-
Step 1
Understand the basic characteristics of a red tail boa. Growing up to 10 feet in length and weighing as much as 50 lbs., the red tail boa is a fairly typical boa constrictor. The boa constrictor is a large snake that lives by catching other animals for food. The boa constrictor gets its name from the way it captures and kills its prey. The boa constrictor springs on the animal--a rodent or bird--and coils around it. Once wrapped around the animal, it squeezes it to death. The snake draws itself tighter and tighter around its victim, constricting it, until it is strangled. Like other snakes, it then swallows it whole. The snake does not possess venom.
-
Step 2
To distinguish a red tail boa from other boa constrictors you have to look for its red tail. All boa constrictors have a kind of mottled pattern on their skin. This can come in many combinations of colors. True red tail boas are found in Brazil and neighboring countries. These are the only actual red tails. However, many pet shops sell a similar snake from Colombia under the same name. This snake, boa constrictor imperator, is actually the Colombian red tail. The two are very similar in appearance.
-
Step 3
Tell the real red snake boa from its Colombian cousin by taking a close look. Count up the rows of scales that go around the snake's body. A real red tail boa has 80 or more rows of scales. The Colombian red tail, on the other hand, has no more than 79. Both species will also normally have a bright red tail, though again, this is not absolute. The tail can be duller in color, and sometimes even lacks the red coloring.
-
Step 4
Take a look at the snake's body if the tail is not red. The red tail boa and the Colombian red tail both have similar patterns of scales. These should consist of areas of reddish-brown in the shape of diamonds or ovals. Sometimes these areas might even have a bat-like shape. Each section is outlined in black. The snake's tail should be relatively short in relation to its body. The tail is also highly flexible, or prehensile. In the wild, the snake will use it to grab onto branches. In your house it might hang onto things. The red tail also had a number of small teeth that it uses to handle prey. Unlike poisonous snakes it has no fangs.
