Boa Hides?

So, i've only got 2 boas right now... But I have been wondering why most pictures/videos you see of boas, regardless of size, don't generally have hides in the enclosures. Is it because people find they don't use them often? I have hides in my tubs for them (Boaphile inbound!) and its about 50/50 on if they will be in their hides or not. I guess people could see that and reason they dont like the hides? Just wondering what some opinions were on the subject.

I have only given hatchling boas hides if they aren't in a tub. When in a tub, never given a hide before, and never had an issue. None of my adult boas ever have had hides. From my experience, boas aren't prone to stress issues like other reptiles.

My adult boas all have a hide, made from restaurant bus tubs with an access hole cut in one side (having a hubby with a machine shop is handy). They all use them.

I don't give them two because they move the hide around in the enclosure themselves based on where they want to be. Same goes for my retics, anything under 10' gets a hide, and they all use them.

Honestly for adult snakes it is a personal preference and what works best for your given situation. My sub-adult burm had a hide that he rapidly outgrew. When I took it out he didn't even seem to notice.

Some boas seem to like them, some don't seem to care. I use various boxes (sometimes tubes), cardboard shippers, food/soda boxes, that way once they get dirty or crushed, I can toss and replace. (I shop at Costco, so end up with lots of larger size boxes.) Do I think it's necessary? Not really. I like to provide them so they have the option and at least gives them something to inspect and crawl around on. I do take out hides when breeding, usually providing bed sheets until the last 2 weeks before female gives birth.

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m...ack8_28_11.jpg

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m...op3_13_12b.jpg

Is that a snow boa? She is gorgeous! I want one for my next boa....

No, Lemondrop was a normal albino, '98 from Peter Kahl. My big yellow girl. I got her in '02 and she produced a litter in '03. She had a long recovery from the litter (which was also premature). Original owner powerfed the crap out of her and I compounded that by breeding her right away. She passed away Feb. last year. Necropsy had no results. Powerfed boas tend to die young. She was 17. Don't mean to turn this into something emotional, just want to honor her memory, she was a lovely boa and I miss her.

My sunglow has RBI hides on the cool side and warm side. My big Colombian girl just has a hide on her cool side which is a dish pan tub from Walmart. Most of the time, they only use the hides when shedding but I offer them hides regardless.

My large boa won't touch a hide

My smaller one uses the warm side hide only for shedding. She won't go into the cool side hide.

My Baby Sunglow stays out of her hide and My Baby Lipstick Albino always uses his hide..

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My 2014 dwarf boa has a cool and a warm hide and use them both intermittently, though he stays in them for a day straight after eating.

When I threw in the nice RBI hides my boa would just lay across the top of them or chill behind it. Don't think he got the memo about going in.


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My boas were like that when I got them as babies. I think its because the breeders used racks with tubs so the babies never really knew what hides were. Heck Vicky was scared of the inside of her hides for about 3 months haha. She would peek inside and then double back like she saw a ghost. She sat on top and next to them. now though they all love them and use them to sleep in or if they are shedding. And at night they all come out and lay on top of them.

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Originally Posted by Rob

When I threw in the nice RBI hides my boa would just lay across the top of them or chill behind it. Don't think he got the memo about going in.


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Mine likes to wedge himself between the hide and the wall sometimes b/c he's weird, but he also sleeps on top of the cool side hide b/c its a little warmer than the cool side floor but a litter cooler than the UTH warmed side.

Or, if you have a really big snake...

Rose is a 2011 Dumerils boa between 7-8 feet long. She's a thick, strong snake. She's too big for the restaurant bus tubs I use for the other boas, and she would crush most cardboard boxes.

She does love her security blanket over the warm side UTH though. After a meal - she gets a jumbo rat every 5-6 weeks - this is all I see of her for about a week. :D

I do remove her blankie for feeding since I don't want her to accidentally eat it. She gets it back once she's settled down to digest.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/rosenose.jpg

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Originally Posted by bcr229

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/rosenose.jpg

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I just died. That's the cutest thing

My boa definitely uses his hides, he's currently got two extra large RBI hides, one on each end. He uses his hides a lot less than he used to, but he still uses them so I offer them. My baby sunglow also uses her's, and rarely stretches out in the open.

Hides also hold in humidity a lot longer, since I dampen my bedding, so it gives him a nice humid retreat while I let the rest of the bedding dry out.