question about baby RTB and setup size...

[FrankieCarbone]

So i was getting ready for my new boa, what i did was get a 32qt tub, hooked it up with a ultratherm uth, thermostat, one hide and a thermostat, and accurite digital thermometer, I also placed a regular heating pad with no thermostat on the lid just in case i needed extra heat for a day when its extra cold (i live in nyc) and if the heat in the house goes out. This tub is to "slide" right under my bed just as if it was a "rack" setup.

now this is for my BALL PYTHON, who is currently in a 20 gallon setup. I was moving him into the 32qt tub because hes 5 years old and at his size this setup would be perfect for him. plus he is not going to get much bigger.

So i was going to put my new boa in my ball pythons old 20gallon setup. But i did not prepare for, was the fact that instead of getting a 2015 boa like i planned, i fell in love with a hatchling i saw at the expo today. I could not resist and i bought him. But now im like on crap i have this huge 20gl tank all setup for a bigger snake instead i have this tiny baby.

So i went ahead of bought smaller hides and smaller water dish and instead placed the BOA in the 32qt setup and left my ball python in the 20.

Could i house such a tiny boa in a 20gallon tank? Here is a picture of him by the way

hes a anery het for ghost..

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[Eavlynn]

Large enclosures for boas aren't a big deal. They aren't agoraphobic like ball pythons. I've actually got my juvenile boa in a big T13 (4ft x 2ft x 2.5ft) and she loves it.

Congratulations on your new addition by the way! Talk about gorgeous!

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[Sauzo]

Unless i'm mistaken, that boa cant be anery het for ghost. A ghost is just a hypo anery and since hypo is a co-dom gene, it is either hypo or not or it could be super hypo if both parents were hypos. And looking at that boa, it looks like a ghost to me. But regardless, to answer your question, a boa can go into any size cage and be fine. Just give him an appropriate size hide for the cool and warm side and he will be fine. Boas aren't like BPs who are for the most part scared of their own shadow lol. Boas are pretty happy to check stuff out. Nice looking little guy though. I miss my boas as babies lol. Only babies I got left are my dumerils and my retic who at 6 months old is about 4' so hes not really a baby lol.

[FrankieCarbone]

Unless i'm mistaken, that boa cant be anery het for ghost. A ghost is just a hypo anery and since hypo is a co-dom gene, it is either hypo or not or it could be super hypo if both parents were hypos. And looking at that boa, it looks like a ghost to me. But regardless, to answer your question, a boa can go into any size cage and be fine. Just give him an appropriate size hide for the cool and warm side and he will be fine. Boas aren't like BPs who are for the most part scared of their own shadow lol. Boas are pretty happy to check stuff out. Nice looking little guy though. I miss my boas as babies lol. Only babies I got left are my dumerils and my retic who at 6 months old is about 4' so hes not really a baby lol.

sorry i meant anery 100% albino

and i dont think its a ghost, i saw a few ghost (or advertised as ghost) in a bunch of tables and were definitely alot lighter than this guy, and more expensive.

moving him to his new enclosure today. He was feeding him fuzzies every 5 days, but today i was able to give him a small mice no problem. Think i will stick on small mouse every 8-9 days for now

[Sauzo]

Actually yeah he might be a bit dark on the tail to be a ghost. I was half asleep when writing that post lol. Anyways, anery het albino sounds better lol.

As for feeding, yeah a fuzzy mouse is too small. I start all my little gals on hopper mice every 7 days. Then graduate mice sizes until they are large enough to take weaned rats. Anything under a weaned rats is a waste imo and not that great for a growing snake.

[FrankieCarbone]

i went to make some changed in his new enclosure and holy crap, he was pissed! right away as soon as i went in to grab the water dish and some of the decor i have he hissed and opened his mouth, i tried to keep it moving but he just got more and more angry and was breathing hard, i did not want him to regergutate so i just put everything down and will continue another day. as i closed the tank i bent down and took one last look at him and he struck at the glass. Man he was pissed.

I left him alone and it took him a good 20 minutes to finally calm down and start exploring his new tank. Yesterday he was fine being handled a bit, even though he was in S shape, but today he was really mad....

[CloudtheBoa]

Yup definitely just anery no hypo in that boa. Way too freckly, and the saddles aren't typical. Plus it's too light and silver, ghosts tend to be more brown/dark. Some well-bred ones will be nice and light, but even a light-colored baby will turn out dark by its first birthday most of the time. Even linebred ones will brown out slightly as they age. So will an anery, but the hypo just makes it more pronounced.

As far as the tank, I really would not recommend it at all. It will take extreme modification to get it to hold humidity at the constant 70-80% they require, plus the ambients should not fall below 80F as that can cause RIs. The only time I'd let any part of a boa's enclosure fall under 80F is if you're maintaining a proper gradient, which a 20 gallon is not large enough for. Tanks are terrible on both of these fronts, which can be worked with but not as easily as with a tub.

As for the 32 qt tub, if you don't power/overfeed, it should last you 1-2 years before the boa outgrows it. The dimensions are enough for a 3.5' boa. The 1.5 year old I raised isn't that big yet, but the 1.5 year old I got from a breeder is right around there. She'd be much bigger by now but for the past (almost) 6 months I've had her on a conservative feeding schedule.

This is the schedule I use for my boas:

Birth - 1 years: every 10-14 days, babies will be fed every 7 days for their first 2-3 meals then moved onto 10-14 days. 7 days is ok I just personally feel it's too often.

1 year: no more than 14 days

2 years: every 3 weeks

3+ years: every 4-6 weeks, spacing out according to the individual.

I also start completely fasting my boas on their third winter (2.5-3 years old) for 90 days and slightly drop temps. Boas on their second winter (1.5-2 years) get fed monthly/half as often, and boas on their first winter are fed normally.

For boas under 1-1.5 years old, a slight bulge is acceptable, but as they get larger I prefer not to be able to tell they've just eaten. That means my boas are usually on hoppers until they're 9-10 months old at least, and then are on weaned rats by 1-1.5 years old.


It does take awhile for some to acclimate, just give him time and try to leave him alone as much as humanly possible until he eats a meal or two. From there, you just gotta brave the fury. lol

[FrankieCarbone]

Yup definitely just anery no hypo in that boa. Way too freckly, and the saddles aren't typical. Plus it's too light and silver, ghosts tend to be more brown/dark. Some well-bred ones will be nice and light, but even a light-colored baby will turn out dark by its first birthday most of the time. Even linebred ones will brown out slightly as they age. So will an anery, but the hypo just makes it more pronounced.

As far as the tank, I really would not recommend it at all. It will take extreme modification to get it to hold humidity at the constant 70-80% they require, plus the ambients should not fall below 80F as that can cause RIs. The only time I'd let any part of a boa's enclosure fall under 80F is if you're maintaining a proper gradient, which a 20 gallon is not large enough for. Tanks are terrible on both of these fronts, which can be worked with but not as easily as with a tub.

As for the 32 qt tub, if you don't power/overfeed, it should last you 1-2 years before the boa outgrows it. The dimensions are enough for a 3.5' boa. The 1.5 year old I raised isn't that big yet, but the 1.5 year old I got from a breeder is right around there. She'd be much bigger by now but for the past (almost) 6 months I've had her on a conservative feeding schedule.

This is the schedule I use for my boas:

Birth - 1 years: every 10-14 days, babies will be fed every 7 days for their first 2-3 meals then moved onto 10-14 days. 7 days is ok I just personally feel it's too often.

1 year: no more than 14 days

2 years: every 3 weeks

3+ years: every 4-6 weeks, spacing out according to the individual.

I also start completely fasting my boas on their third winter (2.5-3 years old) for 90 days and slightly drop temps. Boas on their second winter (1.5-2 years) get fed monthly/half as often, and boas on their first winter are fed normally.

For boas under 1-1.5 years old, a slight bulge is acceptable, but as they get larger I prefer not to be able to tell they've just eaten. That means my boas are usually on hoppers until they're 9-10 months old at least, and then are on weaned rats by 1-1.5 years old.


It does take awhile for some to acclimate, just give him time and try to leave him alone as much as humanly possible until he eats a meal or two. From there, you just gotta brave the fury. lol

thanks for the feedback.

Having dealing with ball pythons all my life, and vic (my current ball python) which i have had for 5+ years, i have become a master at making a glass aquarium work. Well actually i forgot the members name on here who also lives in NYC who put me on to making a acrylic top to the tank to sit between the screen cover and tank. Just have to find a glass shop and have them custom cut a 1/2 inch thick of acrylic specific size for the tank. It sits right on the edges on the top of the tank, couple of holes drilled into it and then u put the screen cover over it. Keeps the humidity insanely great. I never have to spray or mist the tank down, it stays at 70-75% all the time with just a full water dish. When shedding i spray it down once a week to bump it up.

[CloudtheBoa]

thanks for the feedback.

Having dealing with ball pythons all my life, and vic (my current ball python) which i have had for 5+ years, i have become a master at making a glass aquarium work. Well actually i forgot the members name on here who also lives in NYC who put me on to making a acrylic top to the tank to sit between the screen cover and tank. Just have to find a glass shop and have them custom cut a 1/2 inch thick of acrylic specific size for the tank. It sits right on the edges on the top of the tank, couple of holes drilled into it and then u put the screen cover over it. Keeps the humidity insanely great. I never have to spray or mist the tank down, it stays at 70-75% all the time with just a full water dish. When shedding i spray it down once a week to bump it up.

Sounds good then, you'll still have to eventually ditch the tanks but if you can make it work it will work for a juvenile. Adults can and have shattered glass tanks just by striking at the walls or pushing against them. This doesn't always happen, since boas aren't the most stubborn species (individuals definitely can be though), but the capability is there. Heck, if I didn't mind the shards in my hand I bet I could squeeze and shatter my 10 or 20 gallon tanks. I can hear them groaning and grinding if I squeeze.

(Just keep in mind it should always be 70-80% not just in shed with boas, that's fine for bps but boas need it all the time.)

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[FrankieCarbone]

Sounds good then, you'll still have to eventually ditch the tanks but if you can make it work it will work for a juvenile. Adults can and have shattered glass tanks just by striking at the walls or pushing against them. This doesn't always happen, since boas aren't the most stubborn species (individuals definitely can be though), but the capability is there. Heck, if I didn't mind the shards in my hand I bet I could squeeze and shatter my 10 or 20 gallon tanks. I can hear them groaning and grinding if I squeeze.

(Just keep in mind it should always be 70-80% not just in shed with boas, that's fine for bps but boas need it all the time.)

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oh of course, AP t8 or t10 is whats going to happen down the line in a year or 2. Im just taking it one step at a time right now. Happy to have the boa i wanted, and the morph i wanted. Right now just want to make sure i get this aggression thing under control. I'am going to leave him alone for the next few weeks, apart from feeding and if any defecation clean up is due. But after that i am gonna work with him to tame him down. It was easy with my BP's but i know its a different ball game with boas. However i dont want him thinking its ok to hiss and strike into his adult years.

Its gonna be hard, i see myself in a fews days trying to take him out just to get him used to being handled, even if it means getting a tagged, but i will try my best to just leave him completely alone for the next few weeks.