Brazilian Rainbow Boa substrate, what do you use?

Before we took the plunge and got these boas (we're up to 3 now) I was very intimidated by the humidity requirements of these snakes. I had been using Eco-Earth for our BRB's since we got them, to keep the humidity up.

However, it seems the care of them is blown a bit out of proportion, and they're really no more difficult to care for than our Ball Pythons.

I put them in 41quarts about 2 months ago, and they pretty much spent half the time roaming, and both females stopped eating (never missing a meal in their almost 3 years up until this point). So I added in some hides, but that didn't really work either. So decided to switch them back to their previous 32 quarts for now.

I also decided to try using aspen bedding as opposed to the Eco Earth, because I really don't like the stuff.

The first day they were in the aspen, they spent most of the time swimming through the water dish, I even found the male completely submersed.

Do you think this is because they don't like the aspen? Or is it just because I uprooted them once again and changed the size of their bins/substrate? Or is it because it's just Murphy's Law that they will swim, poop, and generally mess things up directly after you change their bins? ;)

They've all gone back to normal now, no swimming, and they've settled into their hides.

Like I said, initially I used Eco-Earth because of the humidity requirements, but I find we haven't had any issues. They always shed perfect in one piece. Really all it takes is a bigger water dish and less holes in the tubs.

Sorry for the long-winded post, just wanted to give you some background on how they're kept. I pretty much just want to know what everyone uses as a substrate, and weather aspen is a suitable choice? Lots of the care sheets out there have extremely conflicting advice.

Thanks!

I've used aspen before and my BRB liked it, but it molded really fast. I just kept him on paper. It's mostly just personal preference. Some snakes just don't like aspen either. I have a BP that WILL NOT touch aspen. He thrashes around and everything. It seems like you're doing everything right. I also agree with you. The are super easy to keep. Way easier than a ball python as long as BRBs are kept in tubs, not tanks.

I have mine in a 41qt tub with 2 layers of paper towels, then I just dampen the paper towels, humidity stays between 70% and 85%

I use cypress mulch. I bake it @ 250 for 30 min before I place in the cages My Ball dont care what she has for substrate. My BRB loves the mulch I have to give her a very thick layer as she loves to borrow in it.

I use cypress mulch.

+1 on care warnings being overblown. Just because you can't throw it in a glass tank w/no heat, no hides, no substrate, and expect it to thrive, doesn't mean it's not easy to care for.

This thread makes me really happy to read. as soon as my rack system is complete im getting a BRB. Ive wanted one for a while but have been intimidated by everyone saying they are a pain to keep. glad to hear they really arent that bad!

EDIT. OP glad to hear that they are all settled in for you :] are 41qt's sufficient for life??

I sure hope so, lol, that's where mine gunna be her whole life

People tend to blow the care requirements of Brazilian Rainbow Boas way out of proportion. As long as you maintain the proper humidity and temperature, they're extremely easy to care for. The humidity can be easily maintained with a large water bowl and a moist hide. For bedding, I keep it simple and use paper towel. Eventually, I'm planning on switching to Indented Kraft Paper. For the moist hide, I use about an inch of Peat Moss from Lowes.

@BFT12890
A 41 quart tub would be a good size for an adult Brazilian Rainbow Boa for the duration of its life

Here is a Beginner's Guide to Brazilian Rainbow Boas, and a Brazilian Rainbow Boa Care Sheet.

We use coco fiber that we mist daily. Keeps the humidity up and is easy to spot to clean. Plus we get it super cheap as well.

When I kept BRBs I just used paper.

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Originally Posted by carlisleishere

I've used aspen before and my BRB liked it, but it molded really fast. I just kept him on paper. It's mostly just personal preference. Some snakes just don't like aspen either. I have a BP that WILL NOT touch aspen. He thrashes around and everything. It seems like you're doing everything right. I also agree with you. The are super easy to keep. Way easier than a ball python as long as BRBs are kept in tubs, not tanks.

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Wow that's crazy that yours thrashes around on aspen! My BRB's certainly weren't like that, they just seemed unsettled at first. Like I said, all good now!

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Originally Posted by BFT12890

This thread makes me really happy to read. as soon as my rack system is complete im getting a BRB. Ive wanted one for a while but have been intimidated by everyone saying they are a pain to keep. glad to hear they really arent that bad!

EDIT. OP glad to hear that they are all settled in for you :] are 41qt's sufficient for life??

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yes 41 quarts should be good, as Paul @ Moonlight Boas said. the one female we have is rather large for her 32 quart (I *think* she's around 2300 grams, can't remember the exact number) and I would like to move her up, but like I said she really didn't want to be moved, it seemed. She started eating again about 2 days after I switched her back to the 32 quart, so maybe it was just too much room for her.

And it's definitely true, their care requirements are blown way out of proportion, and YES I do feel they are easier to keep than ball pythons, as I've literally had ZERO feeding problems aside from the bin-switching fiasco. They will literally eat anything, any day, any time. No refusals, no dawdling around, they strike and coil every time and swallow hungrily.

The only reason I wouldn't recommend them for beginners is because of their tendency to be bitey as babies. I wouldn't want to tell somebody a BRB would be a perfect snake and then have them get bit a handful of times and turned off snakes. When we first got ours, I took a pretty good chomp right to the apple of my cheek! That's enough to scare any snake beginner, I think. (Even though most of us here run to get the camera when we get bit :P)

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Originally Posted by meeistom

We use coco fiber that we mist daily. Keeps the humidity up and is easy to spot to clean. Plus we get it super cheap as well.

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I can't find cypress mulch up here (reptile supplies are a PITA to get in Canada, it seems) as someone else suggested, and like I said I wasn't a fan of the Eco-Earth (which I believe is the coco fibre you use, or something similar) because it got stuck too much to the water bowls and stuck to the snakes and got too compact and we would have to stir it too often, so like I said I'm giving up and going with aspen.

If any of you are thinking of getting BRB's, I highly recommend them!

I think Mark Mandic uses cypress mulch for his ball pythons, maybe you can shoot him an email and ask where he got it?

Thanks, didn't see that this thread had been updated. Mark Madic is pretty far away from me though :P

I think it's just my small town that has a problem with getting supplies in. Can't find 32oz rodent bottles, sphagnum moss, cypress mulch, it took me nearly 6 months to find mixing tubs for my rat rack! And of course once I did find them, I ordered 6 thinking if one ever cracked or got chewed through, I could just re-order more. But nooooooope, Home Hardware has discontinued them! So I best pray that none of them break.

The people at our Home Depot are actually LESS than helpful too. I tried ordering the bins off them and they couldn't figure out how to do it in the system.

Siiiiiiigh. So I have to go to the big city to get everything, and that's usually a pretty big hunt :P

Someone on RC gave me the idea to use shop towel though, for the BPs. I'm considering using that, because I'm getting super sick of having to stick my hands down my pants and pick out the little bits of shredded aspen that itch me all day!