Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So recently I have made contact with a guy who through bad circumstance has to get rid of his prized Peruvian red-tailed boa - and me being a snake lover I happily jumped aboard to adopt her. Here's the kicker though, according to him (I've only talked to him on the phone), Alice (the boa) is 14 years old and 12 FEET LONG. He has raised her since birth and says she is extremely tame; he takes her to elementary schools and the children love petting her.

Now that actual length shocked me a bit, and according to wikipedia a resonable length is actually around 10 feet for females. Then again, it's Wikipedia, and then again, that's still 10 feet. My main experience has been with kingsnakes and cornsnakes.

However, I like to think I'm good with snakes and I certainly look forward to taking on this new responsibility on one so large. I asked him what kind of terrarium/cage/enclosure he has to contain this beast of a snake and to my surprise he told me he just lets it freely move around his home at all times. Yikes.

Anyway, like the title suggests, I have never owned a boa (no snakes past 6 feet) and apparently I'm starting with one as big as they get. I'm assuming I'll have to build her enclosure... the local pet store probably doesn't have an 8x7 tank on the rack.

Asking around, no one I know has owned a snake of this size, so I have no advice to work off of, thus I came here. Do any of you own a large sized snake like Alice? I want to make sure that I know of particular issues that may arise when dealing with snakes of this calibre. I certainly won't let this thing get too close to hugging my neck.

Any insight or help would be much appreciated. The plan is to call and meet up with him tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) and meet her for the first time. Hopefully I can snag some pics.

Cool! If its actually a twelve foot peruvian female then it should be one impressive animal. King snakes and boas have the same warning signs of defensive or hungry behavior, 12 foot boas hurt more though. watch for sudden movement as you pick her up away from her head. The snake roams freely through the house though? If the owner seriously is that careless then i would look it over real long and hard to make sure it behaves right and is mite free. Still quarantine from your other snakes. Sounds like a score if it is what its supposed to be

Well, I wouldn't recommend letting a boa roam freely around the home, for many reasons. Too many accident prone places, drafts, etc. etc. They do make enclosures for larger snakes, depends on what you feel is right and what you are willing to spend. There are enclosures by boaphile, nerd, etc. that are 5, 6, feet and created especially for reptiles, that they will ship to your door and you can get the necessary additions with it (ie- locks, heat, vents, etc. I do NOT recommend aquarium tanks as they don't hold heat or moisture well, but as you know... they do work, just not as well. If she is going to be your only boa, a pet, I would (this is my opinion of course ;p) spend the extra money to get a larger, properly-made cage by one of the well-known distributers. Wood, even if properly sealed, I think eventually warps or absorbs bacteria.. We built my cages and sealed them well, with sliding glass doors, but eventually... I want to start replacing them with boaphile cages.
As another said, take a good look at her before you bring her home. Make sure she doesn't wheeze, or bubble at the mouth, have tiny black bugs on her (mites) or any other health-related issues, or you may find yourself spending a LOT at a vet taking care of her. Get a lot of advice and info on feeding her as well, to avoid overfeeding or underfeeding, not to mention food-involved accidents where you are bitten! Those are the most frequent accidents.
I think I covered most of what you asked, although mostly based on my own experiences and opinions. Good luck with her and good find!! If cared for correctly they are easy and under-rated pets, I LOVE boas!
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Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
1.0 Probable Super Salmontine(Kahn)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
1.1.1 Hypo het anery
1.0.1 Het. Anery (Guy & ?)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.0 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal(deceased)
1.3 Hog Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Tang, Isis)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.2 Carpet Pythons (Jackson, Charlotte, & Cassandra)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)

Well I met up with the guy last Saturday to get a good look at her, and she truly is a magnificient boa. I did a spot check on her as best as I could to determine her health and from what I could tell she appeared to be very healthy, responsive, tame, and curious. He had her curled up in a closed closest because his two children (toddlers) were there (I think his ex-wife has custody). The boa does appear to be about 12 feet long but it was thinner than I had imagined which is good because some of them are gargatuan. It looked to be 1 foot circumference.

Everything was just about perfect except the price. He wanted $1000 dollars for the snake and that is too much for me. It is not a rarebreed and although she is lovely, this college kid can't drop 10 c-notes right off the bat for her.

I told him when he lowers the price (and he will) that he should give me a call. Also, I didn't get any pictures of her because it looked like he had his hands full with dealing with me and having the kids run around at the same time, so I felt a little imposing to whip out the camera and take pics in his home.

Hopefully I'll get pics of her when the actual sale happens.