RTB a good beginner's choice?

[xBurntBytheSunx]

i was doing some reading about RTB's and a few sites said they make good choices for beginners? how is it possible an animal that size could be good for people who have never kept snakes before? the thought of a 10' snake is pretty daunting for me personally

 

[Callie Stick]

If you were to get a red tail you might want to consider a male they stay smaller then the females, but that doesn't really guarantee it would end up the size you feel is still handleable. my red tail is the first one i've had its a female and I got her knowing her potential size, i've have had her for over a year and she has been wonderful I haven't had any trouble at all. Just be prepared to go through several aquariums in the first year. I started with a 10 gal, then had to go to 20, 30 and now I'm at a 55gal. If you know you absolutely dont want a possibly 10ft snake I would get something else. Good luck!

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

i don't know that i'd want to get one, i was just curious on what you guys thought about them being that "easy" to care for

they are beautiful though. i think if i get more snakes is going to be something smaller, and have a decent price tag that i could make my investment back, like a woma or something along that line

 

[Lucas339]

there is a big price difference in womas vs. RTB. you can pick up a RTB cheap! good womas go any where from 250-400 depending on who you get it from and the lineage behind the animal.

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

i know, thats one of the reasons i want to get womas, i want something that is well worth breeding.

i'm just curious on what you guys think about how difficult rtb's are to handle and take care of?

 

[skips]

all depends on how often you handle it. If it's handled consisitantly then they're a very easily manipulated snake. If not...I could tell you stories. so I will! They can be very pissy and are not a snake you want to get bitten by (as if there was one you'd want to get bitten by). My zoo got a new one once, about 7 feet long and it hadnt been handled much at all. It bit me in head once, another keeper in the face, and another man in the hand...then it finally calmed down after a few months.

The only other thing ill say about these guys is they're supposed to be arboreal and all too often people put them in cramped breeder tanks that have no vertical room to move. If you buy a big snake, you'll want a big cage.

 

[Lucas339]

boas freak me out a bit....not too sure why. i think its all the stories i hear about them. but emeralds and amazons are on my list.

for me, if you are asking for advice, i'd say woma. they are beautiful, active, and supposed to be great eaters.

 

[ballpython2]

boas freak me out a bit....not too sure why. i think its all the stories i hear about them. but emeralds and amazons are on my list.

for me, if you are asking for advice, i'd say woma. they are beautiful, active, and supposed to be great eaters.

A great beginner boa I would say is more a hog island or a Brazilian rainbow boa neither of these get too big as adults. And my Brazilian is wonderful has never bitten me or any of the many people that touch it in public. They calm down quickly when handled on a regular basis.

 

[skips]

A great beginner boa I would say is more a hog island or a Brazilian rainbow boa neither of these get too big as adults. And my Brazilian is wonderful has never bitten me or any of the many people that touch it in public. They calm down quickly when handled on a regular basis.

I second the rainbow boa. Not to mention they can be anywhere from really nice looking to gorgeous

 

[Lucas339]

A great beginner boa I would say is more a hog island or a Brazilian rainbow boa neither of these get too big as adults. And my Brazilian is wonderful has never bitten me or any of the many people that touch it in public. They calm down quickly when handled on a regular basis.

im toatally not interested in boas at all. the OP is. i have had a couple of different boas in my time. most recently, solomon island ground boas....

im just not into boas.

 

[ballpython2]

im toatally not interested in boas at all. the OP is. i have had a couple of different boas in my time. most recently, solomon island ground boas....

im just not into boas.

I was just using ya quote to respond to the OP.
That wasnt for you. LOL

 

[flamesbane]

all depends on how often you handle it. If it's handled consisitantly then they're a very easily manipulated snake. If not...I could tell you stories. so I will! They can be very pissy and are not a snake you want to get bitten by (as if there was one you'd want to get bitten by). My zoo got a new one once, about 7 feet long and it hadnt been handled much at all. It bit me in head once, another keeper in the face, and another man in the hand...then it finally calmed down after a few months.

The only other thing ill say about these guys is they're supposed to be arboreal and all too often people put them in cramped breeder tanks that have no vertical room to move. If you buy a big snake, you'll want a big cage.

I thought the juveniles were semi-arboreal and that as the snakes get more mature they tend to be terrestrial?

 

[skips]

I thought the juveniles were semi-arboreal and that as the snakes get more mature they tend to be terrestrial?

Um, ive actually never heard that they become more terrestrial when they get bigger. It may be true. I've only kept one and not to maturity. i've always read that they're just semi arboreal period. I have seen full size red tails that didnt really like being off the ground but they were raised in small enclosures for space's sake.

 

[Aztek]

Males usually only get to 7 feet.

10 is considered abnormal.
unless it's a BCC
And that is NOT a beginner specie.
It is the BCI that is the beginner.

BCC are prone to regurge without exact humidity.

BCI only get around 7-8 feet.

That's not that big.

 

[flamesbane]

Um, ive actually never heard that they become more terrestrial when they get bigger. It may be true. I've only kept one and not to maturity. i've always read that they're just semi arboreal period. I have seen full size red tails that didnt really like being off the ground but they were raised in small enclosures for space's sake.

See I am not sure, as I have heard both. Does anybody have a good source stating that they are semi arboreal when mature? I keep mine in an 8' boamaster (it is about 30" tall) and while she does get on her hide occasionally, she doesn't really offer to climb, but if they are in fact semi-arboreal i would love the excuse to get a big tall enclosure! (not trying to hijack the thread, just trying to learn)

 

[ballpython11]

colombian RTBs each grow 6' in three years. The bigest one grue 15'.Adult males grow 7' - 8' females 8' - 10'. WC specimens do NOT make good pets. boas are nervous so imagine WC boas.Tame male adults from 6' to 7' make good pet boas and remember boas are diferent than pythons no mater what the size, they are family of the anaconda compare there feeding with a ball python the same size and you will see the agesiveness in the feeding of the ball python but the streanth in the feeding of the boa.with what iv seen inverts are by far alot more easy to take care of than a reptile. Now but once you see an albino burm youl want it.