Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone. Just like to say hi and maybe get some advise from experts. A little one-on-one action instead of the carbon copy care sheets.

Anyway I've had Hope for close to 2 months. She's a Colombian Red-tail. We've estimated her to be about 6 months old ( She's close to 2 feet in length and about as thick as a broom handle in her thickest area ). I love her with all my heart. She's pretty much spoiled rotten and get's whatever she wants.

She's currently in a 20 Gallon Long with a hide-log a nice big water dish and a big ol' branch to scale. She seems to dig the water bowl and the log and LOVES to burrow. The branch receives infrequent use. She eats medium mice with next to no issues ( last week it took her 3 hours to eat because she went butt first..but what can you do ). I'm slowly transfering her from Live to Frozen she's rebelling but I've gotten her to take down a frozen ( the one she took butt first ). I've been wondering am I feeding her the appropriate food size? Is her tank big enough? Does she have enough stuff to play on? Oh and she's been shedding every 8 or so days. Usually every 5 but I think she skipped one shed. She started out shedding solid one good piece but now that they appear to be getting closer together she's getting real splotchy. She's just about to cap again so I've been soaking her in a tub of water to try and make the shed easier.

Am I doing ok? Any additional advise?

And Damnit I spelt Advice wrong.

really. heating is the key. make sure you have the temps around 85 during the day and 75 at night. and try to keep the humidity around 60%, that might be why she isnt shedding in one piece
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Vince Martino

1.0 Amel Cornsnake "Sunny"
1.1 Snow Cornsnake "Gary Busey" and "Slopes"
0.1 Okeetee Corn (2nd generation off the hunt club)
1.0 Spider Ball Python "Ceasar"
1.1 Colombian Red-tailed Boa "Big Jim" and "Sammy"
1.1 Albino Striped California Kings "mean" and "meaner"
1.0 Pastel Bearded Dragon "Norbert"
0.1 Anery Nicaraguan Boa "Smokey"

Thanks for the quick reply. I have her at about 85-90 on one side and at about 80-75 on the other. Humidity is a little rough for me. I soaked her for a good hour today and I spray her once a day usually. Hopefully this eases the shed and she goes back to being her beautiful self.

for humidity just spray the tank once or twice a day, or just put the water bowl more toward the warmest side of the tank so that some of the water evaporates, and you can also try covering half of the screen if you are using a 20 gallon glass tank with a screen color
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Vince Martino

1.0 Amel Cornsnake "Sunny"
1.1 Snow Cornsnake "Gary Busey" and "Slopes"
0.1 Okeetee Corn (2nd generation off the hunt club)
1.0 Spider Ball Python "Ceasar"
1.1 Colombian Red-tailed Boa "Big Jim" and "Sammy"
1.1 Albino Striped California Kings "mean" and "meaner"
1.0 Pastel Bearded Dragon "Norbert"
0.1 Anery Nicaraguan Boa "Smokey"

Shes shedding every 8 days? Something is wrong she should not shed that much. Have you seen any mites? How often are you feeding her? Have you checked the humidity? Otherwise everything else sounds pretty good.
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Thanks Vinnie Caruso
opinons are like a--holes... everybody has one and they all stink

As for the slowly switching from live to frozen - just switch. Boas are about the easiest frozen/thawed feeders around. The transition is almost always a 1 step process. Shake a warm, dead feeder in front of the hungry boa and it'll take it.
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2.1.0 Kidletts
1.0.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 Okeetee Corn
2.2.0 BCI
0.1.0 Cat (Ginger)
1.0.0 Pughuahua (Ranger)

Actually she had mites when I first got her. I made the mistake of purchasing a mouse from Petco. It was infested with mites and of course I noticed as soon as she coiled it. My fault entirely. I treated her with Zoo Med "Mite Off" and bought her a brand new tank. Put paper towels down as bedding..a week later she was mite free. That was when I FIRST got her. Since then she's still been averaging the shedding every 8 days thing. She's FAR outgrown her male sibling and I mean FAR she's close to 2 feet long and he's about 1 1/2 at the max.

Oh for feeding her dead the only issue is she's INCREDIBLY irritable when it comes to feeding time. If I try to dangle something in front of her she strikes at the tongs instead of the dead rodent. She likes NOTHING in her area when she's feeding. I can't even be in the room or she'll strike at wherever I am.

She may still have mites. They have a way of getting under the scales and when first born they are so small you may not even be able to see them. I would treat her and the cage for mites again just in case. Does she soak in her water alot? This can be another sign of mite infestation.
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Thanks Vinnie Caruso
opinons are like a--holes... everybody has one and they all stink

Boas are not fossorial, she burrows because she doesn't feel secure. I would get a better hide than those half logs, overturned plant saucers are nice. I would also make sure that the cage is in an area that gets little to no regular foot traffic, and cover the back and sides of the cage to make it feel more enclosed.

Next, a boa should not shed every 8 days. It should be more like once a month. If she's shedding in pieces then you humidity is too low. You could cover most of the screen top and mist the cage every day or so. If she is shedding in full every 8 days then I would take her to a vet.

Her area actually is in a fairly traffic heavy area ( I pass her tank 3-6 times a day normally ). I'll change her log for this cave thing I originally had her in. It's a ceramic igloo type thing. She dug it.

I'll also be covering he cage up 75% of the way now. I feel like a fool for not realizing I might be causing her un-due stress by putting her in my room where I could see her.

She burrows almost constantly I had no clue that meant she was in secure. I will rememedy this immediatly.