Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im hopefully going to be getting a snake sometime soon and i still cant decide between a red tail boa and a rubber boa. i really like both snakes and i would have more room for a rubber boa. although i could make room for a red tail.
Any oppinions welcome! also if anybody can post any good care sheets that would also be helpful.

I currently own two red tails or common boa constrictors. These are usely the best choice since they are less expensive than other true red tails. They are very docile and are excellent feeders. The only drawback is they grow between 6 to 9 feet.
I have never owned rubber boas but i believe them to be secretive. They will spend most of their time hiding. Now rosy boas are the same size as rubber boas and make docile pets and are available at moderate prices. And will not spend most of their time hiding.
Good luck with whatever snake you choose.
Chuck

Just out of curiousity, where would you be getting that rubber boa from? I'm just asking because in 15 years of snake keeping, I've only seen one captive bred rubber boa for sale. I would be wary of a wild caught rubber boa.
If I'm wrong on this notion, let me know. Perhaps the reason I never see them is because I live in southeast Texas where the climate is hardly suitable for rubber boas.
Cheers!

I lived in SE Texas for years and kept (and bred) rubber boas with no problem. I have since moved to San Antonio, and my rubberboas are doing fine still.

They are a truly underappreciated snake. They are very hardy, easy to keep and predictable captives, as long as you deal with captive born animals. Babies can be a little tricky to get started on pinkies, but once they do, they eat them readily.

They are also easier to keep at room temps as they don't require any sort of extra heating. Mine eat readily at room temps from the mid 60s to mid 70s with no access to any sort of external heatsource.

Boa constrictors are going to be available more widely in a variety of morphs. Some of the prettiest morphs (Surinam, Guyanan), unfortunately, get quite large and have the most unpredicatable temperaments. "Colombian" Boas are generally smaller and more docile.

These are very different snakes. Rubberboas are small snakes that can be kept at room temperature, but they are shy. If your goal is to "look at" your snake a lot, you will find that your rubberboa isn't visible much of the time (perfectly normal behavior for most snakes). A boa constrictor will sit out, particularly when older, although they aren't particularly active. If you give a boa a hidebox, most boas will use it until they are 4-5 feet long.

Boa constrictors are considerably more expensive to house and feed. A female rubberboa can live her whole life in a 10 gallon aquarium and would cost between $1.50 and $3.50 a month to keep fed (depending where you buy your rodents). A male would cost significantly less as they are much smaller.

A boa constrictor will require much larger cages (minimum 4x2x2 feet) which are more expensive, take up a lot larger room in a house and are difficult to clean. An adult boa will cost you around $10-20 a month to feed. Boas also require access to the appropriate temperatures (75°-85°F) all year long. This means you have to keep your snake room at 75° all winter long. This is warmer than most people normally like to keep a room in the winter. With rubberboas, you can simply let them cool down into the mid 40s to mid 50s and let them hibernate.

They are both good snakes, but are very different. The suggestion about a Rosyboa is a good one as well. Easier to keep than rubberboas, more widely available, but still small and very docile.

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Chris Harrison

Another thing, Redtails are ALOT more common than Rubbers. In MY opinion, OVERBRED. That is just MY opinion though.
Most people dont even know about Rubber boas.
But they are sooo much easier to care for. So docile. Sweet. And CUTE even
AS mentioned, they do not need extra heat. I have even seen them out here in 50 degree weather while sprinkling outside. These snakes are nuts! lol
Redtails are prettier in color and get very big. But are much harder to care for. And EVERYONE HAS THEM!! How many people have you seen with Rubber boas?
I think UNcommon snakes are much cooler than commonly kept snakes.
But then, "I" am uncommon.
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Crazy ZooLady