How Big do Female Red Tails Usually Get?

[Bellabob]

Friday I'm going to pick up a female red tail that the owner says is 7 and a half feet. I have seen videos on youtube and pictures of absoutley MONSTER red tails. One was almost 11ft and REALLY thick. Obviously this big of a snake will not be content feeding on jumbo rats. Do females get this big all the time? Whats the average size for a female? Is the one I'm getting maybe at its maxiumum size? I want to know because if it gets really big, I'll have to feed it rabbits, and they are pretty costly.

This is going to be my first boa. I know general care and maintenence, any advice would be greatly apreciated.

Right now the owner says she is feedeing the snake large rats.

[Skittles1101]

Average is 8-10 feet, however they can get larger....

[Bellabob]

Average is 8-10 feet, however they can get larger....

Well she is almost 8ft...so hopefully she'll stay that way! But if she doesn't I can handle it.

[Skittles1101]

Well she is almost 8ft...so hopefully she'll stay that way! But if she doesn't I can handle it.

I hope so, because you're going to get her lol. That's why I got a male, I knew I couldn't handle a large female.

[Alexandra V]

Congrats, boas are awesome!

As was said, your average Columbian red tail female will get between 8 - 10 feet long, but they can get bigger. There have been some (and I mean like a number you can count on your hand lol) that reach more than 12 feet, but that's like seeing a 7 foot human. It isn't common, but it is certainly possible.

Also, most boas can still be satisfied with rats alone, you don't necessarily have to do rabbits, just feed multiple rats when she outgrows the largest size

[Bellabob]

Congrats, boas are awesome!

As was said, your average Columbian red tail female will get between 8 - 10 feet long, but they can get bigger. There have been some (and I mean like a number you can count on your hand lol) that reach more than 12 feet, but that's like seeing a 7 foot human. It isn't common, but it is certainly possible.

Also, most boas can still be satisfied with rats alone, you don't necessarily have to do rabbits, just feed multiple rats when she outgrows the largest size

Oh, thank god. I was thinking if she got to be a good size that I would have to feed her rabbits! Rabbits are expensive little suckers! You would think that there are so many of them that they would be a bit cheaper.

So I can just feed her rats? Right now I have some rats that I bred that I plan on growing into jumbos for this snake. How many would I have to give her a week to satisfy her if she got to a pretty good size?

Thanks for the info, really helps!

[Jason Bowden]

Some boa keepers never feed larger than a large rat. Some switch to rabbits.

7.5' to 8 feet, I would probably feed her 2 large rats(she can easily eat 3 or 4) every 21 days. If you feed her more she'll eat it and grow, but this is not recommended.

[Alexandra V]

Oh, thank god. I was thinking if she got to be a good size that I would have to feed her rabbits! Rabbits are expensive little suckers! You would think that there are so many of them that they would be a bit cheaper.

So I can just feed her rats? Right now I have some rats that I bred that I plan on growing into jumbos for this snake. How many would I have to give her a week to satisfy her if she got to a pretty good size?

Thanks for the info, really helps!

Anytime, and when feeding multiple smaller prey items (i.e. when I'm finishing off a bag of f/t feeders before moving up a size or something) then I tend to go for the 10% - 15% of the snake's weight. So pick two (or however many) rats whose weights add up to about 10 or 15% of the snake's body weight and it should be fine and give them maybe every 10 or so days (but you could wait longer if you fed a little bit over the 10-15% in that feeding)

[Skittles1101]

Yeah, you have to be careful not to overfeed, boas are also quicker to regurge than ball pythons. I feed my young boa either a large mouse or 2 rat pups every 7 days.

[Bellabob]

Anytime, and when feeding multiple smaller prey items (i.e. when I'm finishing off a bag of f/t feeders before moving up a size or something) then I tend to go for the 10% - 15% of the snake's weight. So pick two (or however many) rats whose weights add up to about 10 or 15% of the snake's body weight and it should be fine and give them maybe every 10 or so days (but you could wait longer if you fed a little bit over the 10-15% in that feeding)

So I should weigh the snake, and feed her the right sized and right amount of prey items based on her weight? Sounds easy enough.