Thinking about a red tail

[bpstu]

I've had a BP for the past year and love the little guy. I've never had any feeding problems and he's growing well. I've been thinking about getting another snake and am considering a RTB. The care sounds very similar to that of a BP, but I have a few questions.

Do they "enjoy" being out of the cages more than BPs? Whenever I take my BP out (2-3 times a week) he always tries to find the darkest place to hide in and stay there.

What is a good starter size cage?

How hard are they to handle when they get large?

Do you have to feed them rabbits, or can they go on just rats when they're adult?

Are they slow moving much like my BP?

Would you recommend it as a second snake?

What is the average price for a baby and where is a good place to get one?

Thanks for the help.

[Reticsrule]

well i have a 3.5 ft male right now and i have him out every day(probably too often) except weekends for long periods of time and i put him on the back of my chair when i play playstation or watch tv and he rarely ever moves from that spot.

mine is in a 28"Lx14"Dx18"H fiberglass cage right now and all he does is hide so i dont feel that he needs a bigger one yet. i guess somewhere around this size is a good starter size.

well i dont have a large one but at 3.5 ft mine is no problem at all to handle. he never strikes or anything.

i would say that it would probably be good to have a large adult on rabbits but i guess if you wanted to they could easily live on rats.

mine is VERY slow moving i have never seen him move even relatively fast(except when he strikes for food of course;) )

i got mine as my first snake and i havent had a single problem with him yet.(im only 14 too) so yes i would deffinetly recommend one as a good second snake.

i would strongly suggest getting any reptile at a reptile show or expo. the animals there are almost always heathly and you can ask the breeder anything you want about the animal. i have seen nice babies for anywhere from $60-$125 at reptile shows. you will usually pay even more at a pet store and the animal will likely not be as healthy as one purchased from a show.

i hope this helped:)

[peterm15]

ok i may not kow much about them but did do a little reasearch on them..

for a really large one rabbits are better.. you can get f/t thought.. .. there usually pretty sociable.. they do need a larger space, unlike with balls minimum is not better. and they are known to be very tame and handleable.. for a mid size snake its a great biginner.. they are thought to be friendlier than balls..

here this is the most extensive care sheet that i have ever seen.. its even rated the top 3 books..

http://www.redtailboas.com/general_care/general_care.html

[Lrptls]

i would start with a 3 foot enclosure, it will last you a very long time if you get a small boa.

i would say they are one of the easiest snakes to handle. my 6 foot female seems easier to handle than my 3 foot male. she is very calm and likes to sit in my lap and sometimes climb around on me. neither of them are wiggly or struggle at all.

most of them do not get big enough to eat rabbits. my large boa eats large rats and she will move to jumbos if she gets any bigger, and then guinea pigs but i would only give rabbits to a 10 foot plus boa which is extremly rare for them to get that big!

they are very slow. i use to take mine out all the time and the only time i saw on move fast was my girl once when it was pretty hot out, she was bookin' it in circles but thats the only time iv seen them move fast.

if youv already had experience with any snakes and been succesful i think red tails are perfect. i went from a tiny garter snake to two 4 foot boas. i had some problems because of the huge size difference and the boas i got had their own problems due to their last owner but within weeks i had every thing perfect.

the average price i see it around $60. iv seen them over $100 and iv seen them as low as $40. i got my male for 40 and my first 2 boas were free.

[Linds]

They are completely opposite from Ball Pythons in terms of handling and temperament. They are a lot more forward in their reactions. They will move fast when they want to get away (or get me :p), and they hold on with a death grip when they are out and are quite active (unlike Balls that just sort of hang out like bumps on a log :p). I've cleared out most of my collection, but I did have two boas that were relatively good for handling. They are gone now... the 8 boas I have left all bite without hesitation. It depends what you mean by difficult to handle as adults. They are incredibly powerful snakes and deserve the utmost respect. They are no more difficult to handle than any other large constrictor, which I don't find difficult at all as long as proper handling techniques are observed. Compared to a BP they may be 'difficult' though, as they are quite clingy.

Depends on the size of boa... I start my babies off in shoebox rubbermaids, and graduate up in size from there. My adults are housed in either 3x2x1 or 4x2x1 cages. If you want a lot of decoration, you will want to increase the cage size accordingly.

Adults can be fed either rats or rabbits... I usually just feed rats since I breed them already.

They can make great first or second snakes, as long as you have done your research and feel confident and prepared for one. They are easy to care for, and many can be nicely handled as adults if handled frequently while they are young (but it is wise to always be prepared for one that isn't!).

LOL... my boas are the reason I kept one Ball Python... he's definitely a breath of fresh air from the bunch of them :P

[BOAS_N_PYTHONS]

Very good reply Linds, I second that.