First of all let me say hello and thanks for any advice you care to give. Any and all comments are welcome. I found an ad on CL for a Red Tail (supposed to be a Northern Brazilian species (probably a male). The asking price is $20 for the snake and a 50 gal ter. with all lights, heat, etc.

I have spoken with the owner 2 times and the snake is a pet but they haven't had time to spend with it since they moved to CA about 8 months ago. I believe it is 2-3 years old and a little over 3 ft. Basically they are looking to provide it a better home but he is candid in the fact that the snake does snap at him now when being removed from the cage. Once out, the snake is very tame and can be handled. This started after coming to CA and spending less time with it. The snake is fed using frozen rats in a separate enclosure.

He turned down a few email offers based on the tone of the emails so he is not looking to just unload the snake...he wants to find it a good home. He is looking at me first but there is a breeder also interested and they will go that route if necessary.

I have owned snakes in the past (when I was in college about 15 years ago) and am familiar with the care of exotics ( I have 2 parrots and my daughters tarantula). I want to provide a good home for this snake but I really am concerned about it's size as it gets older. I am also concerned about keeping frozen rodents....the wife will not be happy.

I want to do the right thing....want to help out the snake but don't want to get in over my head. Obviously price has nothing to do with it as he is basically giving it away but only to a good home. When we spoke he was very much interviewing me. I am going to his place this evening to check it out. I could really use some advice here...I'm on the fence. Maybe the breeder option is really the best at this point.

If anyone lives in this area and is interested I am willing to give you the information as well. I just hate to see another exotic animal find it's way into a less than ideal situation.

Thanks a bunch for your candid comments.

Take Care,
Brian

Hello and welcome to HC. You may want to go the breeder route as you have displayed a decent amount of concern over the situation that will arise if you bring it home. If the snake is currently nipping, you are going to want to handle it daily to help ease it out of that behavior if you decide to take it in. You are not going to want a snake that is as large and strong as a constrictor being prone to biting.

If your wife will have issues with you feeding it frozen rats, and keeping them in the freezer, you could always buy them on an as needed basis from a store like Petco or Petsmart. At some point however, rats simply don't seem practical anymore as the snake begins to eat more and more of them to get "satisfied". If you have a problem with rats, what would she think when you need/should go to something larger? (Like rabbits.) Here is my boa eating a rabbit: Boa Feeding - Graphic Images

As the snake grows, it is also going to require a fairly large enclosure. A 55 gallon tank is not going to be permanent housing for this snake.

Thats my input. Hope it helps.

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.:: Rich ::.

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I totally second Rich's post. He makes a good point. I have a burmese python that eats bunnies, and its not a fun or pretty thing... At all.... With your wife not liking rats in the freezer, you could always get a small freezer just for rats... Though the best advice about aquiring new animals: If at any moment you might, just for a second, think your getting over your head, you usually are.

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France

You have to decide if you are doing the snake a service if you actually do "get in over your head" and have to find another home for it if it gets too big for you or if it causes too much trouble with your wife.
My sister's boa used to snap at anything coming into the tank, but was fine outside. You can drop a handtowel over its head first then pick him up. Once he realizes that he's just being taken out and not being fed or attacked, he'll probably be OK.
It's great that you are thinking of all the aspects of the acquisition: how it will affect the family, future size and feeding issues. If you decide to get it, you might want to find a separate freezer to keep the food in. (Our freezer now has more rats in it than people food and although I don't have issues with that: it is a bit of a pain when I can't put MY food in there!)
Let us know what you decide!

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Andrea

You sound hesitant, which should be an instinct respected. But as far as feeding, I buy frozen rats on an as needed basis. It's not convenient but my boyfriend doesn't like co-mingling the people food with the rats. I have been known to hide one in the back of the freezer but I'm the Mom, so I'm the only one who actually moves stuff when I'm looking for something.

Thank you Rich, Ipanda and Blackjack. Probably should have stuck around for your replies before heading over to see the snake Once I was there it was pretty difficult to say no. Especially since the entire setup and snake was free. I completely respect all of your opinions and agree with them. The lure of the situation was just too strong.

We brought him (not 100% sure if male) home yesterday evening. We needed to take him out last night to arrange his cage and it was no problem. Used the towel method by letting him sense the towel for a few minutes and nice and easy laid the towel over his head and picked him up by his body. I never felt threatened and didn't look like he felt threatened at all.

We have also had him out this morning...same procedure and same result. He appears to be very mellow and inquisitive. At no time since we have been handling him has ever had a look of aggressiveness. My guess is that the times he snapped (3 times mentioned by prior owner) he was probably hungry.

At this point I am trying to dial in the temps and humidity in his new home and figure out where to go from here. He ate just a few days ago so he is good for a bit. I may try and feed him next weekend depending on his behavior this week. So far he isn't acting in any peculiar fashion.

One issue I see is that his last shed did not go well. There is still quite a bit of skin that needs to still come off. Not sure if I should try and aid the process or if I would only be adding to any current stress he feels from the move. Owner said this is the first time it has happened.

Wife is out of town but after the initial shock I don't expect a problem. The snake (Sampson is his name) is in my office separate from the house and we have lots of pet stores local so I really don't need to store rats in the freezer. I'll cross the bridge of rabbits if I ever get that far The carnage and feeding process doesn't really bother me when the prey is already dead. Feeding a live rabbit would be a problem for me but luckily that shouldn't be an issue.

My 7 year old daughter absolutely loves him and any talk of finding a longer term more permanent home is met with a frown. Under my supervision she has been holding Sampson and already feels a connection with him. We have talked about why he would snap, not reaching into his cage, slow movements, etc. Since she has no problem holding her tarantula and the cockroaches it doesn't surprise me she has no problem handling this very mild snake.

Right now he will get very good care from me...and possibly for the foreseeable future. I guess my thought is that he can always go to a breeder but since he has been a pet it would be nice to keep him that way. Especially since he has only showed mildly bad behavior which I believe will be easily remedied with more interaction.

If anyone here lives in the area and is looking to add a pet to their family and is committed long term to it's care I am willing to pass this snake along to that person. At this point I would only give him up to a knowledgeable person willing to keep him as a pet. I would pass on the same offer I received which is free to a good home.

In the mean time we are adopting him and intend to provide the best care possible while with us. I know this may sound callous in some ways...like why take him on in the first place...but his next stop was a breeder anyways so going to me and remaining as a pet doesn't seem the worst thing that could happen to him.

It's also possible that we get attached to him and he is here for the long term. I guess the current situation is that we intend to keep him until we can find a great situation for him. My guess is that hanging out on reptile forums will only aid in our ability to care for him and keep him in a good long term situation.

Thanks again,
Brian

It sounds like he's in a great environment now! You will fall in love and wife will come on board, especially if your daughter is already. Congrats on the addition to your family. I suspect he's home. I leave the shedding issue to the experts.

Hey congrats on your new guy! Personally the only time I handle a new snake for first couple of weeks its in my home is if it has cuts scrapes mites ect that need to be treated, bad sheds arnt usually something I worry about right away. Sounds like your towel trick is working, And it sounds like Sampson has found a very good home. If you have any questions, dont be afraid to post! There are alot of experienced snake owners here with some really good advice!

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France

Congrats on the new acquisition, It sounds like your on the right track, did you check our Boa caresheet out.
Common Boa Constrictor Caresheet (B. c. imperator) - Reptile Information - Caresheets Database

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

I too recommend leaving the snake alone for a week to settle into the new surroundings. It is going to be stressed out from the move and needs time to unwind. After that week then you can feed and again leave alone for 48 hours to digest. As for the unshed skin, the simplest thing is what we call the pillowcase trick. Take a large wet bath towel and wet it down. Put both towel and snake in a wet pillowcase and knot it and leave it over night in the enclosure(not directly on or under the heater). The excess moisture and the snake moving around in the towel will remove the extra skin.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!