We have a winner!

[Sauzo]

@ 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.

Yeah, i have fed them chicks and quails. But not until they were much larger. Rosey is pretty handicapped when it comes to eating quails. She cant grasp the concept of wings and spends like 30 mins eating one lol. Vicky and Caesar are poultry pros and down them pretty quick. Havent fed Gina, Louie or Luna any as like i said, they are still on weaned rats so even a baby chick is going to be too big.

And yes, boas are not picky. Mine eats anything you offer.

[richardhind1972]

I’ve fed my boas chicks too,with no problems small rat Werner’s are not that much bigger than a large mouse I. The U.K. and my 1 year Hypo harlequin is on them no problems
Here my 4 year motley tonight after work,he’s really dark grey tonight so I reckon he will be in shed by weekend
I just call him “Motley”
my snakes don’t like the decking and always hunker down for grip and all seem to put there tail tip into the crack for anchorage,lol
Here’s a couple of the babies he produce last year



Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[dakski]

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 would not let it drop below 77-78F even on the cool side. Depending on what type of tank you have, there are easy ways to deal with this.

I have a 6X2' Boaphile for Behira. It has a RHP and Heat Tape on the left side/hot side. On the heat tape which is directly below the RHP (both controlled by the same thermostat), it gets 87-89F ground temp and averages about 88F. Even 4 FT away, on the ground, it's about 81F. However, being a 6FT tank, I have a smaller Heat Tape section on the cool side which serves two purposes. First, when it gets to 66-69F in the winter, it ensures that side doesn't drop below 79-80F. Secondly, I have one of Behira's water dishes over it so it evaporates more quickly and ups humidity.

I recommend a RHP with Heat Tape or a UTH for redundancy and because the RHP will also warm the air in the tank. The Heat tape/UTH pretty much only warm the spot they touch.

In a 4-5FT tank, you are probably okay with just heat on the hot side if well insulated (like a Boaphile, an AP, etc.). However, if the tank is bigger than that, 6FT+, I recommend heat tape/UTH for the cool side too. The worst case is it barely runs. The best case is it runs sometimes and ensures proper temps. Given the cost of a good tank, thermostat(s), etc. the incremental cost of heat tape is negligible.

Many people argue with me about having both heat tape and a RHP. I am a big believer in both redundancy and belly heat (I also run redundant thermostats).

These are my babies and I do not mess around. Yes, you can often get away with one or the other. However, my reptile room can get chilly in the winter for herps and I'd rather have more heating elements run less than one run often.

55-75% humidity should be fine for a BCI. Try to keep it around 60-65% average with higher humidity when shedding.

You can fast BCI's in the winter, some swear by it. However, I asked Jeff Ronne (The Boaphile), one of the longest standing Boa breeders in the country, that exact question. He said, they eat when they can all year round in their natural habitat and, if being fed appropriately (not too thin or too heavy), why would you fast an animal that doesn't naturally fast?

I plan on feeding Behira on a regular schedule year round. If she wants to skip meals, that's on her. My BP does it every year for 4-5 months and when she's fasting offer 1X a month instead of every two weeks like normal. Behira has refused one meal for me (she still is young) and that imeddiately following a shed. Otherwise, she eats like clockwork and I feed her small prey and already at every two week intervals.

An adult Boa will only take 3-4 meals all winter anyway if feeding every 4 weeks, and I do not believe in fasting growing snakes. Just my opinion.

I would offer as scheduled (an appropriate schedule as discussed previous) and see what happens. I don't expect you will see many refusals.

If feeding F/T, the worst case is you toss a $3-5 rat. By the way, not sure what you plan to feed, but Boa's take anything! Behira is like my corn snakes, not my BP. Is that FOOD? Yes! GIMMMEEE! BAM!

Keep asking questions as needed and I, and other users here, will keep answering. Again, I am not a Boa breeder, vet, etc. however, I do a lot of research to make sure I am properly caring for my animals. These are my opinions/conclusions I have reached through owning different species, including a BCI, and doing a lot of research, from this forum, to every book I can get my hands on, to talking to different breeders, etc.

[Sauzo]

I would not let it drop below 77-78F even on the cool side. Depending on what type of tank you have, there are easy ways to deal with this.

I have a 6X2' Boaphile for Behira. It has a RHP and Heat Tape on the left side/hot side. On the heat tape which is directly below the RHP (both controlled by the same thermostat), it gets 87-89F ground temp and averages about 88F. Even 4 FT away, on the ground, it's about 81F. However, being a 6FT tank, I have a smaller Heat Tape section on the cool side which serves two purposes. First, when it gets to 66-69F in the winter, it ensures that side doesn't drop below 79-80F. Secondly, I have one of Behira's water dishes over it so it evaporates more quickly and ups humidity.

I recommend a RHP with Heat Tape or a UTH for redundancy and because the RHP will also warm the air in the tank. The Heat tape/UTH pretty much only warm the spot they touch.

In a 4-5FT tank, you are probably okay with just heat on the hot side if well insulated (like a Boaphile, an AP, etc.). However, if the tank is bigger than that, 6FT+, I recommend heat tape/UTH for the cool side too. The worst case is it barely runs. The best case is it runs sometimes and ensures proper temps. Given the cost of a good tank, thermostat(s), etc. the incremental cost of heat tape is negligible.

Many people argue with me about having both heat tape and a RHP. I am a big believer in both redundancy and belly heat (I also run redundant thermostats).

These are my babies and I do not mess around. Yes, you can often get away with one or the other. However, my reptile room can get chilly in the winter for herps and I'd rather have more heating elements run less than one run often.

55-75% humidity should be fine for a BCI. Try to keep it around 60-65% average with higher humidity when shedding.

You can fast BCI's in the winter, some swear by it. However, I asked Jeff Ronne (The Boaphile), one of the longest standing Boa breeders in the country, that exact question. He said, they eat when they can all year round in their natural habitat and, if being fed appropriately (not too thin or too heavy), why would you fast an animal that doesn't naturally fast?

I plan on feeding Behira on a regular schedule year round. If she wants to skip meals, that's on her. My BP does it every year for 4-5 months and when she's fasting offer 1X a month instead of every two weeks like normal. Behira has refused one meal for me (she still is young) and that imeddiately following a shed. Otherwise, she eats like clockwork and I feed her small prey and already at every two week intervals.

An adult Boa will only take 3-4 meals all winter anyway if feeding every 4 weeks, and I do not believe in fasting growing snakes. Just my opinion.

I would offer as scheduled (an appropriate schedule as discussed previous) and see what happens. I don't expect you will see many refusals.

If feeding F/T, the worst case is you toss a $3-5 rat. By the way, not sure what you plan to feed, but Boa's take anything! Behira is like my corn snakes, not my BP. Is that FOOD? Yes! GIMMMEEE! BAM!

Keep asking questions as needed and I, and other users here, will keep answering. Again, I am not a Boa breeder, vet, etc. however, I do a lot of research to make sure I am properly caring for my animals. These are my opinions/conclusions I have reached through owning different species, including a BCI, and doing a lot of research, from this forum, to every book I can get my hands on, to talking to different breeders, etc.

Actually going below 75F for certain boas is fine. For example BCL come from the Tumbes area of Peru which at night, it regularly will drop down to high 60s low 70s. I have kept my boas around 75 ambient in the winter with no problems. I try and not keep it like that all the time which is why i will sometimes run a oil filled radiator in the room but overall the lower temps in winter wont hurt them as long as they have a spot to get warmer, around 86-88F.

To me, running a RHP AND heat tape is pointless unless your room gets really cold in the winter. In that case, skip the heat tape and just run a RHP. Snakes dont need belly heat. It is preferable though if you talk to or read stuff by Gus Rentfro and other well known 'pioneers' of boas. Something you will notice with boas if you use heat tape is they will raise and lower their body mass to adjust the heat which allows them to stay on it for longer if wanted. With a RHP, they cant do that as the heat is from above and evenly distributed down. They either have to sit under the heat or move. But both work equally well, dont misunderstand me as saying RHPs are not good.

And 55% humidity is too low. Boas need minimum 60% and that is the lowest end. Some people will say 60% is fine which is true for short term but long term, who knows. If you look at their native area, it runs around 70-90% i believe. What i have noticed though is if i let their humidity sit around 60 for a long time, they get kind of dry feeling. If i keep it around 70-80%, their skin is silky soft, almost like silk or a very fine cloth. Another reason you want to keep the humidity higher is so the lining in their lung doesnt dry up and crack which can cause an RI. The flip side is you also dont want a constant wet cage as that can breed mold, fungus and bacteria. That is why i do a heavy misting oncve a week and then let it dry. This goes from 90% down to 60%, then i spike it again. I also use potted plants for my little snakes which also helps keep a constant 70% even with completely dry cypress.

Anyways, just watch your boa and see how he reacts to different set ups. Rosey and Caesar hate really high humidity or high temps. Same with Gina, Luna and Louie. This past few days where it was around 90F, they were all pacing and glued to the doors which they never do unless they are too hot. Once i opened the doors and threw a box fan on them, they all calmed down and curled up by the open door and the breeze.

And i too use 72x30 cages for my 2 big boas and Caesar the retic and i only use a piece of 11x24 flexwatt as their sole heat source.....and they still never really sit on it lol.

[Sauzo]

Didnt let me add also, you are much better off running a little too cool than too hot. Overheating and neurological damage can happen fast and can be deadly but a slightly cooler cage will just equate to the snake sitting on the heat source 24/7 and can easily be remedied.

[dakski]

Didnt let me add also, you are much better off running a little too cool than too hot. Overheating and neurological damage can happen fast and can be deadly but a slightly cooler cage will just equate to the snake sitting on the heat source 24/7 and can easily be remedied.

As always, Sauzo, your opinion is appreciated.

If you run redundant thermostats and run them properly, you should not have to worry about overheating.

However, I agree, cooler is better than too hot! I'd rather have my tank drop to 72F than go to 98F, every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[Sauzo]

As always, Sauzo, your opinion is appreciated.

If you run redundant thermostats and run them properly, you should not have to worry about overheating.

However, I agree, cooler is better than too hot! I'd rather have my tank drop to 72F than go to 98F, every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Thanks. Yeah you could run 2 t-stats daisy chained but that could get spendy. Just get a high quality one like a Herpstat that will shut down all power in case of a runaway situation.

On a side note, i am actually floored that Louie and Luna are actually on top of their flexwatt. They did just eat last night though but it's so rare for me to catch them on it.

You can run a little warmer spot if you like, just make sure there is a nice cool spot the snake can go to. Thats personally why i really dont like RHPs. For my set ups, i could never get a nice cool side while also keeping a decent warm spot. Rosey imo was more miserable with a RHP because of it. After i switched caging to all AP cages with nothing but flexwatt, the snakes have been very happy for the most part. Rosey still gets cranky for a few days after i change substrate as the Zoo Med Forest Floor cypress comes out of the bag pretty wet and spikes the cage humidity to like 99% for a week. During that week, Caesar and Rosey are banging all over the cages lol.

Whats also funny is if you look up caresheets for dumerils boas, they all say to keep around 40-50% humidity. But Luna LOVES it around 60-70%. When i do her weekly heavy soaking of the cypress, she comes out and digs all over the place and cruises everywhere making tunnels. Once it dries out, she sulks and goes inside a hide lol. She especially loves when i give her fresh cypress.

[EL-Ziggy]

On another note...Have any of you received a snake at work? I'm having him delivered to my office next Tuesday. I'll open the box to look him over but after that it's right back in the box until we get home that evening. The beeeder said he'll be fine so I'm cool with that.

[Sauzo]

On another note...Have any of you received a snake at work? I'm having him delivered to my office next Tuesday. I'll open the box to look him over but after that it's right back in the box until we get home that evening. The beeeder said he'll be fine so I'm cool with that.

I personally havent but I'm sure he will be fine assuming your office's ambient temp is around 75F. Just make sure he doesnt escape at work lol. That could make for an interesting and possibly bad day.

[EL-Ziggy]

@ Richard- Those motley babies are smokin! The apple didn't fall far from the tree with those beauties.