New red tailed boa n im clueless! (almost)

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Beaux

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Jun 13, 2009
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my dear brother (gotta luv him he duz my tats for free) lol. he bought it to go up at his tattoo shop, then his daughter decides it should be at the house. neice moves shortly thereafter and dear brother cant remember to feed the po' thang so i get him since ill at least feed him till i find him a new home or decide to keep him. still not sure on the keepin him part, but he is a rather cool n unusual pet hehe.questions questions..lol where do i start..lol. ok hes in about a 40 g tank and it has a couple of half logs for him to get under an a peice o driftwood to climb too. hes got a water dish n i keep it clean n bout half full w100% changes every other day. hes got a nice tight lid on the tank too and its cold n my room so i cover his tank so not alot o ac gets n n i got a heating pad under the end of the tank with the thermometer n the humidity measurer (feel like i should know the word but danged if i can think of it this mournin!lol) temp stays about 75 ish and i live n mississippi so humidity is like 55% in his tank n 200% in my backyard :hitting: its not too hot n there from the pad i dont think theres space between it n the tank pluss the layer of pine bark too. i just kinda figured that below about 70 wasnt good so am just trying to keep him fed n alive till i get more info he eats 2 larger than a mice sized rats in a meal n this dont take him long ta do at all. he seems happpy n healthy but was REAL snappy after he ate the first time whitch led me to beleive he was near starved when i got him. it also got him larger meals too tho he ate the first two mouse sized n like 2 minutes u couldnt even tell he had eaten! so any info will help and thanks n advance! its hard for me to visit pages on this phone so just put info here if its not too much trouble....this took about a hour..rofl THANKS!
Beaux
 
WOW was that hard to read. Anyway, you really need to be providing him with a heat lamp to bask under. Also make sure to remove him from his enclosure when feeding him, it helps to stop him from relating your hand coming into his enclosure with food-preventing bites- and keeps him from ingesting any substrate which may cause impaction. He will be snappy after he eats it's just in their nature. Also if you plan to keep him he will eventually need a bigger tank, mine is in a 5 foot long tank and he is about 3 .5 feet and I have already began thinking about upgrading. Please make sure that his lid it tightly secured, you may think that it is but remember you are dealing with and animal that is pure muscle, mine has escaped several times until I eventually put several large rocks on top of the screen lid to prevent him from getting out. They can be great pets jut make sure to handle him often.
 
you think its hard to read on a puter screen you should try it when your only internet source is a touch diamond phone..rofl. yes i have a light but its just an old incadescent 10 g fishtank light with 2 of the new comp florescent bulbs n it so not alot of the bright heat kinda light.thanks on the quick replies too!
Beaux
 
i got mine from a friend who didn't understand that if your hand smells like a rat it will get bit. i kept mine in a huge bird cage with a heat lamp over it. red-tailed boas get pretty big too. mine was 6 foot when i had to rehome him.
 
feeders hips should be about as wide as the snakes widest part at feeding time.

how big is he/she? if you have a female she most likely will crest 9' or close unless it's a smaller breed. also size and age are imperative to know an approximate feeding schedule.

belly heat is important! that is how they thermo-regulate and digest. they have a hard time judging heat from above on their bodies. they can burn if the heat comes from above only.

light is not absolutely necessary but some is good in order to give them an absolute day and night period.

lowering predatory instinct is crucial. he/she will be big and scary one day even if harmless which you cannot take for granted. they are powerful constrictors. for this reason i suggest definitely offer dead prey and make it the entire diet. you can do fresh killed or frozen thawed. if you do frozen do not keep them in the freezer more than 6 months. if you do fresh killed make sure it eats healthy before feeding it to your snake.

handling is a necessity. in order to lower the predatory instinct you will need to handle your snake at least an hour a week imo. imo that is the rock bottom minimum. this should make him less snappy when retrieving him from his favorite hide.

proper tools may become necessary... more than likely will!!! you will want a good thick pair of leather gloves as he gets larger. a snake hook is also a good tool to own with a redtail. if you decide to feed him in his cage you can acclimate him to the hook so he knows it's play time and not feeding time when you reach in. i, personally am picking up this one... http://tongs.com/markosheasignatureseries29inchhook.aspx
my redtail is getting snippy when i take him out because i cannot handle him like i used to thanks to roommates and kids that are deathly afraid of him. tongs are also very useful at feeding time. i find pj (my redtail) has never missed a rat/mouse/whatever when he strikes, but it makes us feel better to have that extra distance. ;)

how is shedding? complete? considering you said it was underfed i would worry. improper shedding is one of the biggest threats to a redtail. if it is underfed it is most likely your biggest clue will be improper shedding. they get almost all of their water from the animals they eat. if he is not shedding complete you will most likely see it on the eyecaps (which then you have a delicate issue) or at the anal spout around the spurs. if there is an issue (not including eyecaps) a bath is your best bet. water just above room temp is best is best. keep the bath to a 1/2 hour max with 24 hour dry periods between. if any scales turn up, get rough, discolor... any changes at all besides a better shed... discontinue baths altogether and keep him dry till the situation clears up.

that's all i can think of right now, good luck. congrats on the new buddy. they really do make wonderful pets if cared for properly. they are often used in school exhibits where breeders, trainers and such travel and do shows with them. they can be very docile but the keeper is responsible for making this happen with proper husbandry and care. check out forgottenfriends.org for a good example of someone who uses one for kids parties and such... kinda like a petting zoo in your backyard for a couple hours. kids love it.

also don't worry too much about getting bit. the rats they eat will hurt a whole lot more if they bite you and are a lot more likely to make you sick!
 
Don't trip over a heat light... heat pads can work as long as the temp gets in the mid-upper 80's on the hot side. If you use a heat lamp(or multiple heat sources) allow the temps to drop some at night. Also make sure he gets some kind of ambient light for a day/night cycle.

How big did you say he is?
 
ok he is about 3 foot mabey a lil smaller but looks nice n fat as his largest part is a good bit bigger than his head so i dont think he missed too many meals..lol. i think he was just a week late mebey eating. so far he eats once a week or a little sooner actualy. about 5-6days and he has pooped and is toolin round his tank lookin to me like he is lookin fer food. i forgot to turn his light on the other day and i had a small mouse for him a snack n went to get him n put him n his feeder box and he was SUPER snappy, so i cut on the light n his eyes were glassed over so he is shedding now n cant b handled, but his last shed came off whole at my bros n hes jus now on his first shedding since ive had him. ill let ya know how it gos. how many days should it take so ill know? i try to handle him every day a little but but im SURE im over a hour. i dont handle him alot when feeding except to get him into hus feedin box(big nice plastic with a good lid) an then gettin him back n his tank and of course hes not nice when hes shedding lol. thanks n ill keep ya posted n try to get some pics online today i haveto go to the coffeeshop n get my kids new laptop working for her so ima take mine n get some pics outa this phone if it all cooperates..lol
Beaux
 
shedding can go anywhere from 3 days to a week or 2. figure at least 5 or 6 days ime. that also depends on when you notice it.

if he's not nice when he's shedding it could be his personality or more than likely he's very uncomfortable. i'd say that's normal at his size though. once they get a little older they get used to it and have less issues. then they don't want to be touched after for a couple days.

everything sounds good so far. keep us updated.

oh, and don't worry about the light... i keep mine without light when i go on vaca. when i come back he's no worse for the wear.
 
After you have had the boa for awhile, you will start to know how long he has left before he sheds by checking his eyes and skin color. It is usually 1-2 days after the eyes clear up that he will shed.
 
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