ID please

[scotty]

Hey guys and gals, i found a snake at my work last week and dont know what it is. I think its a red tail boa, and im got 2 pics

[Strider]

Looks like one to me but i dont own any rtb so I dont know for sure.

[rex322]

definatly a boa, i dont think its a redtail tho it seems too dark to me...maybe an argentine boa?

[scotty]

I decided to keep him, i have a vet appointment next week with him. He ate 2 small rats to day with no problems at all.. definately stronger response than i thought i was going to get. What would be a good way of going about getting him back up to a good weight. Hes a lot scrawnier than in the picture because he just ate 2 rats. Would feeding him the rats once a week for a few weeks be harmful to like his metabolism or whater? Or should i just feeding him every couple days till he refuses? i like the first idea better.

[rex322]

try to feed him something just as big around as his biggest girth...or widest part of his body. if you say hes underweight, i would go with something a bit smaller until he can thicken up. i would feed him about 8-10 days. every couple days would be too much. also, if he poops, collect it and keep it in an airtight container and bring it with you to the vet. internal parasites can be very dangerous.

its great to see that you were able to rescue it, and didnt just kill it. you say you found it at work? where do you work and whats the story behind that?

[daniel1983]

you say you found it at work? where do you work and whats the story behind that?

I was thinking the same thing Jason. That is a story I would like to here too

[scotty]

So at the end of my 12 hour day at work i was cleaning out a storage room for work the next day(i work at a county prison, im the director of the geek department (MIS)). I was cleaning out a storage room that hasnt been entered in ages, like just walking around in there left dust prints on the floor. after cleaning some stuff up Around some electrical motors that run a elevator thats right next to the room i found a tail wrapped around the base of it (he was probably trying to get warm). The snake was very docile, didnt even try to strike me or my roommate once i got him home. Instead of reporting it and having it destroyed or whatever (i highly doubt they would call animal rescue) i took him home(which all my friends called me insane heh). The snake is like 5 1/2 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. Not a very exciting story but it was when it was happening, i truned into 007, sneaking out the back with a snake in my duffelbag heh. So ive had him almost a week now and sunday he ate 2 rats no problem, i feed him live only because i wanted to make sure hed eat, next week ill try a prekilled (i dont know how long hes been in there, someone could lost him in the prison years ago for all i know, and its not like there arent enough rats to live off of heh) He has no external parasites but i am gonna check for internal once he poopinates. Also like i said i decided to keep him, This would be my first "large", i use that term loosely, snake.I have a ball python i bought a couple months ago to kind of break the ice with the larger contrictors, as before that ive had garter snakes and similar small snakes. Ive read the care sheet for red tail boas. is there anything diffrent i need to know about argentina boas? how are they behaviour wise? aside from the large snake duties that come with any large snake, is there any i should know about argentina boas? Thanks a ton for all your help guys, i want to try as hard as possible not to mistreat this snake at all while im trying to research and learn how to care for him properly, although im confident im doing an ok job because i know the basics of snake keeping.

Also about his coloration, he still has peices of retained shed and im thinking Once he gets a couple quality meals and he sheds again he has potential to be a beutiful snake, not thats he isnt already.

[rex322]

heh wow thats a great story. dont quote me on it being an argentine boa though, thats what it looks like to me.

[scotty]

Yeah i couldnt beleive as it was happening... that night.. i still cant beleive it. I was thinking of naming him chance, but im open to ideas for names. My plan was always to get a larger snake, and although im not as prepared as i thought i was gonna be before i got a larger type snake this would be one hell of a story to tell someone 10 years from now if hes still alive hehe.

Also instead of buying a 75 gallon tank or whatever to put him in, im going to build one, out of wood. Ive read very little of wooden cages, and was curious if there were things i should be aware of that may be bad to use wood, as i could make a cage out of plexi but id have to pay for it, as the wood i get for free because my brother in law works for a carpentry shop and has free reign over there wood supply. Im gonna search for a DIY to see how thick i should get and the best way to fasten the wood together so the snake wont be able to split the seems. I am going to make the 2 sepeerate front peices, acrylic, that are on hindges with latches and/or padlocks because i dont like sliding and only being able to get at one side at a time, i want to be able to lift up the whole front and get at what i need, or half the front if i only need half.

[elevatethis]

I'm almost positive thats just a plain 'ol central american boa. Don't worry about him growing too big for you, centrals usually stay well under 7 feet!

Strange find for a snake...oh well, I guess you two are star-crossed or something.

Glad he got a good home!