Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have experience with a couple of colubrids and now ball pythons...in temperment, how do red tails compare with ball pythons? theres a lady at work that wants me to buy her adult female ball python and her adult male red tail...i had planned on taking the ball python but wasnt sure about getting an adult red tail-she says columbian.
i love red tails, dont get me wrong, but i didnt know if its something i should beware of.
advice is very welcome..

thanks
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~Snake Charmer~
0.1 russian tortoise (natasha)
3.1 dogs (church, bandit, willy and tonka)
1.2 cats (taz, squeaky, cami)
0.1 king snake (q aka curly q or queenie)
2.1 'normal' ball pythons (zenith, butters, zahara)and i want more snakes. guess you can say im developing a "reptile addiction"- lol

I have 11 ball pythons and one red tail. I enjoy handling the red tail more than the pythons because she seems to have more personality than the pythons. Just have to be careful when getting her out of her enclosure, just a rediculous feeding response. I wish the balls would eat like the red tail.

i have 14 ball pythons and i would say half of my collection has an amaing feeding response, im still astoonished everytime ifeed. I actually have a couple snakes that every saturday when i feed the smell the rodents from the bags and when i pull out the tubs they acutally strike out as if the rat was right there lol. so yeaaaa all depends

Well, it's hard to say since I have seen, and own boas with all different types of attitude. You should ask her about how docile the snake is and then go see it and judge how comfortable you are with it yourself.

I will say that I don't think you should take it since you already seem apprehensive about it. It apparently concerns you enough that you have come here and posted this. Yes they can and do sometimes bite. It does hurt a little, and you will bleed. But all in all it's not that bad....unless they bite you in the face....they always seem to go for the face. lol

Because they are varacious feeders (in my experience anyway) they make a great "garbage disposal" for uneaten F/T rats that the finicky balls wont eat.
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"What are you afraid of? What ever it is, it's here. That and things your little irrational mind couldn't even dream of."

One of my friend has a blood that he feeds all the left over ft/s too. It seems to work very well for him. Has far as red tails I don't know how they'd compair to a blood but I have held his blood python and he said that the more you get to handle the more they'll get handleable (sp).
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Coolluigi

1.0 Pastel
1.0 Yellowbelly (Lovin' a friends breeder girls right now)
0.2 Normal
0.1 Spider
1.2 Het VPI Axanthic
and soon to be more. *fingers crossed*

This is so true. That's my nickname for my boas. They seem to eat anything I throw at them, live, frozen thawed, hot or cold, and best part right off the floor.

I agree with netoibarra that the boas does seem to have more personality than the balls. Nothing like taking out an 8 foot boa outside in the summer time.

I have 2 boas and 5 ball pythons. I have never had any trouble getting the red tails to eat. They are my clean up crew when the Balls are being.. well.. ball pythons..

Red tails hold YOU when you "try" to hold them. More so when they get to be over 6ft. They wanna go when they are out. not so shy like balls.

I love them both though!!

Go to the ladys house and hold the red tail once.. you'll know instantly if you are a boa person or not
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Adrian De Leon
Hissenia Reptiles

thanks for the response..
I have held a boa before---
when i lived in Arkansas I lived near one of those "drive through safari" things and I went there one day just to hold the snake(s). They had a female boa out on the picnic table near the concession stand (lol). She was good size at around 8 ft, 35 lbs. She was given to them with scars. I dont know her entire story. They had named her slitheren (harry potter reference)...
anyways, after i settled down from being shredded up by this big baby tiger, I sat down there with her for hours- literally. I held her, I answered questions from other people visiting, and I just let her enjoy my body heat as it was kind of cool that day. Alot of people thought she was my snake lol.
I went back last year and she wasnt around, but they had some other boas. I held a baby one that they had. I wonder if i still have that pic somewhere or another. anyways...i do love them. I will see if she will let me come visit the boy..

for the person who asked, she said she was worried about her kid and the snakes- her kid is like 6. *shrug* seems like there was a story there that she didnt want to get into- like the kid did something that she didnt like, or something like that...
but she wants to get back into bearded dragons, so i think she wants to get rid of the snakes first. they had other snakes and have already gotten rid of them. i think her hubby has medical issues too so i dunno...i will see if i can get her to talk about it more...

anyways...

THANKS EVERYONE!!!
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~Snake Charmer~
0.1 russian tortoise (natasha)
3.1 dogs (church, bandit, willy and tonka)
1.2 cats (taz, squeaky, cami)
0.1 king snake (q aka curly q or queenie)
2.1 'normal' ball pythons (zenith, butters, zahara)and i want more snakes. guess you can say im developing a "reptile addiction"- lol

I have several of both... most of my collection are balls & redtails, and I love both species equally. Redtails are pretty amazing, and I cannot think of any good reason for you to turn one down. I say go for it, hands down.

The only thing I worry about with keeping them both is IBD. Inclusion Body Disease can live dormant in Boas for years, when upon contraction is 0 fatal in Pythons. If the Boa you would be getting has been living with the Ball for a while, than I would think you would be totally fine and you are in the clear with IBD, since it would have shown in the ball by now.

As a precaution, I exercise a strict quarantining program with my new Boas only because I keep Pythons, and wash my hands when jumping from handling one of my newer boas to my balls. This is not a necessity, and not meant to scare you, this is just how I do things.

Hope this helps, cheers!
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Cheers!
• Chelsea Lynn Gardiner
(and Frank M. Wood)

I also have 7 ball pythons and one red tail. In my situation, the balls are for breeding and the boa is strictly a pet and i love her dearly. I would do 2 things if I were u: 1-find out why she is getting rid of them, 2-go to her place, handle it and see how comfy you are handling that particular snake. I agree that my boa has much more personality than my balls, but I also have a female 100% het pied female that is very comprable. She has lots of charisma...hope this helps