Columbian boa

[VinnieLove]

Hello...... I was asking about my red-tailed columbian boa earlier, and since there seems to be so much knowlegde here, just wondering about any personal experience with this snake, or similar. I want to keep him, he WAS so gentle and sweet..... are these good snakes to keep? General temperment?

[WingedWolf]

They are very nice snakes...however, keep in mind they are also the largest snakes you should reasonably expect to keep on your own. (Larger snakes require multiple people to be present when you open their cage, for the sake of safety).

This means a considerable investment in a good, locking cage of appropriate size (don't cram your big snake into a cage that's too small...I've seen that done far too many times, and it's a terrible thing to do to an animal).
The space they require is considerable--you will want a 4 to 6 foot cage for an adult boa, depending on its size. Some big female boas get up to 12 feet in length.
Never hang a constrictor around your neck...people have been killed when a nervous snake tightened its coils, cutting off blood flow through their carotid artery, lol.

Red-tails usually have nice temperments, if you work with them. Keep in mind that all animals are individuals! If your snake winds up being nervous and snappy, are you still prepared to keep it? An individual of any species may have this temperment, though it's more common in some than others.