Dumeril or RTB?

[Wh00h0069]

I'm not a fan of Dumeril boas, but I do have quite a few red-tails. I have some dwarf species and Colombians. Most of mine are very docile.

[Rogue628]

I've kept RTB's in the past and only have a limited time experience with my Dumerils as I just got them last month. My dums are about 3 years old. And the RTBs I had were from hatchlings.

RTB's temperment's are really nice. They're curious and active. Never had a feeding issue with them at all. They seem to be very intelligent.

So far my Dumerils at this age and in the limited time I've had them, are probably the most docile of temperments I've seen. Maybe it's just my two, and they're rescues of a sort. They're very gentle, very laid back lap snake. Or hair snake. One of them likes to tangle in my hair and lay in it for hours As long as I'm still, they're still. When I get up and move around, they get nosey, then settle down again lol

I have no experience with BRB's at this point and hoping to get one from Paul his next litters

I guess it's going to depend upon what kind of snake you want. And active one, or a more mellow one. Both the RTB's and the Dumerils make great pets that are very easy to handle and maintain. RTB's are longer if it's a size issue.

[MoonlightBoas]

I have no experience with BRB's at this point and hoping to get one from Paul his next litters

I'm really excited for next year. My Dumerils have already started getting busy, and I'll begin pairing up my Brazilian Rainbow Boas in January

[Evenstar]

I have been looking into these for about a week would you go with the 40 watt or 80?
and what about light?

That's going to depend a bit on how warm your home/room is and how high the cage is. For a 4 ft long cage, if you go with only a 12" high cage, the 40 watt is probably enough. If you go with a 24" high, then I'd do the 80 watt. If you go with the 18", then look at the room temps and see. If in doubt, I would err on the side of caution and use the smaller wattage - these panels heat very efficiently.

I don't use a light with my boas. My GTP has a light, but mainly for my convenience - I like to see him! But the snakes really don't need the light.

[Missy King]

In retrospect, I kind of wish I had gotten a rainbow boa and another hognose, instead of my two Dumeril's....I wanted to breed them to keep them in the pet trade, and help ban out imports. Did a lot of research on them, before i got them.

I got both my female and my male on August 6, 2011, at a reptile show from two different sources. The male has yet to eat! He's about 15 inches, and hasn't lost any thickness. But he and the female are COLD all the time! They feel cold to me anyway. They love to chill out on the cold end of their enclosures and peek out at me. They love to burrow in the substrate. I've since learned that they shouldn't be housed on coconut husk, because they tend to eat their substrate randomly. I have found aspin hanging out of the females mouth before. She is as long as my arm, and has eaten quite a few times. Even a rat once. They are both friendly, and docile, however don't really like to be held, though they will sit for hours under your shirt making you COLD since they are cold *lol*

I have left food overnight in the female's tank, since she actually prefers to eat if i'm not there, and she has eaten it.
I prefer to feed them outside where they wont' eat their bedding, but they do it even when they are not eating *rolls eyes*

Anyway, my ball pythons spend half their time on their UTH, the other half on the cool end. The jungle/coastal carpet python stays on the hot end all the time, and is always about 90 degrees. The hognoses roam around, the corn snake stays mostly on the UTH or roams, and the Dumeril's are ALWAYS on the cold end. The male is always hiding somewhere, and the female is always on the move, snaking through pipes or weaving in and out of hides. Both will burrow under the aspin and peek at me.

Anyway, they are very nice, and i do still want to breed them someday. They are just more for show, and i prefer the healthy eaters who don't mind being held. I'm disappointed both of them are so kind of shy! They are cute when peeking though, and they are always doing that. Hiding except for their heads.

Both of mine have a very bright copper tone. They both have the black, and browns and multi-color. Rainbows are beautiful with the iridescence, but the dumeril's can have a great glow as well, though like i said it is very bright copper.

[Evenstar]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but @Missy King, Dumerils are ambush preditors - that's why they burrow. Not because they are necessarily shy. Are you feeding live or f/t? They also sometimes like a bit cooler temps. What's the hotspot temp set at? It might be warm enough that they are trying to avoid it rather than make use of it. Lowering it a few degrees might tempt them to use it. These are just a few thoughts! I do not have a dumerils - I've just researched them a lot because I was interested in getting one and these are some things I took note of. Hope it is helpful!

[MoonlightBoas]

Evenstar beat me to it. I'd like to know a bit more how you have your Dumerils cage set up. The temperatures and a picture would be good. Dumerils Boas are usually great eaters as long as their needs are met.

It's interesting that many people don't realize how iridescent Dumerils can be. Here is a picture of Cleopatra showing off her colors.

[akjadlnfkjfdkladf]

you can find a docile dumeril or RTB. just go to an expo and handle a bunch of them

[Missy King]

My dumeril's have a pretty regular set up for their type...i just emphasize how cold they are because i found it so suprising, and it's one of those things that don't come across well in research *lol* they do hunt, and slither around, and my female is hilarious actually with all her peeking and waiting for prey. The male is just not interested in food. He seems healthy.
I've had a BP with a higher metabolism and who stayed warmer go for 4 months before waking up one day and deciding he was ravenous. I have three male skanes, and each one is a terrible eater. All the females are like garbage disposals *lol*

Ambient temp is about 70-75, hot spit is 85. Humidity is low, i add more when they are shedding (male has shed once, female twice).

We named them Tanzy (Tansanite) and Rusty. They are iridescent. They are more active at night and i like watching them, but they -are- shy, compared to my 9 other types who mostly like./tolerate being handled and will eat as soon as i show them food. I read they actually don't really like being handled though, so i haven't tried to push it. I am very hands on though, so it was just disappointing to find they prefer not to be. I don't want to upset them.
I guess i'm trying to say that i feel they are more for show snakes, and i like a lot of activity. They do sit and wait in ambush a lot *lol*

[Evenstar]

To be honest, I've never interacted with a dumerils that didn't seem to enjoy being handled. Every one I've been around (and I've known several - that's why I wanted one) has been quite content and happy to be handled and lounge on a lap or two. They aren't as active and maybe not quite as curious as red tails, but I never got the impression they didn't like handling. And they've all, including the males, been voracious eaters.

BUT, as I said, I don't own one myself. Maybe Paul from Moonlight will shed more light on this for us....