Doing some boa research. Would appreciate help!

[kath_]

(Sorry. Long post ahead.)

Hey everyone! I am doing some research on boa husbandry and thought I would reach out to this community with my questions. Don't feel like you have to answer every single one, but any amount of feedback would be appreciated.
I am considering a female BCI or a female dumerils.

1. How would you compare boa husbandry to BP husbandry? My only other reptile is a male normal BP and I have found the experience challenging at times, but overall very rewarding and pretty easy. I have heard boa care is similar to BP care.
Here's a quick rundown of my BP enclosure. Would any of these things work just as well for a boa?

• Exoterra 24x18x18 (I have half the top covered to keep humidity in.) This will obviously have to be much bigger for a boa.
• Substrate: Eco Earth Coconut Fiber (about half an inch)
• Ambient temp: 80 degrees (thermostat controlled CHE)
• Cool side: same as ambient
• Hot side: 90 degrees (thermostat controlled UTH)
• 3 hides (one on cool end, one on hot end, and one in the middle just for some variety)
• Humidity 60% (I have a Reptirain misting system)

2. How big is too big for a boa enclosure? If I were to get a juvenile BCI I would house her in a 40 gallon and then eventually upgrade to a 8'x2'x2' for her adult years. I have heard recommendations for smaller sized adult BCI enclosures because it will make them feel more secure but I thought I would consult you guys on this one. As for an adult dumeril I'm looking at a 6'x2'x2'.

3. Terrestrial or arboreal enclosure for BCI? I have heard that the babies like to climb but don't really do it in their adult years.

4. How picky are boas compared to BPs when it comes to eating?

5. Do boas need a dish big enough to soak in? I have heard so many different opinions on this one.

6. This is a weird, kind of unrelated question but how often do you take your reptiles to the vet? I take my BP once a year for a checkup but have heard that it isn't necessary? lol maybe I'm just a paranoid snake mom.

Those are the questions I have for now! Thanks again for any feedback and any other useful info you can think of would be greatly appreciated.

[Bogertophis]

I've only raised one large boa (a BCI) fyi:

1. Cage not quite as warm for BCI...mid-upper 80's at most, mid-70's cool side. I used UTH & overhead heat as needed by seasons.
Substrate I preferred for my boa was indoor-outdoor carpet...hand-washable, virtually indestructible (eco-friendly & inexpensive) w/ good traction.

2. Planned cage sizes sound fine...I don't think my BCI ever felt her cage was too big & scary, but she did enjoy her hides, both inside & basking on top. (I made
a custom giant hide for her with a flat top & traction afforded by a rubber-backed carpet mat; it had double-doors in one end, as large heavy-bodied snakes have
an awkward time using just one door...at least, it seemed to please her tremendously...she kept cruising in & out, passing herself while going in the 'other' door.)

3. Terrestrial, low branches OK for younger boas, but large heavy-bodied snakes don't hang onto branches well, so unless you have room for a real log...?

4. Picky eaters? I'd rather feed 20 boas ANY day than a BP...they tend to be easy to please, & never once did I need to blow-dry her food. "Eating machines"!

5. I tried a huge water bowl for a while...mine chose not to soak.

6. I never take my snakes to the vet just for a "check up". Snakes are stoic...if something is wrong, that's one thing, but expecting a vet to see the subtleties I
see at home has been a disappointing experience. Then again, I've been at this a long time. Choose a herp vet carefully...experience matters greatly, & it helps
if you keep notes of your observations to describe a problem.

[kath_]

Thanks so much for answering
Building custom hides sounds like a great idea. And that's amazing that they are great eaters! That's mind-boggling that you don't even have to heat up the food. My BP won't touch anything that isn't blow dryed.

[dakski]

(Sorry. Long post ahead.)

Hey everyone! I am doing some research on boa husbandry and thought I would reach out to this community with my questions. Don't feel like you have to answer every single one, but any amount of feedback would be appreciated.
I am considering a female BCI or a female dumerils.

1. How would you compare boa husbandry to BP husbandry? My only other reptile is a male normal BP and I have found the experience challenging at times, but overall very rewarding and pretty easy. I have heard boa care is similar to BP care.
Here's a quick rundown of my BP enclosure. Would any of these things work just as well for a boa?

• Exoterra 24x18x18 (I have half the top covered to keep humidity in.) This will obviously have to be much bigger for a boa.
• Substrate: Eco Earth Coconut Fiber (about half an inch)
• Ambient temp: 80 degrees (thermostat controlled CHE)
• Cool side: same as ambient
• Hot side: 90 degrees (thermostat controlled UTH)
• 3 hides (one on cool end, one on hot end, and one in the middle just for some variety)
• Humidity 60% (I have a Reptirain misting system)

​Tanks size is fine for a young BI. I can comment well on BI's, but do not keep a dumeril. I hear they do like it cooler than BI's however. I believe 85-86F hot spot for a Dumerils.

I keep my BI's hot side at 88F and she still barely uses it. She prefers the middle of the tank at about 83-84F. She is in a Boaphile 6X2X1' enclosure and has been since she was about 600G.

I would aim for ambient as you said with a 78F cool side and an 86-88F hot spot.

2. How big is too big for a boa enclosure? If I were to get a juvenile BCI I would house her in a 40 gallon and then eventually upgrade to a 8'x2'x2' for her adult years. I have heard recommendations for smaller sized adult BCI enclosures because it will make them feel more secure but I thought I would consult you guys on this one. As for an adult dumeril I'm looking at a 6'x2'x2'.

​Nothing too big, however, a 6x2x2' will house a female BI fine IF you don't overfeed. If it was a female BCC - I would say probably 8X2X2. However, BI's when fed properly, usually don't get over 7ft. I can talk more about the feeding, but less is more with Boas and smaller meals are used efficiently. People also like to post how big their boa is. However, big doesn't necessarily equal healthy. For example, Behira, my BI is 3 years old and 1,500G. I do not plan on feeding her more than every 3 weeks at this point and medium rats. She will get big enough to eat jumbo rats or small rabbits, but I won't feed her those. This will keep her on the smaller and healthy side - probably 6-7FT and 10-12 pounds, give or take. Also remember that larger rats tend to be fattier and not necessarily give much more nutrition.

Make sure the Boa has adequate hiding spaces and the size of the enclosure will not be an issue. Very brave snakes.

3. Terrestrial or arboreal enclosure for BCI? I have heard that the babies like to climb but don't really do it in their adult years.

Adaptable. They will climb, but don't need to like a carpet python, etc. They will not suffer if the enclosure is not arboreal. I do take Behira out regularly (and my BCC as well) for exercise and to climb on a small scaffolding unit I keep in my reptile area. They do enjoy that.

4. How picky are boas compared to BPs when it comes to eating?

They are not picky at all. Obesity is common - feed less often and they will take virtually every meal (F/T is not an issue either).

5. Do boas need a dish big enough to soak in? I have heard so many different opinions on this one.

If your humidity is good - 60% with 70-80% when in shed. No. Big water dishes help with humidity but I have never seen either of Boas soak as long as humidity is good.

6. This is a weird, kind of unrelated question but how often do you take your reptiles to the vet? I take my BP once a year for a checkup but have heard that it isn't necessary? lol maybe I'm just a paranoid snake mom.

Those are the questions I have for now! Thanks again for any feedback and any other useful info you can think of would be greatly appreciated.


I do WHEN there is a problem. I have also sent in fecal samples for new animals. However, I have many animals. So, in addition to quarantining, I often do a fecal. That's probably overkill.

See above answers in blue and reach out anytime for more info. Either PM or post. I've put the links to my two boas below so you can see their growth and learn from me.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...host-First-BCI

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...Dwarf-quot-BCC

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks so much for answering
Building custom hides sounds like a great idea. And that's amazing that they are great eaters! That's mind-boggling that you don't even have to heat up the food. My BP won't touch anything that isn't blow dryed.

BP's have heat pits to sense heat on prey. Boas do not. Smell, taste, and sight is what motivates their food response.

[kath_]

This is great information. Thank you so much! People like you are the reason this is my favorite reptile community. I've joined a few other sites and facebook groups and this one is my favorite by far because of how helpful everyone, especially towards amateur keepers like myself. I will check out the links.

[dakski]

This is great information. Thank you so much! People like you are the reason this is my favorite reptile community. I've joined a few other sites and facebook groups and this one is my favorite by far because of how helpful everyone, especially towards amateur keepers like myself. I will check out the links.

Thank you kindly. I think you will find there are plenty of people here who are kind, informative, and want what's best for your reptile(s). That's why I have to agree, this my favorite reptile community as well.

I was thinking, you said you want a female Boa. Do you mind me asking why? Female BI often get much bigger than the male BI's. I am not sure your background keeping reptiles, and do not mean to be condescending if you already knew that. I just want to make sure you know what you are getting into. If you are used to a BP, a boas size, strength, and food response can be scary (even with a young boa re food response and a Boa the same size as a BP is much stronger). Both my Boas strike the doors wanting food.

Good luck and keep us up to date on what you decide to get. We will be here to support you and help any way we can.

[richardhind1972]

Nice to see you doing plenty of research and asking some great questions.
There plenty of great commited people on this forum willing to help and here to support you every step on your journey with your new boa.
As dave said tap training is definitely a big help, boas have a fantastic feeding response and could probably save a nip or too.
Your new boa will hopefully calm down once settled with regular handling they can become more relaxed and trust that you won't harm them, my hypo img was so hissy and bitey when I first had her but persevering and putting in the time and effort she is a pleasure to handle. She slept by the glass most of the time so I used to slide the door enough not to get tagged and just stroke her for a while, she would be hissing away but I still carried on and eventually she leaned I wasn't going to harm her.
If it's a female you want as dave said they often grow considerably larger than the males, but there are plenty of smaller locak8boas out there, my Nicaraguan Nd corn Island are both under 5ft and 4 yrs old and by female longicauda boa is only about 5.5ft at 3, so all adults, may see a bit bit more growth but not massive, the locality boas are also slimmer than alot of bci(bi) morphs
Good luck and don't forget to post plenty of pics

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

[kath_]

Thank you kindly. I think you will find there are plenty of people here who are kind, informative, and want what's best for your reptile(s). That's why I have to agree, this my favorite reptile community as well.

I was thinking, you said you want a female Boa. Do you mind me asking why? Female BI often get much bigger than the male BI's. I am not sure your background keeping reptiles, and do not mean to be condescending if you already knew that. I just want to make sure you know what you are getting into. If you are used to a BP, a boas size, strength, and food response can be scary (even with a young boa re food response and a Boa the same size as a BP is much stronger). Both my Boas strike the doors wanting food.

Good luck and keep us up to date on what you decide to get. We will be here to support you and help any way we can.

Oh no you didn't come off as condescending at all. That's an excellent point you bring up about size. I guess the reason I would like a female is based on what little experience I have. So I used to volunteer at an exotics pet store and I worked with an 8 ft female BCI that I really loved. I'm not really sure exactly what I loved about her but she was just incredibly fun to handle (amazing strength compared to handling my BP. Boas SQUEEZE.) and I liked how great an eater she was. However, I am in no way an experienced boa keeper and their size and strength is definitely a factor to take into account. I am sure males offer just as much an enriching experience.
I am planning to visit some reptile cons in the upcoming months and seeing if they have any adult male BCIs or larger adult female BCIs I can handle and just see what I feel most comfortable with. I feel like actually handling the adult sizes in person will give me the best gauge on what works best for me. Hopefully this is a good approach?

Thank you so much for the support.

[bcr229]

While a BI female can get up to seven+ feet remember that it won't happen overnight. If fed properly she won't reach that size for many years, so you'll have plenty of time to acclimate to her growth. It's a little different than when dealing with a female mainland retic that could top ten feet in 18 months.

[kath_]

Nice to see you doing plenty of research and asking some great questions.
There plenty of great commited people on this forum willing to help and here to support you every step on your journey with your new boa.
As dave said tap training is definitely a big help, boas have a fantastic feeding response and could probably save a nip or too.
Your new boa will hopefully calm down once settled with regular handling they can become more relaxed and trust that you won't harm them, my hypo img was so hissy and bitey when I first had her but persevering and putting in the time and effort she is a pleasure to handle. She slept by the glass most of the time so I used to slide the door enough not to get tagged and just stroke her for a while, she would be hissing away but I still carried on and eventually she leaned I wasn't going to harm her.
If it's a female you want as dave said they often grow considerably larger than the males, but there are plenty of smaller locak8boas out there, my Nicaraguan Nd corn Island are both under 5ft and 4 yrs old and by female longicauda boa is only about 5.5ft at 3, so all adults, may see a bit bit more growth but not massive, the locality boas are also slimmer than alot of bci(bi) morphs
Good luck and don't forget to post plenty of pics

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

Thank you for responding! All of this is very helpful.
I will definitely look up some tap training methods. That's a great idea.

I can imagine it takes effort to build a good relationship of trust with a boa and that's very important given their size. I've handled a few BCI babies at cons and yes they are so hissy and bitey! (Can't blame them though. They probably thing everything is a predator.) Perseverance and patience seem to be the key.

Thanks for the recommendations on other boa options. I wrote these down and I'm going to check out some upcoming conventions and see if there are any of those types there that I can see in person before I make a final decision. That's one thing I love about boas in general. There are so many different types.