I have been keeping boas for a while. Red tails are great snakes that can get pretty large, but still make great pets. Most red tails can be coaxed to eat thawed rodents. I have been feeding mine dead rats since I could buy bags of them. It makes it much less of an ordeal when I can go to the freezer instead of the reptile store. Generally I do not feed anything larhger than the thickest part of the snake. Thay could eat something much larger but it is not needed in captivity. I would say that misting is not needed. I just keep a tub of water near the heating element. That is enough humidity for them. And to much moisture can be a health risk. Bacteria forms much faster under moist conditions. But if you want to mist you can. The substrate should not be moist. Cleaning the tank is the most important thing. Check the enclosure every day and if there is droppings or spilled water dish, clean the enclosure. A snake that sits in moist and dirty (feces and sheddings) enclosure can easily get a respitory infection or sickness. So I would say cleanliness is the most important point of snake keeping. Handling these snakes can be a handful with a large healthy individual. One rule I use with these snakes is that once they are oveer 7 feet, I do not handle them alone. I use the "buddy system". Its not that I think a 7 foot snake can kill you, it is just allot easier to manage a boa coiling around you and biting if you have a friend with you (not that it WILL happen, but it has). But I do think a 10 foot boa, weighing in at 60lbs will give you a fight for your money if its around your neck. Remember, a boa is a giant muscle that can squeeze, tight. An adult boa can give you the sleeper hold by just trying to stabalize himself around your neck and shoulders. I do not think that any of these bad things will happen, and they probally won't. Better safe than sorry. I hope you have as much fun with these awsome snakes as I have.
