Are Red Tail Boas fine for a beginner, despite their size?
- Thread starter Jolseen
- Start date
how often should I handle my boa to her tame?
and yes I'm getting a female so will end up getting around 7-9 feet when fully grown.
and yes I'm getting a female so will end up getting around 7-9 feet when fully grown.
I wouldn't recommend starting with a full grown adult, but if you get a smaller one and get used to it I'm sure it will be fine.
as much as you need to. probably 1 or 2 times a week. if it's getting pissy when you handle it, handle it more often.Jolseen;4852568; said:
why not? you already know what you're getting into with an adult whereas with a baby, you don't.SimonL;4852672; said:
I loved my red tail, I found a few things to be key in keeping them calm and cool.. always feed it in a seperate "container" I liked to use rubbermaid bins with a few holes drilled in the top for ventilation. and you can get them in a multitude of sizes.. You avoid the tank being opened with "feeding time!" and are less likely to get struck at. They are fairly active for a snake so do need room to move around not just live in. I handled mine every day more or less even if it was for only a few minutes. I'de pull her out and put her on my bed or over my shoulder and freshen up her water ect... Handled gentally but confidently and she rarely stiffened up when I would haul her out.
avoid live food at all costs! I ended up loseing a different boa to a live rat. the Rat messed her up before I could do anything to prevent it. not encourageing the "hunt" response lowered the temperment.
also pick a juvi that isn't inclined ot strike.. as stated.. temperments are individual. any baby that is continually striking or tensed to strike should be avoided if there is a mellower one in the bunch. If you get a baby from a breeder make sure it is eating as well. IMO there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting an older snake that is mellow. an aggressive snake is an aggressive snake, even if it's been power fed the day before to docile it up.. it will still be tense and attempt to strike. I did avoid handleing my snakes for a day or 2 after feedings so as not to accidentally hurt them in digetsing their food, or cause a regurgitation.
If your not comfortable with a snake your looking at.. keep looking. There are alot of red-tail boas available.
avoid live food at all costs! I ended up loseing a different boa to a live rat. the Rat messed her up before I could do anything to prevent it. not encourageing the "hunt" response lowered the temperment.
also pick a juvi that isn't inclined ot strike.. as stated.. temperments are individual. any baby that is continually striking or tensed to strike should be avoided if there is a mellower one in the bunch. If you get a baby from a breeder make sure it is eating as well. IMO there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting an older snake that is mellow. an aggressive snake is an aggressive snake, even if it's been power fed the day before to docile it up.. it will still be tense and attempt to strike. I did avoid handleing my snakes for a day or 2 after feedings so as not to accidentally hurt them in digetsing their food, or cause a regurgitation.
If your not comfortable with a snake your looking at.. keep looking. There are alot of red-tail boas available.
i agree with everything except the "feed it in a separate container". this is a commonly spread myth. in my experience with the dozens of snakes i've kept, i have never seen any benefit or truth to this practice. the snake is likely to associate being taken out of its enclosure with being fed and will be anticipating food when you are handling it.MonsterMinis;4852854; said:
http://pet-snakes.com/feed-snake-separate-tank
The myth of feeding a pet snake in separate tank
New snake owners are sometimes told that their pet should be fed in a separate tank from the one it lives in. There are several reasons why this is false.
It is stressfulBy feeding it in a separate tank you are forcing the snake to endure twice as much handling as is necessary when feeding it in its own tank. A snake that is picky about eating will be even more if you force it to endure moving from place to place as it is eating.
More likely to biteIf your snake starts to associate being picked up and placed in another cage with eating it will start to go into hunt mode when you pick it up. Not just when you pick it up to put it in its feeding cage, but also for other reasons. Then it is much more likely to bite if it catches any scent of food.
So look at it like this: Youve gotten the snakes food out and it is thawing on the counter and the entire house smells like a rodent. You cant smell it but the snake can. The snake is excited already because it is smelling its food. You then reach in, grab the snake and carry it to its feeding tank. As you place the snake into the feeding tank it suddenly goes into hunt mode and it bites you. Why?
- It associated being moved to the other cage with eating
- It could smell its food everywhere
- It homed in on a heat source (you) and struck thinking it had found some food
A word about ingesting substrateThere is no reason to be concerned about your snake eating some dirt or bark or whatever you use. They do it all the time in the wild and theres no shortage of snakes out there. Their digestive systems can handle it.
Do not buy a boa from petco.... we get most of our snakes from mice direct... and petco is unfortunately known for having boas with IBD... which means that mice direct has it going around their facilities.
It is not terribly common, but it seems to appear more in petco animals than others.... and in the 6 months I have been working for them we have already had 2 IBD scares.
I would never buy a reptile from a chain pet stores anyways and in this case there are way to many boas in the hobby you can probably find quite a few for adoptions at various ages and sized... look for reptile rescues in your area, even ask any dog and cat shelter if they know of any.... can potentially find a great snake ..sometimes even nice morphs...for free or almost free
It is not terribly common, but it seems to appear more in petco animals than others.... and in the 6 months I have been working for them we have already had 2 IBD scares.
I would never buy a reptile from a chain pet stores anyways and in this case there are way to many boas in the hobby you can probably find quite a few for adoptions at various ages and sized... look for reptile rescues in your area, even ask any dog and cat shelter if they know of any.... can potentially find a great snake ..sometimes even nice morphs...for free or almost free
a note about the accidental ingestion of substrate.... depending on the substrate it can be a problem.... Smaller, finer substrate shouldn't be a worry at all... however larger bark substrates can be an issue. I have known more than a few keepers who have lost snakes to bark substrates that where accidentally ingested but didn't really make it all the way down.... snakes choked on it...
easy way around this if you use bark is to just keep an eye on the snake while feeding
easy way around this if you use bark is to just keep an eye on the snake while feeding
i always feed mine in their vivs, purely for the fact of im not trying to shove a 12ft burm in a box to feed it, couldnt think of anything more dangerous when at a size over 4ft, and even then theres no reason unless they are co habiting, just my personal opinion.
i use newspaper as a substrate, free, easy to clean, no ingestion.
as sylvias said, great snake providing u can house them correctly and afford to feed when fully grown. although i dont find feeding a strain on my bank account and i get peanuts, but its def something to take in to consideration.
i also always buy from a breeder who is reputable. price is lower and u can see what state the animals are kept in.x
i use newspaper as a substrate, free, easy to clean, no ingestion.
as sylvias said, great snake providing u can house them correctly and afford to feed when fully grown. although i dont find feeding a strain on my bank account and i get peanuts, but its def something to take in to consideration.
i also always buy from a breeder who is reputable. price is lower and u can see what state the animals are kept in.x
