Getting a Red-Tail Boa

Discussion in 'Boas' started by jumpinjakflash, Apr 17, 2005.

  1. jumpinjakflash

    jumpinjakflash Embryo

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    Hi, new to the forum. Well since i was little i've had snakes. I've had tons of cornsnakes, a ball python, and a few other species. I've also had many other reptiles just no Boas. I'm interested in getting a red tail boa. Im curious as to if they are easy to take care of, and if theyll get to big. I want a snake i can safely handle alone. And how long do they take to grow?
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. usmckitten

    usmckitten New Member

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    Ok well in general...

    Red tails get between 8-10 feet.. I wouldn't say handling them alone would be wise. They are not hard to care for. They have docile temperments.
    If you were thinking about get one, please choose a repital breeder not a pet store. Most pet stores don't know where they are getting from and thier health can be compormised. They some times also recieve wild caught specimens, and that can be a whole other can of worms.

    I love mine dearly, but if you don't want a larger snake I wouldn't choose a RTB.

    Kristin
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. gadd19

    gadd19 Member

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    now that is true that"some" pet stores arnt a good choice, but there are a lot of stores that specialize in reptiles, and or have great people that know and keep reptiles themselves, working there....you just have to do your research, and ask questions before hand. like, where do they get there animals from, is it a good eater, when did he last eat/poo/shed, and to be sure, ask to see it eat....
    common boas often get mistaken for red tail boas, and are more common(hence the name) in the pet trade.
    while true "red tails" can grow from 10-12'....ocasionally larger, the common boa will seldom reach 10'.
    and yes, they do have great temerments in general, and are relativly easy to care for. but please do research before purchasing, find some care sheets, and if you know of any, talk to any local people with experience.....
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. tjhallock

    tjhallock Member

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    Columbian Red Tails (aka Common Boas) are most likely the ''Red-tail'' you'll see in various petstores. Their tails are actually a brown to an orangy color too. They range from 7-9 ft. and some have occured to be larger, and this is likely to happen as well. As for as their temperment, they are docile depending on how you handle them, and can be nippy at times (especially in shed). Another form of Red-tails is the ''BCC's'' which is the Boa Constrictor Constrictor. These are the true Boa Constrictors, they have a real deep red tail, and have several different locales (Guyana, Peruvian, etc.). Peruvians are others will grow 8-12 feet, and some have been recorded higher too. Guyanas on the other hand, get much smaller than that of the peruvian. BCC's are also said to be more "nippy" as well. Honestly, i would go with a Common boa.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. Birdman

    Birdman Embryo

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    I echo what everyone else said above. My 2 cents are that the "common" Columbian Red Tail boa is probably the largest snake I would ever think about handling alone. If it is on the upper side of the 10-feet size range, you really should think about having another person there when handling it. I highly recommend visiting many pet stores until you find one that has an adult boa. Have the staff pull the boa out and you take hold of it. Only then will you realize the true, unbelievable strength of a full grown boa. It can be a little intimidating to feel an adult because they are pure muscle and amazingly strong. If you can make it through that experience, then do your research to ensure you can provide a good, clean, healthy habitat for your snake and then make your purchase.

    Good luck with your search.
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. BoyntonStylez

    BoyntonStylez Member

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    Like Birdman said, before we purchased our boa, we went to a different petstore to find an adult boa to see what we'd be dealing with. We actually held the female and played with her a bit. After about an hour with the female red tail, we went back to Ben Seigel's and bought our little Echo.
     
  12. gadd19

    gadd19 Member

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    columbian boas, and columbioan red tails are in fact, different. a lot of people are confused by this, but, i have done a lot of reading, and talking to many other herpetoculturalists and find that, columbian "red tails", along with other "red tailed" boas, generally grow larger and are more difficult to breed than are "common boas."
    boas that fall under the common boa(a.k.a.- BCI's) category, are mainly the columbian boa, and hog nose boa. these are the two boa constictors that are more ofter seen in the pet trade.
    basically, just because some boas come from columbia, does not make them "common boas"(theres still a lot of confusion!!!) :? :) :? :D
     
  13. tjhallock

    tjhallock Member

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    Columbian Red-tails are Commons.... and BCC's get bigger.
     
  14. gadd19

    gadd19 Member

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    well, from everywhere that ive read, and from people that ive discussed this matter with doesnt seem to agree....if anyone can help us out in this matter, that would be great. i have been lead to believe that columbian boas are NOT columbian red tails. its the same as saying, columbian boa/ columbian red tailed boa, and peruvian boa/peruvian red tailed boa. the red tailed boas of each place grows larger, and seems to be harder to breed in captivity. im not trying to set up an argument here, i just want to get to the bottom of this situation, because ive been researching this situation for a long time... :? and have been told diferent things....
     
  15. tjhallock

    tjhallock Member

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    Are are different types of Columbians, but what im trying to say is... Common Boa is the original name, but as far as pet trade goes Columbian Red-Tail is ment to sound more attractive
     
  16. gadd19

    gadd19 Member

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    not true, they are classified differently....commmon boas are plane, comumbian boas, and hog noses. the classification "red tails" are classified differently....they are the "red tails" from different parts of the world....(including columbia)
    you can also walk into pet stores, and see two different snakes side by side, a common boa, and a columbian "red tail"
     
  17. tjhallock

    tjhallock Member

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    "Red-Tails" are boas, meaning that they are new world snakes. (ie: The Americas) but redtails occur in various parts of South America.
     
  18. gadd19

    gadd19 Member

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    exactly. now were on the same page! hahaha thats what i was trying to get across, but the words wernt coming out....
     
  19. Morkai

    Morkai New Member

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    personally I think trying to get anywhere with common names is going to get confusing. YOu get Boa Constrictor Constrictor and Boa Constrictor Imperator. BCI is thE 'common boa' and BCC is the suri's, peruvians, guyanas etc. they are all just locals of the same BCC.

    Now that said if you talk to someone like Jeff Ronne who has to be the foremost boa constrictor breeder in the USA he has decided there is no such things as BCC and BCI so really its hard to know what to think...

    His theory:
    http://www.theboaforum.com/cgi-bin/yabb/Ya...;num=1063555879
     
  20. liza714

    liza714 Member

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    Just a basic lesson in linneaus taxonomy. The genus name is the first name in this case its Boa refers to a group of animals that are very closely related. The second name is the species name (constrictor here) this means that all of the animals with the name Boa constrictor ( and technically that should be italicized) are the same species. Same number of chromsomes; can interbred that kind of thing. The word imperator or constictor as a third name refers to sub species, which many biologists don't even recognize. BCCs and BCIs are the SAME snakes. The variations in color or size are due to isloated populations in the wild interbreeding and causing natural, or in the case of herp breeders unnatural, variations but they are still the same species. This is similiar to the domestic cat having different varieties but still being the same species. As Morkai said all these "different" snakes you see in the pet stores are frequently just varieties of the same snake.
     
  21. gadd19

    gadd19 Member

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    well said liza... 8)
     
  22. mrphil

    mrphil New Member

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    So would I be correct in saying that, the colombian Boa and the colombian red tail are 2 different types of snake from the same family? and the redtail is going to get a fair bit bigger than the the other. I have a Colombian boa but it is not a redtail boa, at least that is what I was lead to believe. If she is gong to get super big that is not much of a problem I will just have to rethink my housing plans for her LOL!
     
  23. liza714

    liza714 Member

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    905
    GOD I HATE COMMON NAMES!! LOL. They are the same species but different subspecies. Usually colombian boas are Boa constrictor constricor (BCC) and Colombian red tail boas are Boa constrictor imperator (BCI). As far as I know the BCIs are the more common boa in the pet trade with BCCs being very rare. But due to individual varity in the same species it is nearly impossible to say definitively which is which. As for housing the females of both supspecies can be around 9 ish feet but size always varies hugely with how much and often a snake is fed.
     
  24. gadd19

    gadd19 Member

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    other way around....
     
  25. GoldsReptiles

    GoldsReptiles Embryo

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    BCC's - Columbian,Peruvian,Suriname or Guyana "same snake"
    BCI's - Houndoura's,Hogg Isle,Central American
    Hope this clears things up.
     

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