Got Santana today..

[CARLiTO_]

I bought a 2 foot Colombian Red Tail today. Named it Santana, it was fed 7 days ago. I am not sure what to feed it, I was told to feed it mice but it looks like it can take something bigger. It has a fat belly as u guys can all see in the pics. The temps in the tank are Hot Spot: 90-93 Cool Spot: 82-85 and Humidty is 55%-60%

I was wondering when I should try feeding it as I do not want to stress it. It's pretty active tho, when i was bringing it home it climbed out of the bag that it was in. I am already liking the fact that it has a personality. I had a BP before which was very scared all the time and would go into it's hide when i walked in the room. I sold it as I wanted something more challenging.

The name probably gives it away but it's a male and hopefully I will be looking for a "Black Magic Woman" for him to breed with...:p

Anyways, I have no regrets and am looking forward to everyone's advice.

Pics

http://www.webpost.net/ca/carlito/DSC01075.JPG
http://www.webpost.net/ca/carlito/DSC01076.JPG
http://www.webpost.net/ca/carlito/DSC01077.JPG

[672]

Woah! it looks very full... I can almost garanty it didn't eat 7 days ago... unless it was a rabbit! You should definitely wait until that lump dissipates. Nice snake though!

[CARLiTO_]

no more advice?

[BurmGuy87]

Hey......your temps are about right and everything. Give her a week(from the day you got her and feed her again. She is only 2ft she can take more. Try a small rat maybe. I fed my boa small rats when she was only 2ft.

Good luck with her!

[BurmGuy87]

Oh and I dont know what you meant by "more challenging" cause the BCI is one heck of an easy going snake haha.

I dont think you shouldve gotten rid of the BP just cause he was shy tho. I would be out of 2 snakes if I did that.

[CARLiTO_]

i noticed that he has a black discoloration on the edge of the hole they have in their mouth, i think it's called the trachea. It doesn't look like an infection, just a discoloration of some sort.

[Invictus]

As for prey, if that thing was fed a week ago, it must have looked like a blood python after the meal. :D I don't recommend going that big for baby boas, but 2 adult mice or a small rat would probably be a good meal. If you go this big, wait for the lump to go down to normal before feeding again. Even with a baby, this can take 2 weeks. Seems like a lot, but if they are always digesting in that time, they are not malnourished.

[MouseKilla]

The scales you're talking about I think are called rostral (above the mouth opening and mental (below, on the "chin"). Boa constrictors have marks on these scales that look like a black moustache and goatee, this is totally normal and not a discoloration. I've always though it was kinda funny actually.

As for any advice it's hard to say... I can tell you that I made some mistakes early on when I got my first BCI. I paid way too much for the animal ($300 at a pet shop, even for a real screamer that's too much), then I spent too much money buying pet store crap for him (big aquarium, expensive locking screen lid, light fixtures, reptile bulbs, decorative hides and plants, that awful sand stuff...etc.) I did all that, dropped an obsene amount of money doing it, and still had a crappy set up.

All that stuff and I failed to provide night-time heat and couldn't keep any humidity in the cage. The set up looked beautiful in my eyes, like a zen garden,but it was actually just a functionally useless ornament. Now I could go out and get a similar animal, bring it home and set it up in perfect conditions for a couple of hundred dollars at most. A rubbermaid, human heat pad, a plastic water bowl from the dollar store and newspaper substrate and that's it.

I'm not saying that more decorative set ups are a bad idea but it's way more important to first get a handle on providing the right conditions. The one thing that is a good idea to spend extra on is the monitoring of the conditions in the cage. A digital thermometer/hygrometer is one of the best investments I think any keeper can make. I laugh now that I at first I would spend $50 filling the the cage with that sand stuff but I was only spending $10 on little plastic stick on thermometers and hygrometers.

I guess that's enough of my jabber for now. lol!

[CARLiTO_]

no I am talking about the whole they have inside their mouth kinda near where the tongue comes out. The edges of that hole are black. Also, I dunno but I feel like my snake is burping, maybe it's hard to beleive but it sounds like it's letting air out and it opens it's mouth every once in a while. And also there's like a tick, tick, tick coming from it. No idea what's going on. I was wondering if any members in the Mississauga area could help me.

I can't really afford a vet because I had a job till the day right after i got the snake but was forced to quit because of health complications.

[jwsporty]

Carlito,

You may want to read this

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33807

ticking or burping sounds are not natural and could be an indication that there is a problem. I know this snake that is referred to in the thread and it ended up needing vet attention. Mousekilla also called it straight, focus on the health and basic environmental needs first and then go for the fancy if you want. But seriously I think you should get it to a vet and have it checked.

Here's a thread of one of my boas setups

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33851

Cheers and best of luck with your new baby

Jim

[MouseKilla]

Jw,

That's a sweet looking cage! Much easier on the eyes than my hack jobs. Where did you get the metal tracking though? I spent way too much time just finding the plastic ones I've got.

[jwsporty]

Thanks MouseKilla,

The metal tracking can be had at Home Depot. I warn you though it is not as easy to work with and a pain to get the sliders installed. Frankly I like the plastic better.

Cheers
Jim