red tail $ and temperment

[rding]

we visited a pet store new to us today, and they had a red tailed boa. it was about 6 months old and $109.00. todd fell in love. i have been told they are a bit more aggressive than bp's and not very good to have around children????? he crawled out of the aquarium to todd, didn't want to be put back up. the owner said he still wasn't comfortable with snakes.....they had a ball about 6-8 months that had been "force fed" and one probably 18-24 months, maybe less, that had not properly shed....i told him he needed some warm water to soak in.........awful conditions, i thought, todd told me not to be ugly. i know i am by no means an expert, but they were not very well kept. you could buy the littler bp for $60.00, if you bought the setup, which was $81.00...............a ten gallon tank, and a water dish.........it was chewed on, surely not by the snake........but the lady told me that it was the "setup". not sure i would have given $10.00 for that "setup"........
sorry to ramble, just curious about the boa, i am not very familliar with them.

Thanks....

[JLC]

That's sad about the bp's and the conditions they are trying to sell them in!

As for the boa...red-tails come in two different subspecies. Boa Constrictor constrictor (BCC) and Boa Constrictor Imperator (BCI). BCI is much more common in the pet trade, and costs less than a BCC, so that is probably what you saw...but you should be sure which it is before buying because they're different.

BCI, for the most part, are very easy to care for and are very easy-going snakes. Everyone at this forum that has one will tell you how tame and friendly they are. I wouldn't hesitate to own one of these, even with my young kids in the house.

BCC on the other hand, grow a lot bigger than BCI, and are less forgiving of husbandry mistakes. They also can be more assertive than the BCI tend to be. These are the ones that I would not want living around my young children.

If you do buy a snake from that store...count on it having mites, at the very least. Also, boas of all kind can carry a disease known as IBD. (I forget what it stands for). They can carry this disease for a long time without showing any symptoms...but if they pass it to a python, it will kill it very quickly. There is no cure. So......if you love that type of snake, I would try to purchase one from a very reputable breeder to cut down on the chances of getting a snake with IBD. At a store like that, you have no idea what you'd be getting. If you're in love with that very snake and have to have it....quarantine for a minimum of 90 days....and I personally would try to keep it separate from my pythons, pretty much forever.

Just my .02. Hope it helps a little.