Ok folks, here is what I believe to be the finished product. I add a couple more things about humidity and the part about not having the cage in direct sunlight such as in front of a window. What do you think?
Properly maintaining your new boa in captivity
Well you have just purchased your boa constrictor and now you need to know how to properly care for it. These are a few guide lines that will help you to give your boa the best possible life it can have in captivity.
Housing: The first thing you need to consider before you even buy a snake of any kind is where will you keep the snake and where the cage will be located. There are many types and brands of cages available for keeping boas in. VisionCages, Animal Plastics, and Boaphile Plastics are some of the best made and are built specifically for housing snakes. Aquariums can make adequate homes, but tend to be harder to heat and don’t usually hold humidity well due to the use of screen tops. Your snakes home should have at least 2 hides. One on the warm side and one on the cool side. This will give your snake someplace to feel secure when seeking different temperature levels. Cage ”furniture”, IE. Limbs, rocks etc. , is good and gives the snake someplace to climb and perch on. But remember that everything that you keep in the cage will need to be cleaned each time the cage is cleaned. Cleaning should take place each and every time that the snake defecates. Not doing so can cause fungal and bacterial growth that can make your snake sick and or kill it. Proper bedding or substrate that can be used is, but not limited to, aspen shavings, cypress mulch and news paper. Boas should never be kept on cedar or pine shavings as these have chemicals in them that can irritate both the skin and respiratory system of the snake. A proper water bowl should be provided that will allow the snake to soak if it wants to. This may not be practical when the snake gets over 4-5ft. though. The water should be changed each day so that the snake always has fresh drinking water. Would you drink that glass of water that has been sitting on the counter for 24 hours?
Location of the cage is almost as important as the cage itself. The cage should be located in an area with little to no traffic so that your boa will not get stressed out by the daily noise and movement of your household, and you will see more of him/her this way. Also try to keep the cage out of direct flow of any air vents or direct sunlight such as in front of windows so that the cage is not getting unduly cooled or heated.
Temps, humidity and light : It is very important that your snake be kept at proper temperature and humidity levels to insure it’s health. You will need something to heat your cage and there are numerous commercially available items to do this with. They include, heat tape, heat cable, undertank heat mats, ceramic heat emitters and basking lights. Your boa will require a basking area of 88-90 degrees at the warm end of the cage. The cooler end should range at 78-80 degrees and should never be below 75 degrees. There are exceptions to this during the breeding season but that is another subject and is only needed if your are planning on breeding your boa.
Humidity levels should stay in the 60% to 75% range. It can range up to 90% during shedding periods to facilitate proper shedding. Daily misting of the cage will help to maintain the proper levels. Too much humidity or wet cages can cause problems such as scale rot and fungus so don’t soak the cage. The use of cypress mulch as a substrate will also help. It holds moisture well but is mold and mildew resistant. Buying a hygrometer (humidity gauge) will help you to monitor the proper levels. They are available at most pet stores.
Your boa will need a proper light schedule. 14 hour days and 10 hour nights work well and will give your boa time to cruise during the night. 24 hour light can stress your boa and can cause aggression and feeding problems.
Feeding: Neonate’s will need a good steady feeding schedule in order to allow for proper growth. If you do not want a snake that will reach lengths of up to 8ft. then you should look at other species for a pet instead of trying to keep your snake smaller by giving it less frequent or undersized food items. While your boa is young (under 2 years) it should be given a weekly feeding of a prey item that is approximately the diameter of the largest diameter of the boa’s body. More than one prey item may be needed to satisfy your boas needs at each feeding though. The following rates of feed are a good guide, but not always the rule and should be adjusted as needed to fit your particular boas needs.
18”- 24” 1-2 fuzzy rats every 5-7 days
24”- 32” 1 rat pup every 5-7 days
32”- 38” 1-2 small rats every 7 days
38”- 44” 1 medium rat every 7 days
44”- 50” 1 large rat every 2 weeks
50” and above should be fed an appropriate meal every 2 weeks depending upon the the length and girth of the snake.
Please do not try to overfeed or ”Power feed” your snake in the attempt to make it gain size faster as this can cause many physiological problems.
These boas have been started on frozen thawed rats so live prey should never need to be offered. Live prey can be very dangerous to your snake and can actually kill or permanently damage your snake and so should never be offered.
This guide should get you and your snake started off on the right foot. There are many other things that you will need to learn about your boa’s care over the years of it’s life. These questions can be found on the internet at the following sites>
www.thealbinoboa.com
www.redtailboa.net
www.faunaclassifieds.com
And many other internet sites dedicated to proper reptile husbandry.
Thank you,
David Button
