Help me learn please

SimplieLiving · 03-15-17, 09:55 PM

Good evening everyone, this is my first post so give me a little slack. I purchased a snake almost two years ago from a pet shop here. The shop told me that it was a Common Red Tail Boa and about a year old. She was about 14/15 inches long and I can't remember her weight exactly but I want to say maybe a little more than an apple. I know nothing about the previous owners but I noticed that she has some scaling issues throughout her body. Her temperment is great and I've just recently weened her off of live mice and on to f/t. Now she's about 38/40 inches and the weight of a full water bottle. All this to say that by looking at her can you guys tell if she's healthy and what morph she is. Any help is greatly appreciated. I really want to get into snake keeping because I love snakes but I have to learn the basics first! Thanks in advance!! Can't post the pictures from my phone but here's a direct Instagram link where you guys can check her out. Thank you again everyone. https://instagram.com/p/BRq5LeAgi5U/

eminart · 03-16-17, 05:54 AM

She looks good to me. Obviously, there's no way to really tell from a couple of photos, but at least she isn't morbidly obese like many captive boas. That said, at 40 inches, she should probably be on small rats, rather than mice. It's difficult to judge exactly what size she should be eating, but I think mice are very likely a bit small. With larger meals, you'll want to feed less often.

As far as what morph, she looks like a normal. It's possible she came from "pastel" lines, which really isn't a morph, but more of a line bred trait. At what point someone calls them pastel instead of normal is subjective.

Also, I'm not a boa expert. The one I have now is the only one I've kept in over 30 years of reptile keeping. So, someone else might have better input.

Scubadiver59 · 03-16-17, 06:02 AM

Nice looking snake! Welcome to the forum!

**Tsubaki** · 03-16-17, 06:12 AM

Beautiful animal! A common boa though not a redtail.

welcome to ssnakess !

jay's reptiles · 03-16-17, 07:04 AM

if can't remember exactly if it's boa's that have a hard time switching to rats? But if you do have trouble switching to rats. I would buy a mouse and rat thaw them out in the name cup of water. I would than rub the mouse on the rat, this should be done so the snake will think it's a mouse. I hope this helps

jay's reptiles · 03-16-17, 07:41 AM

same cup of water*

**Andy_G** · 03-16-17, 07:43 AM

She's a nice normal common boa.

Jay, boas love food, it's really rare to find one that won't switch readily!

jay's reptiles · 03-16-17, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

She's a nice normal common boa.

Jay, boas love food, it's really rare to find one that won't switch readily!

maybe it was ball pythons, i can't remember which snakes are mouse lovers.

hey doesn't hurt to let the guy know if he has any trouble with switching lol

**Andy_G** · 03-16-17, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay's reptiles

maybe it was ball pythons, i can't remember which snakes are mouse lovers.

hey doesn't hurt to let the guy know if he has any trouble with switching lol

Definitely! There are a lot of species that can imprint on specific prey, but with boas it's very rare. Much more common on ball pythons, hognose snakes, and carpet pythons. Scenting with soiled shavings works better than the water method, too.

jay's reptiles · 03-16-17, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

Definitely! There are a lot of species that can imprint on specific prey, but with boas it's very rare. Much more common on ball pythons, hognose snakes, and carpet pythons. Scenting with soiled shavings works better than the water method, too.

didn't no soiled shavings was a method, i guess i'll be using that when i start getting back into ball pythons.

SimplieLiving · 03-16-17, 01:09 PM

Thanks everyone for all the help truly appreciate that! And thanks for the snake accolades lol. I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on how the feeding goes. I'll be making the first attempt this upcoming Tuesday. So I'll definitely try the scenting method if she refuses it. I have two f/t small rats waiting for her and a few more mice to get rid of. But yeah I always super worried about like her size because I know most boas are supposed to get pretty big and in my opinion she's rather small to be just about 3

bigsnakegirl785 · 03-16-17, 03:34 PM

Boas will switch easily unless something is seriously off about their husbandry or health.

As others say, a normal/wild type common boa, no morph.

At 40" I'd be feeding a small rat as eminart mentioned, or a weaned at the very least, and space it out every 2-3 weeks. My boas are off of mice by the time they get 36".

With boas, you want a meal that leaves a hardly discernible bulge right after swallowing.

SimplieLiving · 03-16-17, 03:37 PM

Yeah I did get to the point of feeding her two at a time so I'd say it's been long over due lol