Temperment can be different with each snake. Look for one that already has a good temperment and you shouldn't be disappointed. They are very curious and perhaps more active than ball pythons. Many boa keepers say their boas enjoy time out of their enclosure to explore.

If a boa mistakenly strikes at you and realizes you are not food, it should let you go, just like a ball python. If it strikes at you defensively, it is trying to scare you off and should still not wrap. The reason for striking is not going to be much different from a ball python.

I had this long, beautiful response all written out for you... and then internet connection is lost and it disappears! ARGGGG!

*slams head on desk*

Anyway, here're a couple of pics for size comparison, anyway: This is a three foot, full grown female BP and a six foot, full grown female Columbian BCI:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...2/000_0781.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...2/000_0784.jpg

I would write more, but I don't want to further irritate my frustrations with the internet connection here.

Let's just say this: I love my boas. They are amazing snakes to own. You need to stay aware when handling them, but you need to stay aware when handling any snake. They are quite curious and will get into anything they can, so you have to keep your eye on them.

As for feeding: unless they're sick, boas will eat whenever you put food in front of them (some will have amazing feed responses... they will get into a routine, and will strike on feeding day. They're not trying to be mean, they're just hungry!). I feed my babies one appropriately sized meal every week. At about a year, I move it back to two weeks. There are others that feed once a week the entirety of the snake's life, and there are others that feed once every two weeks from birth. When they're small, they burn off that food through growth... but boas do have a tendency for obesity as they age and stop growing so quickly.

Hope this helps!

Thanks to both of you for your responses. I am going to Off the Ark tomorrow (where we get our feeders) and he has fully grown boas there. I might ask to hold one and get a feel for how they are to handle. He has some babies there I might hold as well.

If I were to get a columbian, what size tub would it need as a baby? What size enclosure as an adult?

Any pics of enclosures?

I keep babies in shoebox tubs much like baby BPs. Once they get some growth, I move them up into sweater tubs... and eventually into underbed storage tubs. My biggest girl, the six footer pictured above, is in one of these with no problems to speak of. When my other girls get up to weight, I will probably get them 4' by 2' cages, if not bigger, for breeding purposes.

I don't have any pics of mine, but if you want to keep them in tubs their entire lives, check out this site: http://www.reptiletubs.com/

Eric is a great guy, and he carries the VE series tubs which are huge! You could effectively keep an adult boa---male or female---in one of those for it's entire life.

Well I got to hold a columbian red-tail. She wasn't full grown but definatly not a baby. :D While I was a bit hesitant to hold her by myself, I did and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I got a little nervous when she turned around and rested her head near my bare hand, but she moved on and all was ok. She was heavy but not too heavy. I could hold her with one arm, no problem. Beautiful and quite calm. I talked to the guy at the store for a bit and he keeps boas. He says he's never been bitten by any of his boas at home and that they are great snakes to keep. So, maybe I'll go back and hold a red-tail again and get used to the idea of a snake bigger than a ball python and possibly get one. They did have a baby there. :P

I'm looking at getting a ghost boa going to check out Daytona this year hope to pick one up there.

I intend on picking up some ball pythons from Daytona. If I become more comfortable around a boa, I might end up picking up a little something extra from Daytona. :D

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Originally Posted by TheMissingLink

I'm looking at getting a ghost boa going to check out Daytona this year hope to pick one up there.

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Ghosssstts... Ghosts are my favorite morph of boa. I'm looking to make some of my own here in a couple years. My goal is to make very clean, very light ghosts (gotta couple ideas for doing so :D )

Glad you had a good first experience Jay_Bunny!

I consider them started snakes personally as long as you have the space and you start with a nice calm baby. They will grow with your confidence rather than jumping into an intimidating 7' female. When we have young children over, I hand them a boa over a ball personally, they are sweet snakes and never a problem to handle, unless they don't want back into their enclosure

Yea, he said they could be a bit difficult to get back into their enclosure. I guess this could be because they like to wrap around you or something? I know that the girl I was holding wrapped firmly (not too tight) around my forearm and when he unwrapped her from my arm I could feel the strength she had. :)

They all have different personality's. Your going to find puppy ones, your going to get pissy ones. Your going to get some that have good and bad days, and some that always have good days.

In general they are not pissy, or aggressive snakes. We breed them and own quit a few and don't own any out-right aggressive ones. We do own snakes that will bite you and I do get bitten from time to time. Every one we own is tame, and gets better with age and handling.

Average weight for these snakes are 8-20 pounds as adults and size is in the 6-8 foot range. They like to climb and are much more active then a Ball Python. They have higher feeding response.

They tend to be slow growers and you will have time to adapt to the snakes size. You will get used to 5-8 feet really fast, thats not really that big.

I get most of mine on Gunie Pigs pretty fast. They seem to really love them and they will never out grow the sizes G-Pigs come in. Plus, G-Pigs are cheap and eazy to come by.

If I do end up getting one, I will probably stick to rats. So I guess it would be a good idea to get a baby. And since they grow at a slow rate I can get used to it growing larger. I'll have time to adapt to the length and weight of the snake as it grows.

I guess I'll be looking to get a tub soon for a baby red-tail. :) You guys are getting me hooked on boas.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I guess I'll be looking to get a tub soon for a baby red-tail. :) You guys are getting me hooked on boas.

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And another one bites the dust... :gj:

Why couldn't you guys get me hooked after tomorrow? I'm going to a reptile show tomorrow in northern Va. Lets hope I don't take my wallet with me. lol.

Lol... well, let's look at it this way: Most litters haven't been dropped yet, so there won't be as many boas at the show as there would be, say, in March or April or May.

I LOVE spring time shows! Babies! :D

Yea, I need to find out when the next show around me will be. Probably a March show here in Richmond or something. My fiance already said its ok to bring something home from tomorrow's show if I want. :rolleyes:

So what kind of morphs are there in the red-tail boa world? I was just on youtube and I saw a striped boa! It was from a Suriname/Columbian het for albino pairing. Out of the whole litter, they had two albinos and one striped. It was beautiful!

Would this be a good sized enclosure for an adult?

http://www.reptilebasics.com/2x3x14-Cage-p-16201.htm

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Would this be a good sized enclosure for an adult?

http://www.reptilebasics.com/2x3x14-Cage-p-16201.htm

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Ummm...for an adult ball!!!! I'm getting a female red-tail, ABY line, and I'll put her in the 2x3 sized cage (after giving her some grow time in a 32qt rack) and then start looking into a 6foot long x 2 feet deep x 2 feet high reptile cage!!!!

I'm trying to find sites online that carry those types of cages and reptile basics's largest reptile cage is a 2X4. Do you know anywhere I can find a larger one?

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I'm trying to find sites online that carry those types of cages and reptile basics's largest reptile cage is a 2X4. Do you know anywhere I can find a larger one?

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Sooo many choices!!! You can make one yourself with any of the many plans and ideas offered by posters. You can get a relationship going with Rich at RBI and beg him to make you a custom <ahem>. You can also go to one of the many online sites that already manufacture large cages. Tons of choices and a few vendors and products to choose from. Good luck with your search and let me know what you decide on... :P

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I'm trying to find sites online that carry those types of cages and reptile basics's largest reptile cage is a 2X4. Do you know anywhere I can find a larger one?

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Males stay smaller than females. 2x3x14 will most likely be sufficiant for a male. If he gets big enough then a 2x4x14 would be fine. I keep my big female, 6.5' 12.5lbs, in a 2x4x12, and she is doing just fine. I buy all of my cages from Reptile Basics. They are great. Hope this helps. :cool:

Well I found bigger cages if they are needed. I don't plan on getting a female. I want to start off with a male since they are smaller and once I've had the male for a while, MAYBE get a female. So I want to hear from a few more boa keepers before I go off and buy a cage. I won't be getting a large cage like this at first. I will probably start off with something smaller since I plan on getting a baby and keep it in a tub.

Another question. What heat pad should I use for a tub for a baby? I know to use it under a thermostat and plan on getting one when I get the other supplies. And what surfaces are safe to put the pad on?

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Well I found bigger cages if they are needed. I don't plan on getting a female. I want to start off with a male since they are smaller and once I've had the male for a while, MAYBE get a female. So I want to hear from a few more boa keepers before I go off and buy a cage. I won't be getting a large cage like this at first. I will probably start off with something smaller since I plan on getting a baby and keep it in a tub.

Another question. What heat pad should I use for a tub for a baby? I know to use it under a thermostat and plan on getting one when I get the other supplies. And what surfaces are safe to put the pad on?

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You really don't need a 6x2x2... The one you listed would be fine for a small adult, otherwise move into the 4' range.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

So what kind of morphs are there in the red-tail boa world? I was just on youtube and I saw a striped boa! It was from a Suriname/Columbian het for albino pairing. Out of the whole litter, they had two albinos and one striped. It was beautiful!

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Im curious al well Im looking to expand to boas but am not to familiar with morphs yet. Any Help?

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Originally Posted by AdamJB

Im curious al well Im looking to expand to boas but am not to familiar with morphs yet. Any Help?

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There are so many morphs out there,
Albino
Hypo/Salmon
Striped
Motley
Caramel Albino
Anery
Arabesque
Jungle

I think I got most of the morphs

I gotta add this in for jimi
PASTEL:salute:

In your opinion what is one the "beginner morphs" within the 200-350 range?

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Originally Posted by AdamJB

In your opinion what is one the "beginner morphs" within the 200-350 range?

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I'd like to know this as well. I saw a few Salmons at a recent show for $250 a piece. They were absolutely gorgeous as babies... how are their colors as adults?

All boas tend to darken up as they age, but it doesn't always happen. Do a web search for adult boa pics.

Pastels will run you a little higher than normals, around 150-200 (and they go higher depending on lineage and color). Salmons/Hypos run anywhere from 200-500, again, depending on what you get. Anerys are pretty cheap, staying down around 150. You can get an albino nowadays for 450-550 if you look around... but these guys won't hold color like your 1000 dollar albinos :)

I want a striped but how much do they go for?

When you say striped... what do you mean? A tiger? An aberrant? Or a tail stripe?

Don't know if this is even the right kind of snake, but I want the striped one in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf5cWZi3F1g&feature=user

[QUOTE=Jay_Bunny;718005]Well I got to hold a columbian red-tail. She wasn't full grown but definatly not a baby. :D While I was a bit hesitant to hold her by myself, I did and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I got a little nervous when she turned around and rested her head near my bare hand, but she moved on and all was ok. That reminds me when I held a boa for the first time , and bought it the next day since I was fascinated with her. Althugh I love all my snakes my boa is my favourite . Boas seem a lot more inteligent than BPs it is probably their curiosity that makes me think that way.