First snakes, far from first reptiles

[Fireman388]

Didnt see a introduction area so i figured id post some pics and introduce myself all at once. Names Joe, im a firefighter in CT. just turned 28. Ive had many reptiles (mostly iguanas) that were primarily rescues that i brought back to health and found forever homes for. I currently have 1 Iguana but he will be with me til one of us dies. Hes about 3 years old and 2.5 feet. Came from a Horrible situation as most rescues do. He was 2ft long living in a 30 gallon tank that hadn't been cleaned in who knows how long, eating iceburg lettuce and had no uv lighting.He was as close to death as they get. After lots of time and money at the vet and countless days off to nurse him back to health he made a full recovery. He is now happily residing in the enclosure i built for him at 5'x4'x2.5'


With that said i decided id like to dabble in the world of snakes. Found an opportunity to trade a 5x2x2 enclosure i built for a few red tail boas. Delivered the cage and picked them up last night. Was told they came from a litter ( i know that isnt the correct word, feel free to correct me) last year. Handled daily. so far i have found them to be VERY docile. I know they are red tails (one male, one female) but i would love some input as far as anything more specific. Il take better pics tomorrow as i fed them a little while ago and dont want to disturb them for atleast 24 hours (pics below Cage i traded and the new red tails)

[Joba1972]

Re: First snakes, far from first reptiles

Great job and major kudos for your work with iguanas. It's really hard for me to tell anything about your boas, as the picture is small, but I can say that you've made a great choice in getting boas. They're the best

[acephantom903]

Re: First snakes, far from first reptiles

Welcome! Looks like you're handy at building cages. The care sheet is here: http://www.redtailboas.com/f110/down...ion-3-a-31312/
As you may know, most snakes need to be housed separately because of competing over resources. It will be interesting to see what kind of cages you come up with for them.

[Noelle7206]

Re: First snakes, far from first reptiles

Welcome...that's an awesome iguana set-up...I think you'll enjoy snakes (& not just boas!), they are way less work than iguanas too. It's actually best to let new snakes settle in for at least a week before
offering food, and best to wait & see how that goes (food) for a while before handling them. Some snakes will be stressed & refuse to eat, & eating is way more important than handling. A stressed snake may
or may not act feisty & try to bite...some snakes that are completely passive may also feel quite stressed & refuse to eat....though most boas are great feeders! As already mentioned, all snakes should be housed
separately...otherwise they can stress each other into poor health. (by competing for the optimal places & temperatures, by breeding activity, or they may also prey on each other, & trust me, you don't want that!)
I know you'll see them housed together in pet stores, but the less you copy what they do, the better. Besides, they aren't their "pets", only replaceable merchandise.

I once took in a bearded dragon that was near-dead too...feels great to bring rescues back to health, doesn't it? (I've never dealt with iguanas, mostly kept numerous snakes.)

[walla2GSP]

Re: First snakes, far from first reptiles

Definitely look at the care guides in this forum, they are very on point. As said already snakes should be housed seperately. Depending on your climate screen enclosures could be really hard to regulate, so you may want to think about building or buying enclosures with solid sides. Not sure what you were thinking already, and you didn't say so thought I would give you a jump start. Litter is actually the right word . It is hard to tell from the picture, but they look like BCIs which are actually common boas, not true red-tails, but still wonderful and beautiful animals. As Noelle said, it is best to just leave them alone for a week or ten days, to settle in to their new place. Be patient they live a long time if you take care of them, so there is always time later to take pictures and handle them. Congrats on the boas, brother, they are a great investment, at least emotionally.

[zamora]

Re: First snakes, far from first reptiles

Welcome to RTB! You have found one of the best places to hang your hat so kick off your shoes and stay a while!

You have already gotten some great advice from the other members so I'll just say we are glad to have you and ask any questions you may have, we are always willing to help someone enter the wonderful world of boas. Be careful though, they are quite addictive.