Thinking of getting a Hog Island in a few months. Advice?

[PorcelainxDoll]

After a very long battle I finally got my mom to cave and let me get another snake! Squee!!!
So I decided instead of getting another bp that I finally want to get a boa since I fell in love with them at the last expo that I went to.
My boas of choice were either a common red tail bci, a dumerils, or a hog island.

I decided on the Hog because of their relatively smaller size then the other boas I was deciding on. They are just absolutely beautiful, and that their care requirements arent too far off from a bp with slight differences of course.

So here is what I gather from reading several conflicting care sheets please correct me if I am wrong on anything and please feel free to chime in any other advice all you boa keepers might have.

Temperament/Size
I have read that the males get to about 4-5 ft, and females about 5-6ft.
I thought about getting a male if I had gotten one of the other species but it seems that even the female of this species doesn't get large. So I could get either and it still be easy to maintain by myself.
As far as temperament I read that they are generally really calm and docile, but can be hissy if threatened.

Enclosure size and husbandry
I was thinking if I got a male I would get a 70Q tub to start it off in and keep it very cluttered with lots of hides and some branches to climb on since they can be a little more arboreal then some of the other BCI.
Would this be a good size tub?
How long could I keep a male in a 70Q?
What about a 110Q?
Also if I got a female how long would she be able to live in those size tubs?
What would yall recommend?

I will have a hotspot temp of about 90 with an ambient of about 80. Does this sound acceptable?
Humidity I would have at about 50% bumping it up to 70% during shed?
I was thinking of using aspen instead of paper towel for my boa since they like to dig a bit more or so I have heard.


Feeding
This is where I need the most advice because I know their feeding schedules are much different then a bp.
So for babies up to about 1 year every 5-7 days?
Adults every 10-14 days?
At what weights should I feed what size prey?


Any and all advice will be very much appreciated. I just want to make sure I have all my facts straight and that I will have an appropriate home ready when I get my boa.

[Daybreaker]

Temperament/Size
I have read that the males get to about 4-5 ft, and females about 5-6ft. Correct, this is the norm but there are always smaller and larger exceptions.
I thought about getting a male if I had gotten one of the other species but it seems that even the female of this species doesn't get large. So I could get either and it still be easy to maintain by myself. I can handle my 6+ foot bulky BCI male without issue and I'm 5'3" so I'm sure you'll be fine with either sex.
As far as temperament I read that they are generally really calm and docile, but can be hissy if threatened. Correct, you get the pissy ones (like my girl pictured below) but most are really calm snakes.

Enclosure size and husbandry
I was thinking if I got a male I would get a 70Q tub to start it off in and keep it very cluttered with lots of hides and some branches to climb on since they can be a little more arboreal then some of the other BCI.
Would this be a good size tub?
How long could I keep a male in a 70Q?
What about a 110Q?
Also if I got a female how long would she be able to live in those size tubs?
What would yall recommend?

I don't know the sizes of those tubs but I recommend at least 4' long enclosures for these guys. They do well in tubs but I prefer vivs for my boas. Just preference.

I will have a hotspot temp of about 90 with an ambient of about 80. Does this sound acceptable? Ambients of 80 are fine but I keep my Hog and boas a bit cooler at around ~77-79 cold side/ambient temps. They do just fine and seem to prefer to be a tad cooler than the pythons.
Humidity I would have at about 50% bumping it up to 70% during shed? I don't bump up temps while they're in shed: my Hog sheds perfect just being in her tub with ~50% humidity.
I was thinking of using aspen instead of paper towel for my boa since they like to dig a bit more or so I have heard. Aspen and paper towels are fine: aspen may be better for baby boas to give some security. Again: preference.


Feeding
This is where I need the most advice because I know their feeding schedules are much different then a bp.
So for babies up to about 1 year every 5-7 days? I recommend babies not feed any sooner than 7 days.
Adults every 10-14 days? This is what I do: when they get around sub adult age I bump it to ~10 days then 14 for adults.
At what weights should I feed what size prey? I eyeball feeders more so for my boas than for my pythons. Also I recommend starting out on mice for the boa's first year over rats then transition them over.


Any and all advice will be very much appreciated. I just want to make sure I have all my facts straight and that I will have an appropriate home ready when I get my boa.

My pure female Hog Attika ^^

[PorcelainxDoll]

Thanks for the help daybreaker!
Shes beautiful! I can't wait to get mine. Makes me feel good that I am at least on some what the right track

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)

[Daybreaker]

Thanks for the help daybreaker!
Shes beautiful! I can't wait to get mine. Makes me feel good that I am at least on some what the right track

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)

Your welcome They're wonderful snakes (and great "starter boas"); I'm sure you'll do great with one. Please post pics when it arrives.

[M&H]

Temperament/Size
I have read that the males get to about 4-5 ft, and females about 5-6ft.

My male is an '10 and he is about 3 feet long. He isn't very thick and I can wrap my hand completely around him with my fingers almost touching. Obviously he has a little more growing to do however three years later he is smaller than my bcc male who is the same age. My female is a '06 over 6 feet probably closer to 7 and larger than both my hands together. She weighs about 24 pounds and pretty much stopped growing. This is a picture of my friend and my female hog. She is 5'6"



I thought about getting a male if I had gotten one of the other species but it seems that even the female of this species doesn't get large. So I could get either and it still be easy to maintain by myself.

I'm 5'2" female and really do not have issues moving her by myself.

As far as temperament I read that they are generally really calm and docile, but can be hissy if threatened.

My male is a complete sweetheart. I have taken him to educational shows and everyone loves him. My female doesn't really enjoy being taken out. She likes to watch however she isn't one who likes to come out and just hang out.

Enclosure size and husbandry
I was thinking if I got a male I would get a 70Q tub to start it off in and keep it very cluttered with lots of hides and some branches to climb on since they can be a little more arboreal then some of the other BCI.
Would this be a good size tub?
How long could I keep a male in a 70Q?
What about a 110Q?
Also if I got a female how long would she be able to live in those size tubs?
What would yall recommend?

I have my male in a 41 qt tub however my female is too large to be in a tub. I keep her in a vision cage that is four feet long. She does really well in there.


I will have a hotspot temp of about 90 with an ambient of about 80. Does this sound acceptable?
My room stays at 80 ambient. The warm spot stays around 87-89. Hitting her with my temp gun this keeps her at around 82 which she seems happy with.

Humidity I would have at about 50% bumping it up to 70% during shed?
I do not do anything extra for humidity. They shed perfectly find with just a larger water bowl.

I was thinking of using aspen instead of paper towel for my boa since they like to dig a bit more or so I have heard.

I keep everyone on paper towels or newspaper. I feed inside the enclosure and I worry about them ingesting substrate.


Feeding
This is where I need the most advice because I know their feeding schedules are much different then a bp.
So for babies up to about 1 year every 5-7 days?

I feed my male one medium rat every 7 days, similar to how I do boas.

Adults every 10-14 days?

I feed my female an ex breeder rat every other week and she gets any left overs.

At what weights should I feed what size prey?

I feed the same I would a boa, a prey slightly larger than the biggest part of the snake.

[PorcelainxDoll]

Wow shes big!

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)

[M&H]

Wow shes big!

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)

Yeah she is a big girl lol I found a picture of the two of them together where you can really see the size difference

[PorcelainxDoll]

Poor lil boy is a noodle next to her lol

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)

[Mr Flay]

Even if you decide you dont want a hog and you decide to get a common columbian boa they dont get that big either. Males are usually from 5-7 feet. And they honestly dont grow that fast at all, I've had my columbian boa for over a year and hes not even 4 feet yet. They are very docile and he has never struck or hiss at me. People mistake boas thinking they all get large but they do not unless they are a female or a BCC. The only time i can tell my snake ks growing is when someone who hasnt seen him for a few months and they tell me he got so much bigger. Otherwise you cant tell.

[PorcelainxDoll]

A columbian bci male is actually my 2nd choice if I cant find a decent hog that I like. I just love the colors on a hog.
I also love Anery and sunglow bci boas.

1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)