My 1st Red Tail Boa

[artgecko]

Welcome to the awesome world of boa ownership! I have several species, but my boas are def. my favorites. I have a BCA, A hypo BCI, and a Central American motley BCI.

Looks like you have a nice VPI T+ albino.

I agree with the others on feeding him every 2 weeks if he is over 1 year and under 3 years. When he hits 3, you can start feeding every 3 weeks. My oldest boas is around 6 years old at this point... I have had him for 4 and he was 2.5 when I got him. He eats every 4-6 weeks depending on meal size and is at a healthy weight.

I do hook / tap train all my snakes. My boas have a very high feeding response, especially at night. Sometimes they will slam the glass enclosure doors when they see movement / heat pass by, so I don't want to take risks lol. I use the hook whenever I work in their cage, change water, want to handle, etc. All I do is gently stroke them with it until they show that they recognize what is going on (usually by moving away from the hook touching them / turning their head away). At that point, I can reach in and grab them. This is useful because they could be asleep and strike out of fear if disturbed while asleep or just be very hungry and over-react. None of my boas has shown aggression to me, even when being treated via injection or oral medications, so the hook is truly a precaution to prevent them from making a mistake.

Be prepared to house your friend as he grows.. He will probably need at least a 4'x2'x 15" tall pvc cage as an adult with some climbing options. All of mine have AP pvc cages with sliding glass locking doors, light, heat tape, and basking / climbing shelves. They use the shelves a lot, even my oldest / largest boy.

Good luck with your new boa! They are such great animals... beautiful and have great attitudes also.