Question on Tips/List on a Columbian Boa BCI???

[ndizzleg]

Hey everyone, I currently have a 10 month old BP, got everything down..temperatures, humidity, eating, everything has gone well. I currently have my ball in a tub enclosure and everything is working great! Although i've been comtemplating getting me a 2 month old columbian red tail bci. But i am just wondering if the husbandry is simliar to that of a ball python's husbandry? I want to get a really nice setup that will last a good part of his life until he gets a pretty good size, then I will switch him to a bigger enclosure. Because I have read that boas grow relatively quick in the first year. I just dont want to spend tons of money on a nice enclosure/setup then have to switch to something else in a few months. Being that many of you have years of experience with columbian bci's, what do you have, or reccomend as far as everything i'd need for a thriving, healthy boa? Your guy's help is much appreciated!

[td30]

Well, I do not have years of experience, but I have just been down the same path as you are headed so I will chime in. Yes, the husbandry is very similar. I keep my target temps and humidity the same. I keep my boas in a 20L, but I plan on upgrading when they get to be about a year old. Don't know if you feed your BP mice or rats, but I would start on rats with the boa. This way you don't have to worry about converting when they are so large that the will NEED rats. Check some out some of Jimi's Pastels...beautiful.

[frankykeno]

We keep our boas slightly cooler than the BP's. Seems to work well for them all in all.

As far as housing since you are used to using a tub for the BP, go with one for the baby boa. Then as it does grow up, you can switch to another enclosure without having spent a ton of cash on the "baby" one.

Personally I think it's better for you to go with a nice, well started hatchling boa and learn with it as it grows up. There should be loads of boa litters to pick from this time of year. Go with a good breeder rather than some pet store boa from gawd knows where.

With a tub you must secure the lid even more so than with a BP. Boas are more inquisitive and will test their lid even more so than a BP in my experience. They are also very powerful so lids must be absolutely secure. Boas also tend to have very powerful feeding responses and long strike ranges so that's just something to know on feeding day.

They tend to be less easily stressed than most ball pythons but still as a snake, require you to understand that they aren't a puppy dog in snakeskin. Start them young with regular, gentle handling that is reasonable in length of time and doesn't scare them, you'll do fine and so will your boa.

Lastly, with mixed collections of boas and pythons you must think about health issues. There are things that boas can carry that don't kill them but will kill a python inside a month (research IBD). I'm not saying this to scare you but to make you aware that quarantine for an extended period of time is a good idea with a mixed collection. So is getting the boa from a VERY reputable source that is known to be IBD-free.

Because we have a mixed collection we made the decision long ago to keep the boas and the pythons in completely seperate sections of our home. They are never handled together, not even on the same day actually. The only time a boa and a python are in the same area is when we do educational presentations and then only the one boa we've had since he was a baby goes along with the pythons (though still kept away from them as much as is humanely possible).

Boas make great pet snakes as far as I'm concerned. However, the females can get a lot bigger than the males so if you aren't prepared for that, it's best to make sure you buy from someone who has sexed the boa as a male (a good breeder will do this for you).

[ndizzleg]

I really appreciate your responses. I'm curious to know whether or not i'll need a big sturdy branch for climbing? Because i've heard that alot of boas spend a great deal of time on the branches and gather overhead heat (from say a radiant heat panel), rather than from a under body heat source such as an UTH. Is this true? Should I just provide both? Thats the only thing I was really stuck on far as husbandry went, meaning what exactly would be a good heat source option?
Thanks guys

Nate

[starmom]

I can chime in on heat sources since I have used belly heat (flex watt) as well as radiant heat panels.

Two of my three boas hang out on branches above the floor and one burrows under aspen a lot. I used flex watt in the 2x3x1 cages from RBI and I was not able to keep the floor temps at 91F and still have the temps correct for where they hang out above.

I switched to radiant heat panels for all three cages and I believe that it has made a big difference. Not only did it provide a bump to my ambient temps (which was needed) but the RHP's mimic the sun and allow for a greater temperature gradient for the snakes to thermoregulate within. As in nature, if they want to cool off, they can go into a hide or under a branch or 'out of the sun' in some manner that I have provided (such as burrowing in aspen!)

When the snakes are upgraded to the AP T20's, I'll continue to use RHP's

[the_Ryno]

I can chime in on heat sources since I have used belly heat (flex watt) as well as radiant heat panels.

Two of my three boas hang out on branches above the floor and one burrows under aspen a lot. I used flex watt in the 2x3x1 cages from RBI and I was not able to keep the floor temps at 91F and still have the temps correct for where they hang out above.

I switched to radiant heat panels for all three cages and I believe that it has made a big difference. Not only did it provide a bump to my ambient temps (which was needed) but the RHP's mimic the sun and allow for a greater temperature gradient for the snakes to thermoregulate within. As in nature, if they want to cool off, they can go into a hide or under a branch or 'out of the sun' in some manner that I have provided (such as burrowing in aspen!)

When the snakes are upgraded to the AP T20's, I'll continue to use RHP's

What size RHP do you have? The 40watt or 80watt?
With the RHP you do not use flex watt do you?

[starmom]

I do not use the flex watt with the RHP's; Rich said that the two items don't 'talk' to each other very well even when using a Herpstat II. I also don't need both because the 80 watt RHP is awesome in my 2x3x1 cages. (I will go up to the largest size he offers when I get the T20's.)

Installation is really simple and Rich provides everything that you need except a small hand drill (to increase the size of one of the ventilation holes for the plug to go through) and a screw driver (for the 2 screws to affix the RHP to the ceiling of the cage)~ unless you order a cage from him and then he'll install it for you

Rich makes top notch reptile environments and is a super great guy

[frankykeno]

I'd agree that when you make housing decisions for your snakes, Rich at Reptile Basics is your new best buddy. Give him a call, describe the setup you are intending to use and he'll likely have a good, cost effective heating option to offer you. His shipping times are insanely fast so there's no sitting around for 3 weeks hoping your stuff will actually show up.

I like to offer our boas a good deep substrate since they enjoy burrowing. Our large female boa has a climbing tree (she's in a 9 foot high enclosure). Our male boa doesn't have a climbing aparatus yet but will have one when his custom enclosure is completed sometime this summer. For now we regularily take him out so he can climb around the house (supervised of course).

[ndizzleg]

Well I just looked over the Reptile Basics website, and I am probably going to go with the 2x3 cage - 12" High, the 80 watt radiant heat panel, medium hide box, and two of the digital thermometers. Then throw in some fake foilage, nice big sturdy branch, water dish, packing paper for substrate, and finally hook my RHP up to a Herpstat i have laying around, and..i should be good. (hopefully) And i'm probably planning on going through Jimis snakes for my boa

[the_Ryno]

Well I just looked over the Reptile Basics website, and I am probably going to go with the 2x3 cage - 12" High, the 80 watt radiant heat panel, medium hide box, and two of the digital thermometers. Then throw in some fake foilage, nice big sturdy branch, water dish, packing paper for substrate, and finally hook my RHP up to a Herpstat i have laying around, and..i should be good. (hopefully) And i'm probably planning on going through Jimis snakes for my boa

Same here. Now to get together all the money for everything is the next task.