I'm getting a cay caulker boa soon. Caresheet?

I won a blood Russo line cay caulker boa male from Ben Siegel's auction. I've always wanted a boa after having two balls for awhile.

Anyway, could I have a quick rundown on husbandry? The snake will be around 22 inches.

Congrats on the new boa. I'm not aware of any specific care sheets for Caulker Cay Boas. When I was keeping them, I looked up the climatological data for Caulker Cay, which is pretty consistent for the Western Caribbean/Central America region. A warm spot of 89-91F, a cool side of 78-80F, and 55%-60% humidity. I give my boas 2 hides, even though they tend to use them mostly when they are in shed. Keep in mind that boas are semi-arboreal, they will appreciate extra headroom and something to perch on. Boas also work better on a 10 day feeding schedule. Keep in mind that BCC/BCI body shape should have a taller, more square type shape, not round, like BP's.

Thank you for the advice. Here is the little guy! I guess it would be fine to feed him fuzzies?

http://i60.tinypic.com/241wnly.jpg

Mite be ok with a hopper

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So I've owned two ball pythons for a couple of months and have never been bitten. This boa has already tagged me three times since I got him.

Anyway I can cool him down? I don't want a biter.

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Originally Posted by Mr Green

So I've owned two ball pythons for a couple of months and have never been bitten. This boa has already tagged me three times since I got him.

Anyway I can cool him down? I don't want a biter.

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Yes, after he is settled in handle him frequently. My male Colombian was a bit edgy when I first got him. I handled him often and still do. Now I don't even get a hiss when I reach into the cage. I usually do hook rub him because I have been bitten during feeding.

The island boas may be a bit more flighty at first but they are boas none the less and should settle with time.

Kali (Evenstar) has several different types of BCI and she can probably give you more specific advice.

You'll get him settled soon enough.

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Originally Posted by Mr Green

I won a blood Russo line cay caulker boa male from Ben Siegel's auction. I've always wanted a boa after having two balls for awhile.

Anyway, could I have a quick rundown on husbandry? The snake will be around 22 inches.

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I want to add a thing or two. First off anything from Russo is top notch! You have a true locality boa. Russo and Gus Rentfro are THE authorities on boa constrictors.

You will be thrilled with the level of activity and lack of shyness from your boa compared to the royals. Your island locality boa will be quite semi arboreal and I'd prepare the cage for climbing and perching. Boa constrictors in general are semi arboreal and the island boas even more-so.

The early snappiness you are experiencing is common and nothing to worry about. Your boa won't get HUGE either so you probably will never be bothered by a bite even if you do get whacked by him as an adult.

Stop and think about what you really have. Your boa is a TRUE locality boa!! That is really something special these days. I have 1 royal (my son's) and 1 boa. I would die for another boa!

My advice if you are holding at 3 snakes, at least for now is to totally deck out your boa's cage and prepare for a nice display snake. Congrats!

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Originally Posted by Gio

I want to add a thing or two. First off anything from Russo is top notch! You have a true locality boa. Russo and Gus Rentfro are THE authorities on boa constrictors.

You will be thrilled with the level of activity and lack of shyness from your boa compared to the royals. Your island locality boa will be quite semi arboreal and I'd prepare the cage for climbing and perching. Boa constrictors in general are semi arboreal and the island boas even more-so.

The early snappiness you are experiencing is common and nothing to worry about. Your boa won't get HUGE either so you probably will never be bothered by a bite even if you do get whacked by him as an adult.

Stop and think about what you really have. Your boa is a TRUE locality boa!! That is really something special these days. I have 1 royal (my son's) and 1 boa. I would die for another boa!

My advice if you are holding at 3 snakes, at least for now is to totally deck out your boa's cage and prepare for a nice display snake. Congrats!

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That makes me feel even better about my purchase!

What would you recommend me adding to his enclosure so my boa can climb and perch?

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Originally Posted by Mr Green

That makes me feel even better about my purchase!

What would you recommend me adding to his enclosure so my boa can climb and perch?

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YES!! Feel good!

This is what I did, and I recommend doing it early to get him acclimated to climbing.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/DSC00757.jpg


Simple perches or a ground piece that he can climb up. In this case I have both. I always feed him when he is perched and now he heads up on feeding days. Its really cool!

Gio's got you covered!!

Nice baby. And I totally agree - you will love having a pure locality from Russo's bloodlines.

I would feed that baby hopper, or maybe even weaned, mice - but smaller is better. Go with something that will leave a barely noticeable lump or even no lump at all and no more than one every 7-10 days. They should not be fed like BPs. Stick with mice until he's up to large adults then switch to same size rats at that point and move to one every 10-14 days. Mice have higher bone and less fat than rats and are better for early growth in baby boas. :gj:

http://i61.tinypic.com/21l3lno.jpg

Does he look to skinny to you guys?

No, not to me. He looks perfect. Boas should look nice and lean and have a slightly "square-ish" appearance. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

No, not to me. He looks perfect. Boas should look nice and lean and have a slightly "square-ish" appearance. :gj:

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Gotcha, I guess i'm so use to balls. I'll have to get over that, lol.

How does my setup look? Also my boa never ever uses his hide. He's either in the water bowl or in between the hide and the side of the aquarium.

http://i60.tinypic.com/r2jimb.jpg

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Originally Posted by Mr Green

How does my setup look? Also my boa never ever uses his hide. He's either in the water bowl or in between the hide and the side of the aquarium.

http://i60.tinypic.com/r2jimb.jpg

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He doesn't look skinny at all.

This is what my guy looked like when I first got him. Keep in mind he was 10 months old here and he is a Colombian BCI

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_0975.jpg


I'd add more clutter and top cover in your cage. Also keep an eye on the water bowl soaking. Our snakes NEVER soak, and while I'm not saying I'm an expert, I will say that boa experts warn against long periods of soaking. When they cram between the hide and the tank like that, it's, usually because they like the tight fit so that's normal.

But the long periods of soaking are quick ways to develop skin, fungal and bacterial issues. Just keep and eye on it as many times it is because of other factors.

Obviously you are at the glass tank stage. We've all been there, and to this day my son's royal is in one. I recommend using a insulator called REFLECTIX. It's pretty cheap and sold at stores like Home Depot, Lowes and other big hardware stores. It's easy to tape it to the outside of the cage with foil tape. I used it under the cage as well. My UTH is under it and it forces more heat to stay in the cage. If you do go that route, remember to tape your background in before the Reflectix LOL.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_0219.jpg

Your hide may be a little too high/tall for the snake and you could look at some lower, tighter types. Certainly you'll want at least 2. All of this is just advice so take parts you like, and discard what you don't. Trial and error to an extent when dialing in a setup is quite normal. Move something here one day and there the next.

The cage I show here has 4 hides in it. Of course this is a royal and they are often scared of the world.

Does your snake burrow under the substrate? That is quite normal for young snakes to do.

I'm not seeing any thermostat probe in there at least for the heat lamp, do you have a T-stat?

I apologize if I missed any of those things earlier in the thread. I'm just responding quickly to the latest post and the one about the size/girth.

Ask more questions if needed.