(Long post alert)
The time finally came for me to get my first snake and after months of research I decided that a boa imperator was the snake for me! I’m so happy I decided to go with a boa and I just absolutely love my new boy! I’ve heard some baby boas can be a bit nippy, but my boy has been nothing but a sweetheart since I got him. He’s such a fun and curious little guy.
I bought him at a local reptile expo about a month ago from a vendor that had purchased him from a local breeder and was reselling so unfortunately I don’t know his exact age or lineage, but I’m guessing he’s under a year old? He’s around 22” long (I quickly learned how hard snakes are to measure when I tried to get an exact length on him :rolleyes:). I don’t have a weight on him since I don’t want to use the jewelry scale I use for my geckos considering he’s still in quarantine and I haven’t purchased a scale for him yet. After some trial and error I’ve discovered that mouse hoppers seem to be an appropriate meal size for him. I’ve been feeding him once a week, but I think he needs to go to every ten days because he looks like he’s getting a bit chunky to me? (probably my fault since he got a meal that was too big for his first meal with me because I’m still learning how to gauge meal size). The images are recent and show him at seven days since his last meal. I really want to avoid power feeding him since I want him around for many years to come so any feeding advice would be much appreciated!
He’s in a glass quarantine setup at the moment, but he’ll be moved to a PVC enclosure once his quarantine is over. His hot spot is about 88-90 degrees with an ambient of 83-85 and cool spot of about 76-78. Air temps run about 83-85 in the day and drop to about 76-78 at night. His first shed was rough, but now that I’m 100% positive that he doesn’t have mites I’ve moved him off of the paper towels and onto cypress mulch mixed with a little bit of sphagnum moss which has really helped to boost his humidity.
I would love advice! I have experience with geckos, but no experience with snakes so I’d love to hear from those of you that have experience!
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This boy has so much pink! The photos don’t do him justice. His sides are all pink before turning into a peachy/orange color by his tail, even his eyes are tinted pink. His tan also slowly turns into a bright amber color as it gets closer to his tail. I can’t wait to see how his color progresses! He’s also such a sweetheart. The only time he looks a little like he wants to take a pop at me is when he thinks I have a mouse for him, he settles down really quickly though once he realizes he’s not getting fed :D