I have finally accomplished a lifelong goal of mine. My parents have decided to let me get a red tail boa. Chances are she’ll get around 9-10 feet according to the breeder. Her mom is 10 feet her dad is 8.5. Is it normal for people to keep big snakes? Idk but if I take even my ball python to Petsmart I get weird looks. So ima bring my boa when she’s an adult
OMG, congratulations!
That's awesome. I'm very happy that your parents are being super supportive about you having a bigger snake. I hope that this includes enabling you to provide the best possible husbandry, including allowing space and funds for an appropriate enclosure size and being available to help with care when your snake reaches the two-handler safety threshold.
When I worked in the pet industry, it seemed like giant keepers were semi-common in my area. Now that I'm out of that industry, though, I don't see or hear about many folks who keep larger snakes. I'd say it's probably not super common, and I'm also fairly confident that the vast majority of the snakes I heard about while working in the pet industry were not receiving proper husbandry so those snakes may not even still be alive. The average lifespan of the Burmese pythons that I knew of was around 5-7 years, which is heartbreakingly short for a massive, gorgeous snake. I met someone who had over 20 adult and subadult red tail boas in drawers in their second bedroom. These are semi-arboreal snakes. The only chance they got to stretch all the way out was when they were brought out to show off. They had zero muscle tone and couldn't even get up on the furniture by themselves. It was a freaking bummer.
I'm sorry to say that I don't support keeping giants for most people, and I don't think they make good pets in general. These animals require specialized enclosures that are WAY bigger than the average pet home can provide, they are strong and powerful, they are intelligent and lack empathy, and keeping a snake over 8 feet will require that you have a second handler to spot you any time you have their enclosure open. This is for safety, because if that snakes grabs you in a feeding bite you may not be able to dislodge them yourself and it could result in severe injury for both of you, and of course it looks bad for the entire hobby and could result in a push for increased legislation. A lot of folks let their ego get the better of them and ignore this guideline... and it hurts all of us.
I also strongly advise against taking your snake out in public unless it's a strictly controlled situation. Doubly so if they're over 6 feet as you'll absolutely need to have a spotter with you. I ESPECIALLY think this is a terrible idea in a place with other animals, like Petsmart/Petco/etc. That's a super big no-no. All it takes is one split second of you not paying attention for your snake to decide that somebody else's sweet little yip-yap dog looks like a snack and you have an official tragedy on your hands. Similarly, if one of the snakes in the store has a transmittable disease, like IBD, and you bring your snake close enough to that sick snake to pick up air particles, your snake is now possibly infected. Dogs and cats can be vaccinated against common diseases, so accompanying their human to the store isn't a huge deal, but reptiles can't currently be vaccinated and preventable diseases have destroyed entire collections. That person with the drawers I mentioned? Yeah, all gone. IBD ripped through that room like a grease fire.
I'm sorry to be a wet blanket and I really am happy for you! It's great to be excited and to have a dream that comes true! I just want to make sure that you're being mindful of your obligations to the reptile hobby as a large species keeper. It's a huge commitment, quite literally, and you need to be hyper-vigilant that you're not letting your personal desires and ego create a risk to your pet, to your family, to the general public, and to the hobby as a whole.
With great snake comes great responsibility.
