Should I get a red tail?

[luvmyballs]

so I'm kind of playing with getting a red tail boa. me and my wife and daughter had been discussing the aggressiveness and size of the snakes . we have kind of heard both sides of the coin . would kind of like some opinions or thoughts . The only snakes I have experience with is corns an BP'S. Thanks.

[DooLittle]

No personal experience with them. I have met some that are really cool. I do believe they need a rather large enclosure as an adult. I also have heard their tempermant is not as friendly and forgiving as bps.

[chasingtime]

ive had all kinds and never got bit ever. they are very inquisitive and laid back when handled and raised right. get a baby and youll be more confident and you will both learn to love each other. males stay smaller fyi...

[Rob]

I only have a baby red tail I just got him, but as far as I can tell so far they are extremely tame. My three year old seems to enjoy him the most and they love to be handled. Also it fed the first day I got him while deep in shed. As long as you know they get big I don't see why not.

[Cameron Lamb Exotics]

Red tails are awesome snakes I would say the only drawback is they get bigger so they are not like your average corn or ball but there feeding response is way better then balls. I have 4 now I used to have more and all of them are awesome. I couldnt ask for anything better, just make sure they are handled because you dont want a 6ft plus snake being aggressive which is what any snake can turn out to be if not handled.

[John1982]

In my experience BCC and BCI are some of the easier snakes to tame down and remain so with minimal handling. That being said, there are always exceptions and you should never own a snake that you don't feel comfortable with should things take a turn for the worse.

[chasingtime]

you can get a dwarf male and they wont likely get over 4.5 feet.

these stay smaller than common boas:
A significant number of boa constrictor enthusiasts prefer to keep a boa that doesn’t grow too large. Frequently we get inquiries as to variants that will not exceed a length of two meters, not even as adults. Normally following variants of Boa c. imperator do fulfill this requirement:

Hog Island Boas
Corn Island Boas
Boa c. imperator from Roatan/Honduras (Firebellies, La Bahia Boas)
Honduras mainland boa c. imperator
El Salvador boa c. imperator

[Cameron Lamb Exotics]

I have 2 females that are both over 6ft one around 8ft but they are awesome either way.

[KatStoverReptiles]

I have a BCC/BCI mix and a Hog Island. Both are pretty laid back, but they're both still pretty small, in the 500-600 gram range.

[WarriorPrincess90]

I absolutely adore my Red tail. If I'm being perfectly honest, she's kinda my favorite snake. I love them all, but she is by far the most intelligent and simultaneously the most fun to handle and unlike the others, really seems to enjoy being handled. She doesn't shy away from being pet and let's me do just about anything with her (including checking her mouth without fidgeting or getting upset.) She climbs all over me, or just hangs out around my ponytail, on my head, or draped over my shoulders. She's the only one that doesn't squeeze when she's hanging there too. When I open the lid she immediately comes out to see what I'm doing and if there's food in it for her. Her feeding response was a little nerve racking at first I will admit. Even my Dumeril's boa will let me take her out on feeding day...but not the BCI. If I come anywhere near her tank on feeding day she is at attention. Again...so smart. She is one of the best decisions I ever made. Granted, she's still small, maybe 2 and a half feet. But I wanted BIG snakes. I'm totally comfortable with an 8 foot snake. However, they require large enclosures as adults and eat large prey. So the cost of owning one is definitely higher. Just be aware of that. If you're fine with that though, having a red tail is a wonderful experience that I would definitely highly recommend.