New Hypo Boa Imperator

[Tomaleck]

(Long post alert)

The time finally came for me to get my first snake and after months of research I decided that a boa imperator was the snake for me! I’m so happy I decided to go with a boa and I just absolutely love my new boy! I’ve heard some baby boas can be a bit nippy, but my boy has been nothing but a sweetheart since I got him. He’s such a fun and curious little guy.

I bought him at a local reptile expo about a month ago from a vendor that had purchased him from a local breeder and was reselling so unfortunately I don’t know his exact age or lineage, but I’m guessing he’s under a year old? He’s around 22” long (I quickly learned how hard snakes are to measure when I tried to get an exact length on him ). I don’t have a weight on him since I don’t want to use the jewelry scale I use for my geckos considering he’s still in quarantine and I haven’t purchased a scale for him yet. After some trial and error I’ve discovered that mouse hoppers seem to be an appropriate meal size for him. I’ve been feeding him once a week, but I think he needs to go to every ten days because he looks like he’s getting a bit chunky to me? (probably my fault since he got a meal that was too big for his first meal with me because I’m still learning how to gauge meal size). The images are recent and show him at seven days since his last meal. I really want to avoid power feeding him since I want him around for many years to come so any feeding advice would be much appreciated!

He’s in a glass quarantine setup at the moment, but he’ll be moved to a PVC enclosure once his quarantine is over. His hot spot is about 88-90 degrees with an ambient of 83-85 and cool spot of about 76-78. Air temps run about 83-85 in the day and drop to about 76-78 at night. His first shed was rough, but now that I’m 100% positive that he doesn’t have mites I’ve moved him off of the paper towels and onto cypress mulch mixed with a little bit of sphagnum moss which has really helped to boost his humidity.

I would love advice! I have experience with geckos, but no experience with snakes so I’d love to hear from those of you that have experience!






This boy has so much pink! The photos don’t do him justice. His sides are all pink before turning into a peachy/orange color by his tail, even his eyes are tinted pink. His tan also slowly turns into a bright amber color as it gets closer to his tail. I can’t wait to see how his color progresses! He’s also such a sweetheart. The only time he looks a little like he wants to take a pop at me is when he thinks I have a mouse for him, he settles down really quickly though once he realizes he’s not getting fed

[EL-Ziggy]

Very nice boa! It sounds like you've got everything dialed in on the temps. He doesn't look chunky to me but I'd still go with a 10-14 day feeding schedule. Congrats on the beautiful new addition! Keep the pictures comin!

[cletus]

Beautiful boa! I love me some hypo!

[Reinz]

Nice Boa!

[Tomaleck]

Thank you all for the nice comments! I’ll definitely keep updating on this beautiful boy.

Thank you El-Ziggy for the advice! I’m glad to hear he’s not chunky, but I’ll take your advice and move him to 10 days for feeding.

[Bogertophis]

Looks like you picked a very nice boa, both for appearance and personality. Doesn't look chunky to me either, but glad you're aware of that issue.

[Tomaleck]

Thank you! I really love how clean his pattern is and how brilliant his colors are. His personality is what really makes him special though. And I’m glad that he doesn’t look chunky, I really want to make sure I feed him appropriately so he’s around for a long, long time.

[CloudtheBoa]

Congrats! Imo, boa constrictors are the best species to keep.


Yes, I feed 10-14 days on boas from birth. They just seem to hold a much better body tone, and still grow quite well.

He may just look chunky to you because he's holding so much poop in his tail. Boas really hold in the poo and let loose. He looks a good weight in pictures.

[Tomaleck]

Thank you! I’m probably biased, but I’m in total agreement

And that makes sense! I hadn’t thought of him looking chunky was due to him holding in poop. He’s only pooped once for me since I got him and that was a few weeks ago. I’m glad he looks to be a healthy weight