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Thread: Rubber Boa’s

  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran NewmanLovesSnakes's Avatar
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    Rubber Boa’s

    Anyone here own or have owned any Rubber Boa’s? If so how was your experience with them? I’m keeping it a secret from my wife that I’m planning on getting another snake around tax season and this is the one that’s catching my eye because of how docile and small they stay. An added bonus is they need very low heat.


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    Re: Rubber Boa’s

    I have a pair. Stupid easy. Do great in naturalistic vivs, no supplemental heat needed.

    -They can be a bit picky to feed, especially the males. Best way I have found it to put them in a small Tupperware with 2-3 fuzzy mice and leave them in there overnight (I just put the container in the viv). Seven times out of ten they will eat.
    -Brumation can also be an issue for people because they like to go down early and come up late - Mine typically start winding down in late Sept and even if I keep them in the viv they shut themselves off. And I will bring them out in April but, again, even being in the viv they will often refuse to eat until June or so.
    -They are slow to mature. If you are thinking of starting some kind of breeding project then be ready to wait at least six years before the females are ready to go.
    -It can be difficult to find them. Breeders tend to be few and far between. There is one name that gets floated consistently but I have been on their wait list for three years and never received a call/email. A frustrating fact given the past two years at Daytona they have had available animals sitting on their table.


    My only real advice to you would be here:
    Quote Originally Posted by NewmanLovesSnakes View Post
    I’m keeping it a secret from my wife that I’m planning on getting another snake
    Not sure I would call this the smartest move LOL
    actagggcagtgatatcctagcattgatggtacatggcaaattaacctcatgat

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  4. #3
    BPnet Veteran NewmanLovesSnakes's Avatar
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    Re: Rubber Boa’s

    Quote Originally Posted by asplundii View Post
    I have a pair. Stupid easy. Do great in naturalistic vivs, no supplemental heat needed.

    -They can be a bit picky to feed, especially the males. Best way I have found it to put them in a small Tupperware with 2-3 fuzzy mice and leave them in there overnight (I just put the container in the viv). Seven times out of ten they will eat.
    -Brumation can also be an issue for people because they like to go down early and come up late - Mine typically start winding down in late Sept and even if I keep them in the viv they shut themselves off. And I will bring them out in April but, again, even being in the viv they will often refuse to eat until June or so.
    -They are slow to mature. If you are thinking of starting some kind of breeding project then be ready to wait at least six years before the females are ready to go.
    -It can be difficult to find them. Breeders tend to be few and far between. There is one name that gets floated consistently but I have been on their wait list for three years and never received a call/email. A frustrating fact given the past two years at Daytona they have had available animals sitting on their table.


    My only real advice to you would be here:


    Not sure I would call this the smartest move LOL
    I won’t just bring home a snake, I have to ease into the talk. It’s like a chess game, I have to wait for the perfect time to make a move. She’s completely ok with the Rosy I’m getting. It just took a little talking and bribing. She’s scared of snakes lol I don’t plan on breeding, I just think it would be an awesome species that I could use to introduce my son to and help my wife with her fear. What does your basic set up consist of? Like you said there’s hardly any information online about people keeping them.


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    Quote Originally Posted by NewmanLovesSnakes View Post
    I just think it would be an awesome species that I could use to introduce my son to and help my wife with her fear.
    They are certainly a very docile snake so the odds of one biting are very low. They also LOOOOOOVE to wrap around your wrist like a bracelet and just chill there.


    Quote Originally Posted by NewmanLovesSnakes View Post
    What does your basic set up consist of? Like you said there’s hardly any information online about people keeping them.
    I keep in a naturalistic set up. 120 x 60 x 30cm PVC cage. Media is a mix of fine coco/LSF/leaf litter. Lots of logs and bark and larget magnolia leaves for them to hide under. Lighting is an LED strip; 13/11 in spring, 15/9 in summer, 11/13 in fall, 9/15 in winter (they are not in the viv in winter but I keep a light cycle for the plants/moss). For brumation, if they have not already quit themselves, I typically stop feeding around the end of September and then I empty their water bowl out two weeks later. End of October I put them in a large, low deli container filled with damp sphagnum moss and that goes into a larger secure Rubbermaid with a latching top and then the whole thing goes in an un-insulated closet in the basement. I check them monthly to make sure everything looks okay but generally just leave them alone. Come April, I bring the Rubbermaid out of the closet and set it on the floor next to the viv for a week or so to let them warm up slowly. After that, I decant them back into the viv and give them a week or so to settle in before I offer food. First feeding of the year I always offer a live fuzzy mouse because they seem to "forget" that F/T are edible. Then next feeding is a live fuzzy and a F/T fuzzy in the container and they typically will go to all F/T from the third feeding through the rest of the year. They are nest-raiders so I feed 3-5 fuzzies at a time and I only feed every second or third week. The females tend to be better feeders than the males.
    actagggcagtgatatcctagcattgatggtacatggcaaattaacctcatgat

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  7. #5
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    Re: Rubber Boa’s

    I appreciate all the information. I’m leaning very hard on getting a Rubber Boa instead of getting another ball python morph down the road. I found a nice breeder on Facebook who’s got some great reviews if you want his info btw, he charges $275 for Rubbers and he should have them in stock soon. The ease of care and conditions they live in are perfect ambient temps in my house. I also love the thought of a docile snake that will enjoy being handled and coil on me. I thought of something my son will love to handle makes me excited, I think my wife will grow on it too if she does not consider it to “feel weird” I’ve heard that feel like a fishing lure. If she likes the Rosy like I believe she will I know I can talk her into a Rubber Boa just have to play the cards right!


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    Re: Rubber Boa’s

    Quote Originally Posted by NewmanLovesSnakes View Post
    I found a nice breeder on Facebook who’s got some great reviews if you want his info btw
    I am good thanks for the offer though. My pair is enough for me right now and I have meet a few breeders (one local) through the rubber FB group.


    Quote Originally Posted by NewmanLovesSnakes View Post
    I think my wife will grow on it too if she does not consider it to “feel weird” I’ve heard that feel like a fishing lure.
    I would not say they feel like a lure. Pretty much they feel like a just hatched ball, really smooth.


    Quote Originally Posted by NewmanLovesSnakes View Post
    If she likes the Rosy like I believe she will I know I can talk her into a Rubber Boa just have to play the cards right!
    One word of caution here; rosies can be bitey little snots. So you might want to be careful there because I can see how getting bitten numerous times might turn her away from snakes
    actagggcagtgatatcctagcattgatggtacatggcaaattaacctcatgat

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  10. #7
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    Re: Rubber Boa’s

    Quote Originally Posted by asplundii View Post
    I am good thanks for the offer though. My pair is enough for me right now and I have meet a few breeders (one local) through the rubber FB group.




    I would not say they feel like a lure. Pretty much they feel like a just hatched ball, really smooth.




    One word of caution here; rosies can be bitey little snots. So you might want to be careful there because I can see how getting bitten numerous times might turn her away from snakes
    I appreciate that advise lol I definitely would not want the Rosy shying her away. I’ll just have to see how he is with handling after getting here


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    Re: Rubber Boa’s

    Quote Originally Posted by NewmanLovesSnakes View Post
    I appreciate that advise lol I definitely would not want the Rosy shying her away. I’ll just have to see how he is with handling after getting here


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    Yes, I agree that some rosies are "bitey snots", while others are not.* Ask the breeder, since it matters to you. Me, I'll take a biter, they usually eat real well & I don't
    worry about them misbehaving for long. But rosy boas can be stealthy about biting...while you're holding them & all seems calm, if you notice them gently nudging
    their nose into your hand or arm or whatever they're touching, FYI they are looking for "the head" to chomp onto, so distract them, quickly change the subject to avoid
    the teeth. You've been warned...

    *I bred rosy boas for 6 years total & the pairings made a huge difference. One group (by far the worst) was biting me & each other the
    very day they were born, so I ended up offering them pinkies, which many of them ate, as temporary "pacifiers". (Most snakes won't
    eat before they do their first shed...these didn't even care, lol.)
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 07-31-2019 at 05:51 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  13. #9
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    Re: Rubber Boa’s

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    Yes, I agree that some rosies are "bitey snots", while others are not.* Ask the breeder, since it matters to you. Me, I'll take a biter, they usually eat real well & I don't
    worry about them misbehaving for long. But rosy boas can be stealthy about biting...while you're holding them & all seems calm, if you notice them gently nudging
    their nose into your hand or arm or whatever they're touching, FYI they are looking for "the head" to chomp onto, so distract them, quickly change the subject to avoid
    the teeth. You've been warned...

    *I bred rosy boas for 6 years total & the pairings made a huge difference. One group (by far the worst) was biting me & each other the
    very day they were born, so I ended up offering them pinkies, which many of them ate, as temporary "pacifiers". (Most snakes won't
    eat before they do their first shed...these didn't even care, lol.)
    It’s going to be a different experience for sure. I’ve never been full on bit, just got the corner from my ball one time and then the corner again from a king snake I found in the yard.


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    Re: Rubber Boa’s

    Quote Originally Posted by NewmanLovesSnakes View Post
    It’s going to be a different experience for sure. I’ve never been full on bit, just got the corner from my ball one time and then the corner again from a king snake I found in the yard.


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    Unless you're talking about a really BIG snake (whose longer teeth + strength w/ tearing motion in worst case scenario like a feeding bite can & have sometimes resulted
    in lasting nerve damage), or venomous snake (don't even go there), the bites from any typical harmless pet snake is NOT any big deal. They happen fast, & those little
    teeth make an ouch much like getting an injection at the doctor...it's over before you know it & heals fast, rarely ever getting infected, even without treatment.

    But a bite won't endear a snake to family members that are at all afraid of snakes...so bites are best avoided for them. To be successful in handling snakes, you need to
    be able to relax, & fear just works against you. I'm not saying that snakes "smell fear" or any such thing...I just know from my own experience that trust is a 2-way street.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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