New enclosure tips

Hey everyone,

My girlfriend and I are really considering getting another snake soon, and I am trying to total up the cost of the enclosure based on the species. We are considering ball pythons, RTB's and various colubrids (mostly cornsnakes)

Here is what I know we will need for whatever we get....

Hides
Water Bowl
Deadwood Log (personal pref., helps with shed)
UTH
Dimmer
Acurite


We are planning on housing whatever we get in a vivarium, in case that changes anything.

Heres what I am wondering about the most. I have read quite a bit about corns and boa, and I have read/kept a bp for several months now, but I wanted to make sure we have everything ready. People tend to say corns are extremely easy to keep, with little to no adjustment needed for humidity, and a fairly easy temp gradient. Bp's I am not too worried about either. Boas on the other hand, being more arboreal, I wanted to make sure dont require anything extra. I know they are not arboreal like a GTP or ETB would be, requiring a perch instead of hides, at least as far as I can tell.

Basically, is there anything about corns or boas that may not show up or be emphasized enough in a caresheet, etc that would be good for a new keeper of that species to know.

Thanks

Deadwood logs are pretty easy in my experience - you can often find clean dead wood on the lower branches of evergreen (pine) trees, or along the side of the road after a storm. In Michigan, I'd imagine that reptile parasites are uncommon, even in the bark of picked-up branches. Boas do enjoy crawling over them sometimes, and they look pretty cool doing it. Use a log that's about the same diameter as the snake, and one that makes your terarrium more interesting to navigate for the snake and more interesting to look at for you.

I use doggy-style water bowls for my ball pythons - they hide underneath, and it's big enough for a good soak inside. Hard to tip is a plus, too. For a bigger animal like the boa, you might consider something like a kitty-litter box.

~Bruce