We have a winner!

[jmcrook]

He looks awesome ziggy! I vote Arnold for his name.


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[dboeren]

Yeah, if you've never had a boa it's worth getting one at some point. They're really nice snakes, I always thought boas were like driving luxury cars - kind of smooth and refined. I'm tempted to get a boa for my next snake too after I get my short-tail.

[EL-Ziggy]

Nice analogy DB. I like smooth and refined . I'm also looking forward to having a more laid back critter (hopefully). My pythons and bulls are all pretty active when you handle them. I've heard quite a few keepers say how chill their boas are. We can watch the games and fights together.

[RickyNY]

Ziggy, Contrats!! Welcome to the Boa Club buddy, I'm glad you're in.

You mentioned on your first post that he's eating small rats, I think that's too big for him. I'll let Gio and Sauzo chime in on that one.

[EL-Ziggy]

Ziggy, Contrats!! Welcome to the Boa Club buddy, I'm glad you're in.

You mentioned on your first post that he's eating small rats, I think that's too big for him. I'll let Gio and Sauzo chime in on that one.

Thanks Rick. The breeder did say that the small rats are on the smaller end of the spectrum but they're larger than weaners. It's all good though I've got a few of those too. The weaners and smalls were supposed to last my youngest carpet until year's end but it's not the end of the world if I have to order food sooner.

[dakski]

@ Dakski- He's my first boa. I wanted another large critter and since I already have a few nice sized pythons I decided to take the boa challenge. I've seen so many beautiful boas on the forums and FB that I simply couldn't resist. They may not be as lengthy as my Olive, Bredli, or Coastal but their powerful heavy bodies are still quite impressive.
I've done a lot of reading and research but I love hearing from folks with hands on experience. I would like to hear how y'all feed and keep em. My impression is they're pretty straightforward. Hot spot of 88-90F. Ambients around 78-82. Cool side low-mid 70s. Are they hardy critters though? Can they handle colder temps in the winter? Do you all shut off their food in winter?
Speaking of food. I've read and heard that every 7-10 days is cool for the first 1-2 years and every 2-4 weeks thereafter is a pretty good feeding regiment for boas. Are any of you doing anything much different? Any other insights to share? I'm all ears.

El-Ziggy,

Welcome to Boa ownership; they are awesome snakes and tend to be pretty laid back when handled regularly and not expecting food.

Here are my temps:

Hot spot: 87-89, 88F average. It's a big hot spot. About 2X1' on the heat tape alone and around 86-87F even 1/2 a foot away from there more towards to middle of the 6X2' tank I have Behira in.

Ambient: 81-84F

Cool side: 78-81F.

I don't let anything get over 90F and I don't let anything get below about 78F.

Humidity is important. I keep it about 55-65% (or more in the summer - closer to 70-75%) and raise to 80%+ when in shed. Humidity should not drop below 55% for any extended period.

They are very hardy when given proper temps and humidity. BCI's tend to be a little more flexible with the humidity than the BCC's, from what I have read. An occasional drop or high humidity for some time doesn't seem to bother them.

Feeding: Slow grown is the way to go with Boa's. If grown too fast they can actually put on mass faster than their organs can handle and die very young. If obese when older, that also shortens life span significantly. Looks for mean and lean! In looks, not temperament.

Also, less is more with prey size as well. Some people say make a nice bulge, but not so much that's not gone in a 2 days. I usually aim for a small bulge that is definitely gone by day two.

I got Behira at 440G (a little over 1 year old) and she ate weaned rats at that point.

Mice and weaned rats = every 7-10 days (I did every 7 but nothing too big).

Small rats (Behira eats these now - 70-90G or so and she's 950G - she averages 80G rats nows - probably borderline small, but better than too big): 1 every 14 days.

Medium rats: 1 every 21 days.

Large rats: Every 3-4 weeks.

Anything larger than large - every 4 weeks+.

I do not plan to feed rabbits or anything too fatty (rabbits are generally not fatty, but hard to get for me, and larger rats can be very fatty). So I will likely feed Behira, if 7,000-9,000G, 1-2 Large to XL rats (nothing over 400G) every 3-5 weeks, depending on if I feed one or two.

Males are smaller and probably will never need more than a Large rat to an XL rat. Again, BCI's stay noticeably smaller than BCC's.

Finally, hook train!

Boa's can have very strong food responses. Not the end of the world when small, but can be a lot worse when bigger.

I started hook training Behira at about 550-600G and we haven't had an issue since. She took very well to it.

As always, a dream when out, but getting her out after rubbing her with the hook and her realizing there is no food coming, is much easier!

Anything else, feel free to ask or PM buddy.

David

[EL-Ziggy]

Thx David.

The only thing that concerns me is the ambient temps dropping below 78 in the winter. I close the air vents in the critter room during the summer so they're at 78-81 now. We're in a new house and this will be our 1st winter here but the daytime ambient temps during winter at our old place hovered around 75 and went as low as 70 on some winter nights. Will they be ok as long as they have a good hot spot? If not I can put a heater in the room. The new guy is going in a tub until some time next year so all he'll have is a UTH.
I use Reptile Prime bedding which holds humidity pretty well so I think I'll be ok there. It's easy to stay in the 55-75% range.
I usually cut 1back on the food quite a bit for most of my critters during the winter. They may eat once every 4-6 weeks and a couple of them don't eat at all from Nov-Mar. Is that ok for boas too or do you all feed year around?

[Sauzo]

Ziggy, Contrats!! Welcome to the Boa Club buddy, I'm glad you're in.

You mentioned on your first post that he's eating small rats, I think that's too big for him. I'll let Gio and Sauzo chime in on that one.

I too first thought that as well when i saw he was a 2017 eating small rats. In the pic though, he looks pretty square and shaped still, not all round like a sausage. Just be sure to keep him on small size of smalls. Gina who will be 2 years next month and Louie who is 2 year old this month both are on weaned rats. Luna actually took her first small rat last night but it was a 'small' rat, probably just a smidge bigger than a weaned.

[Sauzo]

Thx David.

The only thing that concerns me is the ambient temps dropping below 78 in the winter. I close the air vents in the critter room during the summer so they're at 78-81 now. We're in a new house and this will be our 1st winter here but the daytime ambient temps during winter at our old place hovered around 75 and went as low as 70 on some winter nights. Will they be ok as long as they have a good hot spot? If not I can put a heater in the room. The new guy is going in a tub until some time next year so all he'll have is a UTH.
I use Reptile Prime bedding which holds humidity pretty well so I think I'll be ok there. It's easy to stay in the 55-75% range.
I usually cut 1back on the food quite a bit for most of my critters during the winter. They may eat once every 4-6 weeks and a couple of them don't eat at all from Nov-Mar. Is that ok for boas too or do you all feed year around?

I personally wouldnt let it drop below 75F but anything from there to 80F for an ambient should be fine as long as you are offering a warm spot around 88F. Boas generally dont like it hot and all of mine prefer it around 78-80F. Anything hotter in ambient temps and they start to get restless and push and pace the front of the cage.

As for humidity, 55% is pretty low. I dont let it drop below 60%. I just do a nice heavy misting with a pump sprayer once a week to simulate rain and then let it dry out. Usually goes from around 80% down to 65%. And the boas seems to like it. After the misting, i will usually catch them all outside stretched out on the cool wet substrate lol.

You can winterize boas. A lot do and a lot dont. Really comes down to your preference. I personally dont do the whole temp drop and no food full on winterizing. I do tend to space their feedings out a little longer in the winter unless it is a baby, which in that case, i feel they should eat a little more. Once they are a couple years or older, then i slow them down.

[EL-Ziggy]

@ Sauzo- Thanks for the tips.

I have a few weaned rats left and the small rats that I have aren't much larger. I'll be sure to feed him the smaller prey first. I'll probably have to order more feeders sooner than I'd planned, which isn't too big of a deal, even though the rest of my critters have food for the next 3-5 months. Do any of you feed your boas mice or chicks? I like offering a varied diet and all my other snakes eat whatever I give them. I've heard boas aren't very picky when it comes to food.