This could be careless...

[Mighty Monty]

and if it is, my apologies, but i had a question.

Are we allowed to talk about Red Tail Boas on here? and if not it's cool but anybody who knows something about them i would love to hear about them.

I've kind of been reading up on them here and there, but nothing much and have seen some people post about them on this site, so i figured i'd ask someone who has owner's experiance with them ( if there are )

My friend has a Red Tail Boa, and is moving to a location that will now allow any animals, he has just bought this and it is a baby, he's looking to get rid of it but is having no luck, and said if it comes down to it he will give it to the animal shelter here, which pretty much means, bye bye snake ( death, our animal control here is horrible, they just seized a ton of snakes, lizards, gators, and a couple of other species from a house that got raded for drugs, they were taken great care of, and nothing was wrong with them, however they just don't know what they're doing down there )

So i'm thinking about taking it off of his hands, because he's going to give me everything really cheap. Now i just got my Ball Python under control and am having a great time with him, and have everything down to what it needs to be!

My concerns are.

Not that i'm afraid of being bitten, but are these snakes aggresive?

How large do they usually get? and what do they end up eating when they get to their full size?

is their habitat pretty much the same as the Ball Python? or is it much different?

Those are my main questions, i think they're gorgeous, but need to find out everything before i invest.

NOW a Ball Python question: I was talking to my main guy who usually tells me what to do, and not to do, how to set things up with my BP and what not. The other day when buying a feeder mouse, i asked him when do i start feeding them rats? He said usually when they're about 3 ft, or i'll know etc. He then went on to say as they got bigger, they started to eat small chickens, and or small rabbits? Now i had thought that even to their full size they just ate Rats? Is this true? I've also noticed that even though my PB is probably 6 months old, or maybe even a little older OR younger give or take a month, that he seems to be hungry alot.

Was he right that i just start feeding them rats when he's gotten about 3ft? or so, he's gotten very big since i've had him, and should probably measure him. But i was just curious about when to start on small rats, and if that stuff about the chicks and rabbits was true, i thought that was a little bizarre.

I thought he was just kidding around and after he stopped telling me about all the things it'll eat i said quote " so it'll eat a small baby if i feed it to?" He did not find this funny, as it was only a joke, and probably a dumb one, i have 6 brothers and 1 2month year old sister, I'm a family man so meant it to be farfetched BUT THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT!

So sorry if this was too long, and i'm sorry if the red tail boa thing shouldn't of been placed here. If nobody can answer about those, know where i can get the answers?

Thank you!

#1 SITE IN AMERICA BABY! WHOOHOO!

[lillyorchid]

Here is a care sheet on boa's:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=13

Also here the section on Red Tails in here:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/f...splay.php?f=75

[sweety314]

First off-----!!!!

Your question isn't out of line. If you go to the main forum page and scroll down, you'll find a forum of threads that are general boa, and then broken down into some of the other species....biiiiiig and little.

Here are a few caresheets that you'll want to read and study:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=13
(for Red Tails)

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=15
(for Brazilian Rainbow boas)


There are also stickies at the top of the forum for some FAQs (like what does BCC & BCI stand for?), etc.

I have balls and boas. My bigger boas are all Colombian redtails of ages from (almost a year) to adult. My very smallest boa is a Kenyan sand boa. From your thread, since you're interested in the redtails, Hera is about 5.5-6' (I'm not quite sure ) and close to 20-25#. I hefted her last night, but haven't weighed her for a while. < I plan on doing that as we move to our new house.> She's the adult female. Wrigley is the next closest, and he'll be 2 in July. He's about 3-4 feed and MAYBE 2-3#. He's still got a ways to go. Pinky turned a year on Dec 9. The other two Colombians are just under a year old. Hera and Wrigley are normals, and Pinky, Apollo and Petey are morphs or hets.

They all eat FT rats of the appropriate size once a week........meaning Hera's was XLG/ 1 a week, until the breeding plans for this season fell through. Now it's going to be a large every other week. The others are meds or larges every Sunday. So far, the only time any of them have refused is during an occasional shed cycle. Otherwise, they're little piggies.

No matter the snake species or age, you want the prey no bigger (and better to be just slightly smaller than) the thickest part of the snake's girth. So NO, a ball python won't need a rabbit or small chicken. (But to try, Hera did eat a .75# rabbit w/o any problems). If the prey is too big, or they're handled too soon after eating, OR fed too often, it could lead to regurgitation problems or fasting problems (irregular eating habits). If the snake has been fed too heavily, he'll stop eating altogether until his body is back where it needs to be.

Humidity and temps are the same as balls. The Colombians are a little more forgiving as to fluctuations, but you still want to keep them no cooler than the 82* (unless you're bromating for breeding). 60% humidity during shedding.

Some ppl don't use hides for the bigger boas, but Hera would still be using hers if I still had them in the tub. Wrigley is always in his, as well as the babies. Petey mainly lived in his tree for the looooongest time, but he's grown so much and so thick, now he's under his bowl or burrowed in the bedding.

They'll stay in hunt mode for a while after eating, even if you've given them the right size. Sometimes it takes them a little while to crawl into the hide and start digesting. If you're not sure, compare the size of your snake. If the prey is TOO small, then yes, he'll still be hungry and looking for more. My baby balls are 8/6/06's and they're eating fuzzies right now. She's really picky and pi$$y, so I'm being conservative, but in a month or two, they should be the size to take rat pups.

I hope this helps a bit.

Glad you came. This is an AWESOME site!


RuLyn

[sweety314]

Durn it, Allison!! U beat me to it!

[daniel1983]

Any reptile related questions are welcomed....and I moved this to the 'Red tailed boa' forum

[JimiSnakes]

They grow quick! Haha, plus there is so many colors to choose from:







I wouldn't know where to begin!

They are all big babies, sometimes they get a little fiesty when they are "coming of age" but mostly they are all sweethearts. I trust my bigger ones ANYDAY over the babies or yearlings. They calm down, for the most part...there are exceptions to anything, as they age. I, myself, have much more confidence with a full size boa NOT biting then a Ball Python or smaller boa...something to do with their size, confidence maybe? I don't really know, but they do rock! You'll never look back after you own one. Their personality will always make you smile, especially when you are trying to put a 8 ft boa back into it's cage when it doesn't want to, "No, I won't go back!!" haha

[rm1888]

http://www.redtailboas.com/general_c...eral_care.html

try this caresheet

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Usually I'd have some long post to type but looks like it's all been said. The only thing I have to say is about the size of boas.

If fed on a relatively conservative diet(enough food to keep their body shape in check), males will likely never get much over the 6' mark and females not likely to get much over the 8' mark. It really depends but you can keep your boa small without starving it and conservative feeding will make for a much healthier boa than one that is obese. If you want to know more about my conservative feeding, let me know

[cassandra]

Dangit Jimi....*DROOOOL*

Boas rock...my I love Surinam boa to bits. =D

[frankykeno]

We have quite a lot of members here with mixed collections and a lot of wonderful boa keepers so you're in the right place. My family currently has 13 ball pythons of various ages as well as a red tail boa (BCI) and a milksnake.

Not that i'm afraid of being bitten, but are these snakes aggresive?

Well as you know any snake can bite but boa's tend to be pretty laid back snakes that can put up with a lot more handling than most. They are famous though for their strong feeding responses so come feeding day don't be slow with the rodent and be smart about getting between a hungry boa and it's dinner. Boa's tend to have quite a long strike range so if feeding f/t a extra long set of tongs or hemostats is a good thing with them.

How large do they usually get? and what do they end up eating when they get to their full size?

Females generally are larger than the males (I believe size quotes have already been given) so it's best if you can have this boa properly sexed by a herp vet, a breeder or an experienced hobbyist so you know up front what you are going to be dealing with at maturity. As far as feeding boa's unlike ball pythons aren't terribly prey specific so mature ones will often eat large rats, guinea pigs, small bunnies or the like. Most don't care what's for dinner as long as it's furry and warm. Always be mindful however to not over-feed or powerfed as a fat boa is an unhealthy boa.

is their habitat pretty much the same as the Ball Python? or is it much different?

I keep our boa slightly cooler than the ball pythons but by only a couple of degrees so basically very close as far as temps and humidity. I do find the boa really enjoys burrowing so we keep him on a thick aspen bedding and of course his big hide on this warm side of the enclosure. They do get larger than ball pythons so plan on moving up in enclosure size as needed.

Those are my main questions, i think they're gorgeous, but need to find out everything before i invest.

Smart potential owner! Good for you. They are great snakes but are on the larger size so it's best to decide up front if you want that so you don't have to eventually rehome the snake. They are nothing like a burmese python or that sort of size but still a substantial, strong snake. Personally I love boa's and can't imagine our house without one in it.

He then went on to say as they got bigger, they started to eat small chickens, and or small rabbits? Now i had thought that even to their full size they just ate Rats? Is this true?

Actually ball pythons can do fine their whole lives on either mice or rats and never should require anything larger than a small rat (maybe two for a big breeder female). Lots of us here have ball pythons that are supremely healthy and fit and have never eaten a rat but regularily eat multiple mice per week. Ball pythons are very prey specific and some will not switch from their prey of choice. It's all about appropriate volume of a well fed, well hydrated rodent whether that's mice or rats. I have both mouse and rat eaters in our collection and I'd bet you that you can't tell which is which.

Hope this helped.