little story

[scotty]

So at the end of my 12 hour day at work i was cleaning out a storage room for work the next day. after cleaning some stuff up i found a tail. I found a red tail boa... i think.I wont have a camera until saturday so i cant post pics for a positive ID yet. Instead of reporting it and having it destroyed or whatever (i highly doubt they would call animal rescue) i took him home, or her. I have a couple of questions. The snake is like 5 feet or so, but very scrawny. Just didnt look a healthy weight i think and was half shed. Despite probably being starved and very irratable from shedding, it seemed very docile, didnt even attempt to bite me. Anyway i have him in a rubbermaid setup. Should i wait a week before offering food to let it get settled in and finish shedding? Should i offer a good size mail? like a reg. rat (PK) or maybe 2 small rats?

[Shelby]

Awesome find! I'm jealous!

I would definitely give it a week to settle in. Aside from taking good care of it (I would recommend a vet visit, also a nice warm soak to remove the shed) try to leave it alone as much as possible. When the week is past, offer a rat the same size as the snake's girth at the widest point.

Good luck!

[scotty]

Cool, thats what i figured, but i was afraid that maybe since its probably been starved for a long time, as my work only has little mice, no rats that i know of, maybe it wouldnt be able to handle a normal meal right away. I put a humid hide box in there with him, hopefully that will help, and ill soak him tonight. I am gonna take him to the vet next week, but he has no visual infestation, no ticks or mites that i saw externally. I live in ma (usa) so i know this snake didnt just wonder in, someone musta brought it in and lost it somehow.... i dont even know what to think about how it got where i found it heh. like i said ill post pics as soon as i can, and thanks for the advice.

[Ginevive]

Wow, I am glad that someone like you found him; not a snake-hater who would have called the police or something!
I cant wait to see pics so we can positively ID him.

[Forrest]

Scotty,
What a find!!!!! If it is a boa they need more moisture than your average snake. Simple solution, get a water bottle fill it with hot water ( I promise when you spray it out it is warm not hot, test it on yourself) and spray him down twice a day even after his skin starts to look normal, they really do need this. Get him checked by a vet and enjoy your new find. The rest of the info above sounds correct,Good Luck.

[Shelby]

Boas do enjoy a a bit higher humidity (though, not all boas) but I don't spray mine down, she always does perfect sheds. It may be a good idea though at first because the snake has a stuck shed. A humid hide is definitely a good idea.

[Forrest]

Scotty,
Here is a link to some great information on Red Tails:
http://www.primareptilia.net/boa_care.htm