I've been thinking for a while about an RTB and wonder if I could get any recommendations from you guys as I want to do this right. Currently my largest snake is a year old BP who is sweet and loves handling - but of course not as big as an RTB - nor will she ever be so.

Originally I thought I would really like a Suriname (true RTB - beautiful tail etc) but it seems they grow really big (10ft) and need two people really to handle them so I'm not sure now if I'd be OK with it (I'm a short female )

I will keep whatever I decide in a 6ft viv eventually when it's bigger.

So what I want? Basically a nice-natured snake (I know there are no guarantees and I might end up with the pissiest one of a generally loving species) that tolerates handling well. I'd really like one that tends to keep some of its red-tail coloring. The largest snake I've handled is a female 5ft BP - and she was easy enough - so I guess I wouldn't really be comfortable handling anything larger than about 7-8 feet. I've read here on this forum somewhere that BCIs have the nicest temperament.

A specialist reptile shop in London has some RTBs (he'll have Surinames later) so I'm thinking of going along and asking to handle some of the adults to get a hands-on feel for what it's like handling larger snakes.

Please feel free to throw your ideas at me - I need to get what's best for me and the snake.