Olin- 2020 Colombian Boa Thread

Hello everyone!

I finally got my baby boy a few days ago from my local breeder! He's a Colombian boa that is 66% het anery and 100% het albino. Also, just the biggest sweetheart ever! He has yet to hiss or strike at me yet, though I haven't handled him too awful much yet and I'm using a hook and training him with it already. I chose him based primarily on his calm and easy going temperament. And his hets, in case I want to breed later in life, but the base boa morph is my favourite looking one! :number1:

I've named him Olin. He was born June 19th and is currently 101 grams. I think he's about 25 inches? It's hard to get a measurement xD He last ate 07/10 and has shed once so far. Right now he's eating live rat pups, but I'll be attempting to switch him over to f/t next feeding.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...in_carrier.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery//sh...mageuser=81857

I think he's just amazingly cute and gorgeous <3 I'm looking forward to a good couple decades and a big boy to start my collection with! He isn't my first reptile, nor even my only current (I have 2 crested geckos), but he is my first snake and I couldn't be more excited.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...in_in_hand.jpg

I have him in a temporary quarantine 10 gallon away from my other reptiles right now, which is below. I'm getting a 4x2x1.5 PVC on Wednesday and hoping to have it dialed in by Friday/Saturday if possible. It has a CHE installed on one side and comes with a heat pad on one side, but I have 2 other heat mats, one medium and one small, in case I need them to help keep temps up. Hopefully the CHE will just be installed for ambients if it's used at all, but I'd rather have too much to use than not enough. I know I've got to include lots of hides to help him feel comfortable in such a large cage, but any tips for setting the cage up, decor or heating wise, I'd appreciate!

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...lin_s_cage.jpg

Humidity in my room never drops below 55% at absolute lowest, even if its temperatures stay unfortunately around 70. I have an IR temp gun finally coming in on Friday as well, I've been waiting for it for a while now. The mail to where I live is all sorts of mixed up right now.

I'm excited to go on this journey with him and see how he grows. Thank you for viewing my post!

Congrats!! Good looking boa..:gj:

He's adorable, and I don't think you'll have ANY trouble switching him over to f/t prey...boas are not BPs, they love to eat! ;)

Congratulations on your first snake! :dance: In case you haven't heard, they're delightfully addicting. :D

Welcome to wonderful world of boa ownership!

Any questions, just ask! There are quite a few Boa peeps on here. I have two BI's and one Dwarf BC. IMO they are wonderful animals.

As Bogertophis said, switching over to F/T should be a non-issue for a boa, especially a young one. I switched my BC, who was about 1 year old when I got him, to F/T in about 2 seconds.

Again, any questions, just ask, and Congrats!

Thank you everyone! It's good to hear that I shouldn't have issues switching him to f/t, but I did pick a boa over a ball python due to their appetites! I have a friend who lost their first BP because it would never eat.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...img_n8allu.jpg

Here he is this morning! He hasn't quite figured out his hides yet but I'm sure he will.

For his incoming PVC- I'll have 4 hides, some big leafy bushes, rocks, cork rounds, and leaf litter. Do you think this will be enough to make him feel secure? Theres is a large branch bolted all the away across the middle for climbing/basking.

Congrats on your new boa. He's a very handsome critter. :)

He looks comfy & from what you describe, the furnishings are more than enough. Boas are seldom as shy as Beeps & more resilient even if you need to make changes.

He's a great looking BOA.....

Congrats on the purchase. Looking forward to watching him grow.

Congratulations, great looking boa.
I don't think you will have a problem switching to f/t either generally boas ar pigs and would probably eats most days given a choice.
You say your boa hasn't find his hide yet, probably 90% of the time my boas are on show and tend to use them more when shedding or sometimes the warm end hide when digesting lunch
Good luck and have fun with your new boa

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Thank you everyone ^-^

I just picked up my 4x2x1.5. Very excited! It needs a good clean, but it otherwise looks good though.

It came with both a heat pad and heat tape, which I'm glad about. In case I need one per side to keep temps up. I'm super excited to decorate it. If the temps are looking good, I'm hoping to move him in Friday/Saturday? Froday I'll get my IR Temp gun too so I can really check where my surface temps are at vs. the ambients.

It came with a Zilla thermostat as well. I have my own thermostat for his current heat mat, and a rheostat for the CHE. If I have to use both UTH, should the heat pad or heat tape nat get my better thermostat? The previous owner stated that he didn't like the heat tape the cage came with, but I'll have to see for myself how it goes in my own room.

Also- I've heard a bit of flirting info about how cool the "cool side" should be for a BCI. Some say as cool as 75, others say no lower than 80. Right now Olin's temps read 77.2 on the "cool side" ambient, 83.4 on the warm side ambient, and his heat mat is 88.9 (I have the probe right on top of the glass above the heat mat, and the Tstat set for 89). Is this about the range I'm looking for in the 4x2?