New Boa! Got a few questions!

[laceybailey]

Hey everyone! I just got myself a new boa and I am looking for some advice! For one, I have another boa about 3 feet- the regular gray color. But this one I picked up is LIGHT. Kind of yellow, but not albino kind of yellow. I was just wondering what kind of redtail boa this could be? I'll try to post a pic of someone holding her at the store.
Also, the owner that had her before me fed her in her cage a few times because he got lazy then when she snapped at his son he started feeding her back in the feeding cage, but now she is still a little jumpy and snappy when you are reaching in to get her. But once she's out shes amazing, perfectly tame. How would I fix the snappy problem in the cage?

Last but not least, I want to cage my 3 footer with this new boa. Would that be okay? Anything I should be careful of? I worry if i put him in there with her shell snap at him thinking it's food. Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks!!

[Lankyrob]

The snappyness should go away with time, patience and gentle handling. Not having boa's myself i will let other answer your other Q's.

[Ch^4]

Fully agree with Rob.

On housing, I'm pretty sure it is not recommended to house snakes together unless you are trying to breed them. It can cause a lot of stress, with one snake typically taking over as the dominant or "alpha-snake", taking the good hides and basking spots. Ultimately, one of the snakes will likely end up unhealthy, unhappy, and in the worst case, dead.

They can also transmit mites, diseases, and parasites to one another, so if you do want to risk housing them together, you need to quarantine the new snake prior to doing so.

In my opinion, a snake with its own enclosure is much better off.

[Swan]

It almost looks like a Carmel or almost a ghost? There are people that will tell you it's fine to keep snakes together and others that will disagree. I put my boas together (surinames) and now I'm dealing with a gravid female that is the right size but to young. This could very easily create health problems for her. I wish I had kept mine apart except to breed. It's not worth the stress. House them separately. They can also get over stressed being housed in the same viv. Hope it helps.

[laceybailey]

Thanks for the quick responses! On getting her to grow out of the snappy- what should i do in the mean time. I've never had a snake that's done that before so should I still attempt to grab her when she's doing that? With gloves or any ideas? Also with that being said, she doesn't get in strike position she just gets nervous then i pet her to let her know i'm going to get her out and she kind of "nips" at my hand not striking but seems like she's going to bite. She's probably stressed out about the move too, should i let her settle in before bugging her to hold her?

[dragunov.762]

let her settle in for a week or so before you feed or handle her. if she is nippy you can use gloves or maybe invest in a snake hook. congrats on the new boa.

[Jenn_06]

like said before never put 2 snakes together if you are not breeding if you dont have another cage go to walmart and get a large tub.

for the nippy thing dont take her out for about 2 weeks feed her and just change water and thats all, feed in the cage, feeding a snake in the cage will not make your snake nippy i think its from the owner not really taking the snake out much, and sometimes you just have a nippy snake that will never stop being nippy i have one of those. you really dont want to try to get a large snake from the feeding tub to its cage you can get bit really bad.

looking at the pic it looks like a really nice normal or pastel.

[Will0W783]

It seems like everyone covered your issues pretty well already, but let me add one thing- invest in a good snake hook. I personally do not stick my hands in the cages of any of my snakes over 2 feet long. Basically anything I would really mind taking a bite from I use the hook to get it out. I've always fed all my snakes in their cages and I personally don't think it really makes much of a difference. Whether or not you feed your snake in its cage, when you stick a hand in at it, your hand is a large, threatening heat signature, or potential food, depending on the snake's mood. I just feel that hooking snakes to remove them from their enclosures makes it a much less stressful situation for everyone involved.

[bci/boa75]

second willow783 snake hook i have 3 small to large. keeping two boas in one cage is not good for the snakes . just keep getting him/her out soon will chill out hope this helps .

[kenchenzo]

looks like it could be part reduced pattern.

[Steve'O]

I would say you have a very pretty normal central american boa. It might be ivory or slightly hypo. Only true red tails have the dark red/maroon and gray coloration like Surinames. The only way to know for sure is to selectively breed or know more about its lineage. I would never keep two snakes together except for breeding. This goes double for a new animal, especially if it came from a pet store. You need to quarantine the animal for at least two months, but 3 to 6 would be better. There is nothing worse than getting mites or boid inclusion body disease to your entire collection... I don't use hooks for the most part, usually just use a paper towel roll or something to give em a little nudge and make sure they are awake and know its not feeding time. I also feed in my enclosures, not a fan of using a separate feeding enclosure. I personally think it causes more stress to the animal and poor feeding results.

[Jendee]

You have a very nice pastel Bcc!! The nippiness is not from feeding in the cage I have 21 boas, Ive had boas for 11 years now all of which are fed in there cage. Ive been bit once and I had a rat in my hand when it happened lol Give her time to adjust, then make handling a regular thing. Be confident about it. stoping to pet her may confuse her,make her think you are a prey animal, or a predator. I would just go in and pick her right up, that way she knows its you. Housing snakes together is a no no. Mainly for tracking. You need to be able to know which snake pooped, shed when and how much they are drinking. Also for health purposes you don't want everybody getting sick if one is sick. Also for feeding lol You cant feed 2 boas in the same cage..it just doesn't work out!!

But anyway nice Colombian!! And congrats!!

[TeaNinja]

You have a very nice pastel Bcc!! The nippiness is not from feeding in the cage I have 21 boas, Ive had boas for 11 years now all of which are fed in there cage. Ive been bit once and I had a rat in my hand when it happened lol Give her time to adjust, then make handling a regular thing. Be confident about it. stoping to pet her may confuse her,make her think you are a prey animal, or a predator. I would just go in and pick her right up, that way she knows its you. Housing snakes together is a no no. Mainly for tracking. You need to be able to know which snake pooped, shed when and how much they are drinking. Also for health purposes you don't want everybody getting sick if one is sick. Also for feeding lol You cant feed 2 boas in the same cage..it just doesn't work out!!

But anyway nice Colombian!! And congrats!!

true statement lol.

[Jay]

lol its the same concept if you take your snake out to feed he could just associate being taking out every time to get fed i feed in the tank with hemos and when i take them out i use the snake hook