Christmas Boa Heat Concerns

[Evenstar]

1. Those tubs will be fine - perfect in fact.

2. Flexwatt or heat pad, doesn't matter. They do the same thing so long as either one it on a t-stat.

3. I am floored, shocked, appalled with this seller. There is NO EXCUSE to not send the snake that was ordered without some kind of explanation BEFORE it is shipped. Shipping 2 snakes does NOT make up for that. You really need to post this person's name so we know who to stay away from.

4. I hope your babies are healthy!!

5. Never ever under any circumstances, EVER, use tape or any adhesive inside your snake's enclosure. Once they get stuck on it, they can't get off. If you try to pull it off, you'll pull off scales and skin. There are gruesome pictures here if you find the right threads.

6. Good luck with everything! Ask away with any other questions!

[southbay54]

nobody said they did anything different. Just a simple question

[Gio]

Wow, this sounds like a train wreck! I hope you can give these little guys a fighting chance. That seller is the snake equivalent of a dog backyard breeder!

You've gotta do the best you can and don't forget about them with the new baby coming and the wedding and all the external factors.

At some point you WILL need to spend some money on quality setups, and I don't recommend keeping the male and female together for long.

Certainly don't try to breed them down the road.

Keep your chin up and try to enjoy them. I wish they were older and established eaters but with a lame breeder there is no way to tell. This could get tricky if all doesn't go just right.

[Flint]

My email has been hacked as well as my friend's. I'm almost positive this person has deleted all ways we would have to contact them or get access to names and such. I wanted to post on the BOI but I don't have the name/website and now no longer the email. Both Rocky and I are very fortunate that he still has all but what he paid for in his bank account and these snakes arrived alive. Hopefully this experience teaches him NOT to gift animals, even though I know he was just trying to do something nice, I would have preferred he approached me about it first and I could see if he'd order the snake after the enclosure was set up.

As far as the backyard breeder comment, I'm not sure if these snakes were bred irresponsibly or captive hatched.

I don't know if this is at all possible, but can bins be used for adult snakes as well? Come time for them to be upgraded, I was thinking about doing another bin setup then as they grow out in that, building either a small (large, really) rack or a stacked cage system. What should be the next size bin I get for them?

I do eventually have the intention of breeding long down the road when I have quality animals of the proper ages and weights but these two will never breed due to unknown genetics. I have bred before (not snakes) and when I do, I never breed animals that don't have solid, provable backgrounds including photos of the parents and such. I don't like selling people animals that may end up as breeders themselves with such mixed genetics it yields deformities, shortened lifespans, ect, if the offspring I produced don't already yield the same. It isn't fair to the buyer, the hobbyist or the animal itself.

I want to thank you all for being so helpful in all of this. I really appreciate it and I'm sure my new snakes will, too. I will do my best to keep you all updated and present in their lives as they grow. Hopefully my fiance lets me keep both of them.

[Evenstar]

nobody said they did anything different. Just a simple question

What??

[Evenstar]

My email has been hacked as well as my friend's. I'm almost positive this person has deleted all ways we would have to contact them or get access to names and such. I wanted to post on the BOI but I don't have the name/website and now no longer the email. Both Rocky and I are very fortunate that he still has all but what he paid for in his bank account and these snakes arrived alive. Hopefully this experience teaches him NOT to gift animals, even though I know he was just trying to do something nice, I would have preferred he approached me about it first and I could see if he'd order the snake after the enclosure was set up. Too bad. Just chalk this up to a learning experience and move on. Enjoy the snakes you have!

As far as the backyard breeder comment, I'm not sure if these snakes were bred irresponsibly or captive hatched. Boas give birth to live babies. They are not "hatched." Just a little info for the future. In this case "backyard breeder" wouldn't mean quite the same as it does with dogs. Boa breeding is pretty straightforward. The problem with this guy was the lack of professional communication and with not shipping the actual animal that was ordered.

I don't know if this is at all possible, but can bins be used for adult snakes as well? Come time for them to be upgraded, I was thinking about doing another bin setup then as they grow out in that, building either a small (large, really) rack or a stacked cage system. What should be the next size bin I get for them? Tubs are ok for boas up to about 4 ft. Once they reach that size, there really isn't a tub that is big enough for their adult needs. With the exception of the Iris Christmas Tree boxes. But those are really hard to find anymore. PVC enclosures work best for adult boas. You want a minimum of a 4x2x2 ft enclosure for an adult.

I do eventually have the intention of breeding long down the road when I have quality animals of the proper ages and weights but these two will never breed due to unknown genetics. I have bred before (not snakes) and when I do, I never breed animals that don't have solid, provable backgrounds including photos of the parents and such. I don't like selling people animals that may end up as breeders themselves with such mixed genetics it yields deformities, shortened lifespans, ect, if the offspring I produced don't already yield the same. It isn't fair to the buyer, the hobbyist or the animal itself.

I want to thank you all for being so helpful in all of this. I really appreciate it and I'm sure my new snakes will, too. I will do my best to keep you all updated and present in their lives as they grow. Hopefully my fiance lets me keep both of them.

Good for you! Hope it all works out!

[bcr229]

My email has been hacked as well as my friend's. I'm almost positive this person has deleted all ways we would have to contact them or get access to names and such. I wanted to post on the BOI but I don't have the name/website and now no longer the email.

There's no return address on the box the snakes were shipped in?

I don't know if this is at all possible, but can bins be used for adult snakes as well?

I house my ball pythons in 41-qt tubs in a rack. Boas will need a lot more space, I would start to save up for the appropriate-size enclosure from a company like Animal Plastics, Boamaster, ConstrictorsNW, etc. Fortunately you have a few years.

[Flint]

A few years? No, I don't. Columbian Boas get about 4ft in the first year... I can build one enclosure over the next few months then when they need to be moved from the tubs, one can get the enclosure and one can get the tank until I can build another enclosure. I think that'll be my best bet seeing as I've looked at the professionally made ones and I just don't have $500 to drop on two enclosures in the next year. I know boas are born live, it's hard not to be used to saying hatched in the reptile world, haha.

[Daybreaker]

A few years? No, I don't. Columbian Boas get about 4ft in the first year... I can build one enclosure over the next few months then when they need to be moved from the tubs, one can get the enclosure and one can get the tank until I can build another enclosure. I think that'll be my best bet seeing as I've looked at the professionally made ones and I just don't have $500 to drop on two enclosures in the next year. I know boas are born live, it's hard not to be used to saying hatched in the reptile world, haha.

Not always, no. And Colombians are spelled with a "o"

[Flint]

Sorry about that spelling error. I can order two Iris Christmas Tree Boxes online for $98, then it would just be a matter of a new thermostat for one, more heat tape and some masterlocks. Sounding like I won't break $200 to bin them for life, though I will eventually invest in something I can actually see my snakes in and something larger as well. I'll be in a more permanent home at that point, though, which will also help. We are renting an apartment right now and the only reason we are staying here is because it's $800 with everything included (internet, cable, electric, water....) but as soon as we pay off our truck and get a new vehicle, we will be saving to move and probably rent a house. By that time I can start saving to build nice, view-able cages for them both. I know I don't NEED the masterlocks on the tree boxes, but having a baby on the way, it's added peace of mind. The 34qts will get locks once the boas break 2.5ft.