Happy new year all!

I hope everyone had a good holiday and happy new year.

I need a little advice about my red tail boa. Originally I rescued him from a iresponsible family member and the poor snake almost died. So I did some research on how to take care of one and now he is a big healthy boy. The thing is, is that I have been trying to decide what the best thing to do will be. I have been stuggling over giving him away or not. When I first got him, I was just concerned about getting him healthy and I planned on finding him a new home. But it has been almost a year and he is almost six feet. I am worried about him growing to such a large size and if that is safe for small children as I would like to start a family. Are these size snakes safe to keep? How big will he get? And where can I place him in a good enviroment. I am also concerned about the price of a larger encloser and feeding him rats is really unpleasant. What I dont want to happen is to give him away to some one and then he ends up in a flee market or in the back of someones truck in the middle of winter. He is very docile and gentle and has never been aggresvie. But I cant help my worry. What should I do? Any advice?

You have a valid concern. Any large constrictor can pose a hazard to small children and should never be allowed out unattended. The snake can reasonably be expected to reach between 8 and 12 feet depending on the sex. Females tend to get larger than males. However once they hit the size of yours the growth rate does slow down. The simplest solution to your concern is to build a larger secure cage and put a lock on it. You can build a larger enclosure for far less than you could purchase one. Check out our www.Herphabitats site for cage building help. If you are not able to build it yourself talk to a local cabinet maker or even the woodshop at your local highschool or Votech.
You can check for reptile shelters in your area or even talk to your local Zoo but don't be surprised if the shelter is full and the zoo doesn't want it. Many people aquire animals and when they get bigger decide that they don't want them anymore. This is a very big problem.
Have you tried feeding frozen/thawed prey? Its not much different than tossing the snake a porkchop! All my snakes eat frozen.
There is another problem. Unless you go through a serious screening process you have no idea what is going to happen to the animal after it leaves your possession. Even then there is no guarantee and the scenarios you are envisioning (or worse) may very well come to pass.
Worrying is fine. Its part of being a responsible keeper as well as being a responsible parent. It comes with the territory! However you have to decide for yourself what you wish to do. With a little thought, responsiblity and planning having the boa in the house is capable of being quite safe. I have several grandchildren ranging from 3 to 10 and they think Grandpa's snake room is one of the coolest places on the planet! And they handle, under supervision, most all of my snakes.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

In the beginning of November we adopted a common boa that wasn't in the best of health or had the best living conditions, so I can understand what you are going through. Our common is 7-8' long and very powerful; she is not handled unless there are two adults present. One of the problems with people who buy big snakes is that they don't fully understand or want to understand how big and strong they can get, so yes there are concerns with housing a large snake. Weekly you can find reports in the news of people being hurt by a big snake, the problem being that it is usually the human’s fault for being careless or just stupid.
We have had family member question our sanity at adopting CeCe, they would make comments like "aren't you afraid that she will eat your cats". Yes, I'm sure CeCe could give the cat a good run for their money and maybe become her next meal. But with proper precaution, I don't feel that this will be a problem. She is currently housed in a large aquarium with a metal top; we have the top secured with 7-8 clips to prevent escape.
Read over our Common Boa caresheet and it will give you information on the proper size for caging your baby. http://www.herphabitats.com/reptile_...common_boa.htm
As for re-homing the snake that can be difficult, as most people don't want a large snake, the guy we got CeCe from had tried for 6 months and even the pet stores wouldn't take her. If you decided to re-home her, make sure you interview the potential adaptor, have questions you want to ask about care issues, ask for references. If the person is really interested in your snake then they will be willing to put forth some effort. There is also the option of surrendering her to a large reptile rescue. I hope this helps you out.

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Colleen

Thank you all so much. You most defineltey have helped. Truly, I love my boa. I think he is the most adorable thing ever....but I cant help my worry. I think I might hang on to him a bit longer and take him to the vet to see if he is really a 'he' so that I can get a better idea of his potencial size. I cant stand the thought of him being mistreated, which is why I have kept him for so long.

I just got a fancy new digital camera for Christmas, so hopefully soon I will post some pics of my baby. Thank you so much for you help. This site has helped me so much in learning how to take care of him. Thanks again!
Fiddlergreen

Yes they get pretty big. I work with a guy who has about 8-9 ft. female red tail boa. She is def. Gorgeous but he has a plexi glass tank and it's huge, They don't have a heat lamp on her though which concerns me a bit because she is in the garage. They do have a fire stove burning at all times in there so it's never too cold but I don't think warm enough for her. They also have two kids, and he breeds his own rats. So you can have a family as well just need to think of a spot your children will not be completely accessible to! God luck with your descion!

As long as you are careful there should be no major problems. Just make sure there is a secure cage with a locking top that your children cannot get into.

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“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…'"
- Isaac Asimov



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