My son (age 13) and I have been raising bearded dragons for a year or so, and I have been promising him we would get a smaller boa soon.

Tonight at work (South East San Diego County, near the Mexico border) I found a 12" to 13" Rosy Boa (from the pictures here I'm assuming it's a Coastal). It seemed fairly calm and allowed me to pick it up and handle it. Since I am at work until 6:00 AM it is sitting in a cardboard box next to me.

I was planning on buying a snake next month so this seems like a great thing. I have an extra 10 gallon tank (from when my beardies were small) and most supplies so I think I would only have to buy a heat pad for under half the cage (right?). I had never even heard about Rosy Boas until I started researching them tonight to ID this species, but they seem to be exactly what I am looking for.

My questions:
Is it a smart idea to start with a captured/ wild Rosy?
Is this snake (about 12" too old to adapt to captivity?
Other than all of the helpful info on the web (all directed at captivity born Rosy Boas) are there other issues I need to be aware of (special feeding, handling, housing) above what a breeder born snake would entail?
What do I feed it (most care sheets list the types of mice for different ages, but since I don’t know its age, would you still feed baby mice to a 12” snake)? Since it is captured from the wild will it eat dead/thawed mice?

Thanks!

Dave

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]