Bright light

[maskedburito]

I am learning with my first boa and he is in a tub of my snake rack. I decided it's real dark and unnatural so I put an led light strip in the back of the rack. It's stupidly bright!!! I covered it with wax paper to dull it down. But my question is, do they need a day light cycle and if so can too bright a light stress them out? I feel like it's blaring into his eyes.

[Zincubus]

I am learning with my first boa and he is in a tub of my snake rack. I decided it's real dark and unnatural so I put an led light strip in the back of the rack. It's stupidly bright!!! I covered it with wax paper to dull it down. But my question is, do they need a day light cycle and if so can too bright a light stress them out? I feel like it's blaring into his eyes.

Doesn't sound like a good idea at all to be honest .

Can't you look at getting him into a vivarium of some kind , even a second hand one would be much better in my view .


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[maskedburito]

Doesn't sound like a good idea at all to be honest .

Can't you look at getting him into a vivarium of some kind , even a second hand one would be much better in my view .


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He will be in a tank in a few months when he is older. He is only a few months old and it's my understanding keeping baby boas in snake racks is rather common or am I wrong? Haha. Thx for advice

[Tigerhawk]

I'm just asking, you aren't using tape to keep the wax paper in place are you?

[Zincubus]

He will be in a tank in a few months when he is older. He is only a few months old and it's my understanding keeping baby boas in snake racks is rather common or am I wrong? Haha. Thx for advice

I can't speak for others but I got a tiny baby Dwarf SunGlow boa a short while back and he's doing great - straight in his viv / vivarium .
Some people swear by rubs especially for Royals / Ball pythons but the mainly in the uk it's just the breeders who need the space to keep loads of Royals in - who use Rubs .

I've never used them for any of mine ...

[maskedburito]

I'm just asking, you aren't using tape to keep the wax paper in place are you?

Nope. The wax paper or lights are outside the tubs. At the back of the rack. Used a hot glue gun.

[maskedburito]

I guess forget the led question. The real question is do boas want a light cycle and if so how bright a light?

[Gio]

I guess forget the led question. The real question is do boas want a light cycle and if so how bright a light?

YES,

A light cycle is very important, as is a seasonal warm, cool, and humidity cycle.

Successes with boa constrictors involves an understanding of their environment. Whether we notice or not, even in their seemingly steady climate in central or south America, there are changes. Reptiles sense things we do not sense. Reptiles have evolved over millions and millions of years to respond to certain cues, which may seem or even unnoticed by a human, but to a snake, it may be the doorway to plentiful food and breeding.

In captivity, and this has been observed and proven true, by Gus Rentfro, Vin Russo, Eugene Basset, DR. Warren Booth and others that actually study these animals, find that boas respond to OUR seasonal changes. A diminished period of light in the winter months, dry air and pressure changes will be recognized by your snake.

My boa will not eat from November until late March. He has had his spring shed and will eat for the second time this year possibly today.

So your question about light is something I'd answer yes to.

Very young, juvenile snakes (boas) should be given a very similar setup or even the exact setup that the breeder had going until they are established.

Once you have a feeding, shedding, non-defensive snake you can look into alternative caging. For boa constrictors, I prefer somewhat large PLASTIC enclosures. There are easy, simplistic styles that work very well (see Sauzo's Animal Plastics cages and setup) and there are more naturalistic options that give the snake a little more room for certain behaviors that they would perform in the wild.

I use Pro-Line cages from Constrictors NW.


As long as you have the size and husbandry down, the other stuff is purely up to you.

My boa using his perches to feed. I even provide a few hours of moon light before going black.



This is the same feeding, but I turned on his LED light. It is in the cage and this is as bright as it gets. The camera did flash here.




Two cages here. Boa on the bottom, royal on top. This is what I would consider decent light for the day. The blue light is usually off but was on for photos.


Note the areas of shade and dark around the hides. TOO BRIGHT may add stress, but a low, semi warm LED with a 12 on 12 off cycle in the spring/summer is perfect.

I shorten the light cycle with the seasonal changes.

This is a bit involved, but I assume everybody who buys a snake is in it for the long haul. 10 years is nothing, 20+ with a healthy snake is the sign of a keeper that has done some research.

Good luck, and feel free to ask questions.