New Member of my family

Well i just bought my first columbian and i wanna know what you guys think of my snake/enclosure...

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...orce1080-1.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...rforce1077.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...rforce1069.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...rforce1068.jpg

please let me know what you guys think.

Don't know much about boa's, but I would say he needs a hide or two in his enclosure.

Dunno for sure though.


Mike

im not sure that with boa's it matters but i will look into it...at the store i got it from the guy said that columbians dont NEED them cause they're not as shy as ball pythons..

Thats a really good size tank for a youngster like that.
Plent of room to grow.

But I would recommend getting a Hide for it, my girls are alot less jumpy when they have somewhere to get away to for a bit.
Also you could put a limb or something in there and it would be nice.

I personally prefer to keep my RTB w/ astroturf.. looks great, and very simple to clean... and you dont have to worry about them burying themselves and possibly getting very small pieces of shavings/sand or anything like that down their nostril area lol.

I have a tank topper on my youngest RTB Isabellas tank... and connected her vines and stuff in there and she absolutely loves it! Red tails love to be able to climb and stuff, so just keep that in mind, plus it looks great too!

Other than that, thats a gorgeous young one! Those colors are going to look great when its older :)

I would assume a boa that small would love to have a hide. When they are bigger adults I know that they do not require a hide, see in the last picture she is burrowed I think she is looking for a place to hide.

Just my :2cent:


Mike

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Originally Posted by 8b8ll

I would assume a boa that small would love to have a hide. When they are bigger adults I know that they do not require a hide, see in the last picture she is burrowed I think she is looking for a place to hide.

Just my :2cent:


Mike

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hatchling snakes should either have a small enclosure or should have places to hide. that tank is way too open, and i am incredibly biased against tanks for all but desert dwellers, so I'll withhold my opinion on that. but either add more stuff for the little one to hang around, hide behind whatever, add more substrate to burrow, but even the more precocious boas should be hidden as babies. it's an innate baby snake behavior no matter what the species.

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Originally Posted by §eric§

I personally prefer to keep my RTB w/ astroturf.. looks great, and very simple to clean... and you dont have to worry about them burying themselves and possibly getting very small pieces of shavings/sand or anything like that down their nostril area lol.

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glad it's convenient for YOU, but a recent acquisition (6 ft killer rainbow) was completely sliced from carpet... so NOT reccomended.

Most boa keepers including me don't use hides for their boas because boas in general are more secure with their environments than other snakes. Your boa would probably do better in that bigger cage with some clutter in it. Fake vines/leaves/branches and maybe a rock or two here(regular rocks not heatrocks) and there and it will make the cage seem a little smaller for the snake and look better too. By the way, congrats on the the new addition!

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Originally Posted by qiksilver

hatchling snakes should either have a small enclosure or should have places to hide. that tank is way too open, and i am incredibly biased against tanks for all but desert dwellers, so I'll withhold my opinion on that. but either add more stuff for the little one to hang around, hide behind whatever, add more substrate to burrow, but even the more precocious boas should be hidden as babies. it's an innate baby snake behavior no matter what the species.




glad it's convenient for YOU, but a recent acquisition (6 ft killer rainbow) was completely sliced from carpet... so NOT reccomended.

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That must have been the worlds most stiff and pointy turf in the world..
All the turf that I use has a very soft "towelish" feel to the surface.
So I dont know what was wrong with the turf that you used... but I would look for reptileastroturf if you were to ever use it.
Sucks about the rainbow though.

:rockon: thanks for all the advice in such a short time..i will go invest in some stuff tomorrow and post more pics..oh ya and i paid 69 dollars is that a good price for him? (yes i sexed it, its a male)

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Originally Posted by §eric§

That must have been the worlds most stiff and pointy turf in the world..
All the turf that I use has a very soft "towelish" feel to the surface.
So I dont know what was wrong with the turf that you used... but I would look for reptileastroturf if you were to ever use it.
Sucks about the rainbow though.

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i never used turf, it kinda freaks me out, so unnatural ( but oddly enough i'll use newspaper...don't ask how that makes sense)
but yeah, think paper cutes all over him, certainly didn't make him nicer

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Originally Posted by pimpgixxer04

oh ya and i paid 69 dollars is that a good price for him? (yes i sexed it, its a male)

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a good price is what you're willing to pay and still feel good about it. at a crappy pet store you might have paid twice that, so yeah, ya did good. just you wait till you start considering locale boas though... i'd be psyched if mine were 69 each or anywhere even near that, and i was still psyched on it.

Thats so weird! wow

It must have been like indoor style astroturf or something.
Ive never seen that happen before.. but that really sucks

anyone else have opinions on the setup??

can you tell us what the temps and humidity are at? It is pretty hard to keep humidity at the proper levels when you have an open top like that. Do you have undertank heat as well as the light?


I would put in a couple of hides and makes sure your temps and humidty are correct. Those are the main concerns I'd say...

Nice looking snake man :)


oh and out of curiousity, how did you go about sexing the snake?

Put some hides in there if you want.

Mine used his hides for a couple of weeks, and after that, was so comfortable in his environment that he rarely visits them anymore. I leave one in in case he feels like hiding.

And I don't know anything about getting cut on reptileturf, but I do know I used it for a couple of weeks and gave it up, because it was difficult to clean, and also because it's difficult to see urine. Newspaper is easy and cheap.

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Originally Posted by green_man

can you tell us what the temps and humidity are at? It is pretty hard to keep humidity at the proper levels when you have an open top like that. Do you have undertank heat as well as the light?


I would put in a couple of hides and makes sure your temps and humidty are correct. Those are the main concerns I'd say...

Nice looking snake man :)


oh and out of curiousity, how did you go about sexing the snake?

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well i put in some hides (2 to be exact, one on the warm side and one on the cool side) and the temp is about 91ish on the warm side, and 72-75 on the cool side..and i spray the tank with water every hr or so. but i dont know how else to keep the humidity up..any help with that would be great.. and i have just the lamp..i also have a UV light and i only have that on in the day...is that right? i would like as much info as possible...slap me with it ppl..

oh i forgot the guy at the store i bought the snake from sexed him using the popping method..no probes or anything, he said that when their that young its just easier. True or false?

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Originally Posted by pimpgixxer04

oh i forgot the guy at the store i bought the snake from sexed him using the popping method..no probes or anything, he said that when their that young its just easier. True or false?

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ttt

Also, how are you regulating it? I noticed there were no probes going into the enclosure. What are you using to tell you those temps?

There's nothing in the tank.... :confused:
Umm, I dont have a Boa of any sort yet but Ive been doing a lot of reading because i want one toooo...
I read they like to climb a little bit?! Perhaps a stick would be nice.

Your snake looks wicked. Love it! :rockon:

Looks like a boring environment for that guy, especially for a climbing species. Cool snake, though.

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Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

Also, how are you regulating it? I noticed there were no probes going into the enclosure. What are you using to tell you those temps?

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i have two guages on each side of the enclosure..is there a better way?

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Originally Posted by pimpgixxer04

well i put in some hides (2 to be exact, one on the warm side and one on the cool side) and the temp is about 91ish on the warm side, and 72-75 on the cool side..and i spray the tank with water every hr or so. but i dont know how else to keep the humidity up..any help with that would be great.. and i have just the lamp..i also have a UV light and i only have that on in the day...is that right? i would like as much info as possible...slap me with it ppl..

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is this ok? i need feedback to know what im doin right and/or wrong..please let me know..

i would really put a hide and some sort of fake folliage. I like to make realistic looking vivs, and some sort of cork bark piece would be nice give it stuff to climb over and under so it moves around and gets some excersize(sp). i wouldnt want to live there seems like it would be boring. lol.

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Originally Posted by sg1trogdor

i would really put a hide and some sort of fake folliage. I like to make realistic looking vivs, and some sort of cork bark piece would be nice give it stuff to climb over and under so it moves around and gets some excersize(sp). i wouldnt want to live there seems like it would be boring. lol.

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do u maybe have a picture or anything i could base it off of or get some ideas...i put 2 hides in there and waiting to get some drift wood and stuff..so let me know..also how can i keep the humidity up?

If you cover the top part way with something it would really help to keep the humidity in. I have one of my snakes in a glass tank like that and I covered about 3/4 of the top with that aluminum foil tape and it helped keep more humidty in.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=13

This link pretty much explains it all...

If you want humidity up, cover most of the top and lose the lamp for an undertank heater. You also need a control of sorts for your heat source/s. A thermostat or rheostat helps you more acurately control your temps. If nothing else get a digital thermometer that has an inside/outside setting like so:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...inout-temp.jpg

These are inexpensive and available at most department stores. They are much more accurate then the dial or stick on thermometers. You will also want a humidity guage. If you look around a bit you can usually find a thermometer like the one above that also measures humidity. Again I highly recommend them.

You want to get to the point where you dont need to be constantly misting your cage. A steady 50-60% humidity is perfect.

Temps: 76-80 cool
88-92 warm
Humidity: 50-60%

At least 2 hides. Follage is nice too.

heres some new pics,,,what do u guys think??

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...rforce1120.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...rforce1119.jpg

and as soon as i get paid im going to get some vines and fake plants and drift wood, so thanks for all advice!! oh ya and give some more opinions...

I think you should watch what's on your table before taking pictures. :rofl:

And the accurite? You are going to get that at the same time if not before you get the plastic plants right?:)



dr del

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Originally Posted by nathanledet

I think you should watch what's on your table before taking pictures. :rofl:

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Why what is it Nate? I, being a delicate little flower that needs to be nurtured (it sez ere), do not know what it is - please PM me some enlightenment.

And to the O.P. - blur that out and re-upload the pics with the same name and it should take care of that but you might need to Ctrl-F5 to flush the cache to b certain it worked.

Or PM me if you would like me to remove the links till you manage to do that.


dr del

people people people..that is a sample packet of "very sexy" lotion from victoria secret...its my wifes i dont see why its a big deal..and yes im gonna get the accurite thing too...thanks...More opinions please..other than be careful before whats on my table..bwahahahaha :rockon:

Looking better. The dial humidity gauges aren't very accurate. Your accurite all-in-one is the best deal, or an ESU therm/hydrometer for one side and a thermometer on the other.


As for humidity, you can use plastic wrap or tinfoil taped and sealed except for spots about .50 cent piece size on opposite corners (for ventilation) on the lid.

I've got six snakes in tanks and they're all at 50% humidity and 84*/93*. Be sure to hook your heat lamp and UTH up to thermostats. I used UTHs for the cool side and the heat lamp or CHE on thermostats to keep the temp at 93-94* for the hot side.

Even tho he's a boa, they looooooooove to climb, hide and burrow. Even my 2yo male will still occasionally burrow in the bedding, and he still uses his igloo hides.

Before I changed to a longer but shallower tub for Hera (she's 6' and 18.5#) she would curl up in her hides that were a cat litter tray cut in 1/2.

Petey's a year, and he still hangs in his tree or hides under the bushes. There's even been a few times I've thought he's escaped :oops: :oops: b/c he's burrowed in the bedding that I couldn't even find his nose!:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by sweety314

Looking better. The dial humidity gauges aren't very accurate. Your accurite all-in-one is the best deal, or an ESU therm/hydrometer for one side and a thermometer on the other.


As for humidity, you can use plastic wrap or tinfoil taped and sealed except for spots about .50 cent piece size on opposite corners (for ventilation) on the lid.

I've got six snakes in tanks and they're all at 50% humidity and 84*/93*. Be sure to hook your heat lamp and UTH up to thermostats. I used UTHs for the cool side and the heat lamp or CHE on thermostats to keep the temp at 93-94* for the hot side.

Even tho he's a boa, they looooooooove to climb, hide and burrow. Even my 2yo male will still occasionally burrow in the bedding, and he still uses his igloo hides.

Before I changed to a longer but shallower tub for Hera (she's 6' and 18.5#) she would curl up in her hides that were a cat litter tray cut in 1/2.

Petey's a year, and he still hangs in his tree or hides under the bushes. There's even been a few times I've thought he's escaped :oops: :oops: b/c he's burrowed in the bedding that I couldn't even find his nose!:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

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thanks for your insite..i appriciate it..

You're welcome! I'm not as experienced as some, but with 5 boas from adult to subs (having gotten my first boa when he was only six months old) < and now looking at a couple more babies :D > I hope I can be some help. :P :P :rolleyes:


If I can get some tubs and a baby rack, I'm making plans to breed Hera this next season. :)

:D

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Originally Posted by sweety314

You're welcome! I'm not as experienced as some, but with 5 boas from adult to subs (having gotten my first boa when he was only six months old) < and now looking at a couple more babies :D > I hope I can be some help. :P :P :rolleyes:


If I can get some tubs and a baby rack, I'm making plans to breed Hera this next season. :)

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let me know if your gonna try to sell them i'll take one..hehehe

LMBO Don't worry....I'm sure to post "For Sale" here eventually. I'm really not planning on retiring with THIS company and would like to enjoy my hobby in more ways than I am right now. :D :D :D


It's still a bit in the future, but we're getting closer....at least with the boas. Wrigley will be ready, but he and Hera are both normals. My morph and het males won't be big enough yet, and my pastel female is still about two years too small.....All in good time. :):carrot:

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Originally Posted by pimpgixxer04

that is a sample packet of "very sexy" lotion from victoria secret...its my wifes i dont see why its a big deal..

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ur wife's..huh?

it's OK man...that stuff does wonders for my skin too. :rofl:

i'm joking man...noone is offended. it's not a big deal. just poking http://www.nathanledet.com/poke.gif..that's all :D

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Originally Posted by nathanledet

ur wife's..huh?

it's OK man...that stuff does wonders for my skin too. :rofl:

i'm joking man...noone is offended. it's not a big deal. just poking http://www.nathanledet.com/poke.gif..that's all :D

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oh hey im not offended or anything, i was just explaining..hehe.