Boas Together

I recently rescued an abused redtail boa. I already had two, one male and one female, that were in seperate housing. For now I put the male (which is only 8-9 months old) in a separate tub while the rescued snake (about 2-3 yr old female redtail) took the babies enclosure. I've read now in two places that they are ok to house together, but I wanted to check here to make sure. The tub I rigged for the baby is def a temporary setup and I'm sure he'd be more comfortable in one of the tanks with the big females. I just want to be sure it is safe, even though the sizes are quiet different... I'd hate to have them fight or stress each other out, and I can buy a full separate enclosure for the baby boy, but if its unnecessary than I will house him with one of the bigger females. What do you all think?

Snakes are rather solitary animals. While you may not have a problem with one attacking the other, you can stress one or both snakes out by being in the same tank with another. With enough room, the problems are minimized, but in a enclosure where there forced in close proximity you may have problems. it is much better to give each animal it's own enclosure. Especially if you can buy a full separate enclosure.
I would give each snake its own enclosure, or seeing how your starting to get quite a collection you could build a custom rack tank set up, an enclosure for each of them.
something like this would work great: http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/4x2.jpg

That link won't work for me for some reason. I would eventually like a rack but this is more of a temporary solution, its either a plastic tub for the baby (with light and heat of course) or put him in with one of the females in a big nice tank while I save for a rack ( a week or so)

So I'm trying to decide which is better for the baby, at least in the short term, as opposed to a permanent housing situation

Depending on the size of your snake i would suggest keeping him in the plastic tub, not only is it less stressful, but theres no telling what parasites your new addition could have. or what could be transferred back and forth between those you already have. Many people use regular rack tanks for there snakes, and as long as its big enough they do just fine. so long as theres a secure lid, enough space, and you can keep the temps and humidity right id stick with the tub.
as for the cages,
Herpers toolbox
if that does'nt come up, google Herpers Toolbox. or look through arbreptiles.com, The tanks im suggesting are the stackable 4x2x18 enclosures. Though you could change the dimensions easily, As for money involved, as long as you build it yourself there relatively inexpensive.

It is really much better to keep them separate, you never know how they will react to each other and you can't watch them 24/7. Unless you are talking about a massive enclosure one or the other is liable to suffer from the pairing.

I would also point out that you should have this new snake in quarantine for at least 60 days to make sure it isn't bringing something in that could be passed on to your currents snakes. If possible this should be in another room!
Most people who house boas together are doing so with similarly sized animals.
Putting two together that are vastly different in size is asking for trouble.

All are in their own places now, just had to wait a day for a paycheck. I wish I was better at carpentry I'd build a rack. Unfortunately I don't have much talent building things.

Originally Posted by Semanticprison

All are in their own places now, just had to wait a day for a paycheck. I wish I was better at carpentry I'd build a rack. Unfortunately I don't have much talent building things.

theres good how tos on the internet if you need them although you will need to be able to work the saw and stuff!


Herpers toolbox

i personally have issues with cohabitation with anything other than some pythons. redtails can have dominance issues. they are also intelligent enought to "know their roll" so to speak. one of my friends housed an adult with 2 burmese. since the burmese were larger the redtail didnt cause any problems. just like most snakes, its definitly possible, but you are risking waking up to a tragedy. i would recommend housing separatly

They are all separate and happy in nice big tanks now, with another 8ft female! I didn't quarantine it as far as separate rooms but they have never been in contact w each other and I wash up between handling them. The guy at the reptile said she looks like a possible anerythristic but I don't know for sure. I'm colorblind so I have some trouble with red anyway. Maybe Ill round up a digi and upload some pics for opinions. Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll keep ya'll updated.