Care Sheet for Red Tail BoasAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 3.57 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 07/03/2005 |
Main Category: | Snakes |
Sub Category: | Red Tail Boas |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | Dowhat08 |
Years Experience: | 3 to 5 Years |
Species: | Red-tail boa |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | N/A |
Sexing and Characteristics: | Sexing should only be done by a trained professional. Any attempt to sex a snake by an untrained person can cause serious damage to your snake. |
Mostly Active During: | Night |
Substrate and Water Needs: | Substrates should be easy to replace/clean and safe for the boa. do not use cedar as this emits toxic fumes and will kill your boa. i use reptile carpet, which resembles outdoor carpeting. i have several pieces so i can just replace the soiled piece with a clean piece. red tail boas will not soak in a bowl of water very often, but they will utilize a water bowl during a shed. therefore a water bowl big enough for the snake to soak in is essential. |
Lighting and UVB: | Lighting is not important for a red tail boa. however, heat lamps will help to keep the temperature of a basking area up. red tail boas should have an equal amount of light and dark time, so if a heat lamp is being used, it should be turned off at night. |
Temperatures and Humidity: | Temperatures should be 88-92 on the warm side of the enclosure and 80-84 on the cool side. These temperatures should stay CONSTANT. Humidity levels should stay at 51-55%, except during a shedding period when humidity should be raised to 65-70%. this will help to ensure a one piece shed. |
Heating and Equipment: | The easiest and safest heating equipment is an under tank heater (UTH) in conjunction with a heat lamp. Flex-watt heat tape is also a good way to heat an enclosure, but this requires more care and effort because it must be sealed with silicone to ensure the snake does not come in direct contact with it and the heat tape does not get wet. ALL HEATING EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE ON A THERMOSTAT!!. Also, the proper measuring equipment is also essential to proper boa husbandry. A digital thermometer should be used to measure the heat and the humidity. the "stick on" guages found in most pet stores will not provide adequate readings. |
Caging Provided: | When i first got my female red tail boa, i placed her in a 40 gallon breeder tank. the dimensions are 36x12x18. when she grew to 4 1/2 i moved her into a 6x2x2 homemade wooden cage. she will stay in this for the remainder of her life. i have used one Kane UTH and a heat lamp to provide heat. |
Diet: | Carnivorous |
Description of Diet: | Red tail boas should be fed rats only. mice are not as nutritious as rats. Red tail boas should be fed ONE prey item, the same size as the thickest part of the red tail boa’s body every three to five days when young, every 5-7 days when a year old, and once a week when an adult. Red tail boas will eventually have to eat rabbits. ONE rabbit of appropriate size should be offered once a week. All prey should be either frozen/thawed or pre-killed. all boas can be converted to eat pre-killed or frozen/thawed. it just takes an effort from the caregiver. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | None |
Maintenance: | Temperatures and humidity levels should be checked frequently (as often as possible). Any defecation and urates should be removed immediately, as well as ANY soiled substrate. Reptile carpet should be washed in hot water with detergent and a small amount of bleach. the detergent will clean the carpet and the bleach will disinfect it. |
Some Words on this Species: | Red tail boas are very docile and fun animals. however, they are not for a beginner because they do require more maintenance than a ball python or other type of snake. Red tail boas get large and can hurt an adult human. take caution when handling any full grown snake. |
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