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Are Red tails aggressive?

R

reptodude

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A lot of people have posts about being bitten or be attached. Are they that aggressive? I have thought about getting one and even started to build a cage. Now that I have heard this, I dont know if I want one. Any words of advice would really help my decision.



Mike
 
They are not an aggressive animal. With regular handling, they can be very docile. But as with any animal, there is always the possibility of being bitten. It should not be a common occurance with regular handling.

My experience has been they bite for two reasons. One is they mistake, usually your hand, for a prey item. And the other is a defensive bite. Startle or scare any animal and you run the risk of being bitten. They will not "attack" you.
 
i totally agree with Denis but i have three here that are down right evil hehe a male bolivian amaralli, a female surinam and a killer male bci.... now i want to get some hondurans or rotans and i hear they get rather pissy.... that makes my day keeps me on my toes hehe... i have noticed common bci are normally alot calmer than say true redtails BCC, some of the other ssp of boas and some of the dwarf species and island species og BCI
 
We have several redtails in our collection. Most are sweet and will let you do most anything to them or around them. We do however, have one that is just nasty. She does not you to go into her cage and HATES being touched in any way. I think for the most part they are like people some are evil, but for the most part they are nice. My first snake was a red tail and she really opened up the doors to herpetology for me. I think they may be my favorite snakes.....Anyways, if you are nervous buy one you can handle before the purchase so you can get an idea of temperment. Besides, you aren't a real herper until you get bitten.. or so they told me :( Good luck.
 
Well Im purchasing a 8 foot, 30 pound, RTB BCI boa from this breeder I know. I trust him and he said that hes a big baby doll. If I have any trouble with him, I can send him back for a return or a trade. I cant wait. He also said that the boa has never bitten him or even struck at him. Heres a couple of pics.

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Im going to name him Samson :D
 
Pretty

WOW.. very pretty snake. I am sure the owner knows the temperment looks like you are getting a great snake. Congrats!!:D
Trina
 
Like Dennis said they are not "mean" animals.. I have an assorted rage of temperments on my boas. Some are sweet some dont want to seem to tame at all. Most of the time they are fine once out of the cage...I am not sure on the morph of that snake...On my screen i see some red pigmentation... Here is my anery baby....I paid 300 for this girl and she is only5 months old...
 

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i have 20 boas in my collection at the moment and i would have to say that as a rule, boas are probably one of the more docile snakes, but there will always be exceptions to the rule

babies snakes i have seen are generally a bit more exciteable than adults so you should be ok with that big male(nice snake btw but not an anery i dont think)

i bought a super red Ihle male salmon a few months ago and when he arrived, he was most assuredly pissed off from the shipping experience, but after a few weeks of constant handling and showing no fear when removing him from his tank for various reasons, he has eventually calmed down almost 100%

on the other hand, i have a 50% suriname male 100%het albino from Gulf Coast Reps that was pissy when i first got him and is still pissy after a couple months already

my advice would be, if youre going to keep snakes of any kind, expect to get bitten eventually, either as a mistake or as a warning, either way it should be quick and relatively painless

hope some of that helps and good luck with your boa
 
common "colombian" bci generally are docile (most boa morphs fit in this area) but once you start getting into the true red tails (BCC) some dwarf and island forms and other ssp of boa constrictor , the odds change... my common bci are big ol doll babies.... the suri is well... nastey... one amaralli is fine the other the devil... hogg island boas as babies are pissy and calm down but can get tempermental sometimes.... my tarahumara is the devils son... all of the argies are pissy but mostly bluff ... my baranquilla locale bci are fairly calm (considering 1.1 are LTC imports).... but for the most part the common variety bci are quite docile and handlable, just seems like once you start wondering out of those parameters you get into the more agressive or pissy boas...... the grumpy ones make things fun and interesting LOL they keep you on your toes thats for sure!
 
He doesn't look anery to me ... but $150 shipped is still a good price for a healthy 8' boa, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Unless you want to get into breeding boas, you don't need to be worrying that much about morphs. As a pet, a "common" boa will bring you just as much joy as an anery, hypo, albino or any other morph.

Best of luck on your first snake: I'm sure you will find herp-keeping an enjoyable if somewhat addictive experience.
 
Even if you are wanting to breed and it turns out o be a normal. Co-dom morphs will get you making some morphs...Salmons wuld be one way to go......
 
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