Answers to common boa questions

[pathfinder36]

General Information:
Caresheet (general BC ssp)
BCC Specific Caresheet
Probiotics for non-feeding\puking\bloating reptiles
Home Medications and Cures for Common Illnesses and Injuries of Reptiles
Bad shed?
General Handling Tips
Thinking about feeding live prey? Check out this thread FIRST!

Fantasic feeding tips by BWSmith

Enclosure ideas:
BoaphilePlastics (my personal favorite)
PrecisionCaging
ConstrictorsNW

MDCustom (arboreal caging)

VisionCages


Rodent suppliers:
RodentPro
GourmetRodent
TheMouseFactory

Heating & Humidity Control:
My favorite thermostat for the warm side of the cage:
Proportional Thermostat w/ night drop
Another warm side option:
Extreamly reliable w/ digital display
My cool side thermos for larger cages:
Cheap but effective
Cheap dual probe digital Thermometer/Hydrometer:
Bigappleherp Rocks!
Relative Humidity Controller (for the gizmo freaks):
GreenAir(call for local retailers - great product!)
Raytek temp guns

Other good temp guns

Heat Sources:
Human heat pad for under tank heating. I recommend this one because it has a standard analog switch for H\M\L and quick heat up. CHEAP at Longs.
FlexWatt - Safe low wattage under tank heat - Build your own or buy from Boaphile
Radient Heat Panels - In tank overhead heat


Other:
Excellent source of info on Boa Constrictors... locales and sub-species\top-notch UK breeder
Another great source of Boa info and top-notch US breeder

Effective mite eradication and prevention process:
Many people swear by products like Provent-a-mite, but some of these 'reptile specific' products can cost $20 or more per can. A time tested, cheap and effective alternative product to the high dollar mite products can be found at Wal-Mart of all places. It is the exact the same as PAM, but about 4-5 dollars per can instead of 20+. What is this fantastic product?
Repel .5% Permetherin (with NO DEET) - This product can be located in the camping section of almost any Wal-Mart. Follow the following procedure to help eliminate mite infestations and possible hatching eggs:
Take only your snake and water dish out of enclosure. Apply a light fog of Repel to enclosure, leaving cage props & substrate to be treated as well. Completely cover enclosure (towel works well if you have a screen top terrarium) and let sit for about 1 hr. Then open enclosure completely and allow good ventilation for 1.5-3 hrs. I like to put an oscillating fan in the enclosure to maximize disbursement of the airborne chemical. Put snake and water back in cage. Repeat process in just under 2 weeks (10 days is good). From there on, you should be mite free. There is also NO need to further treat the snake with anything else. The residue from the Repel will take care of them. Simple!

Here is another method of mite removal outlined in the "How-to's"


Should I feed in a separate feeding tote?
This topic is the source of many debates... especially with individuals new to the hobby. The answer is: It depends. Boas housed on loose substrate or with another boa\snake (this is a no no anyways) should ABSOLUTELY be fed in a separate feeding tote or enclosure. There may be exceptions to this idea, but generally speaking you should avoid feeding any snake on loose substrate. If they swallow any of it, you run the risk of impaction or worse. On the flip side, you should try to feed IN their normal living enclosure if the above situations are not present. If you don't run the risk of you boa ingesting substrate because you've housed them on news paper, butcher paper, astro turf or some other non-loose substrate... then go ahead and see how it works for you! There are a couple good reasons for this. Many snakes lose their feeding response if they're handled. In that, moving your snake to a feeding tote may cause it to become a stubborn feeder. If you do manage to get your snake to eat from a feeding tote, handling after a meal has the potential to stress your snake's digestive system and cause them to either regurgitate their meal or only partially digest it.
Many newcomers to the hobby will argue that feeding in their living enclosure will cause them to develop some sort of association with the cage opening meaning dinner time. This inevitably causes them to strike at you and become "aggressive" when you open the cage. This is just not true. Although it's possible this could happen (I've witnessed this once or twice), it would be HIGHLY unlikely. The aggressive nature these individuals describe is almost always the product of poor husbandry and\or improper\infrequent handling. In my opinion, the potential benefits of feeding in the enclosure far out weighs the risk of a cage door association. If you for some reason feel that your snake IS developing this association... switch back to feeding in a tote.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[softkiss]

Thank You. It's nice to see that someone else has spent alot of time testing the likes and dislikes of their snake and I totally agree with you on feeding in their natural habitat. I was beginning to think I was the only person that found this to be a more progressive way of feeding the snakes.

[softkiss]

Question?
Most people mention their lighting for their snake enclosures and I depend on daylight from the picture window that covers the back of my snakes cage and never use other lighting. i've read more caresheets and alot of them on breeder sights and I'm copying and pasting the information concerning lighting. I would like other opinions on this issue if possible.
Thank You,
CARESHEET POST INFORMATION
Lighting Options
It is my personal belief that boa constrictors do not REQUIRE any artificial light source. Boa constrictors get all the nutrients they need from their prey items. The only light provided to my boa constrictors is the incidental light that comes in through the windows during the day. My boas have no light source of any kind during the night. Providing a light for daytime display purposes so you can show off your beautiful boa is perfectly fine. Just be sure that the light source can be turned off at night.
Incandescent--These regular light bulbs, can provide a good source of heat and adequate light for displaying your boas. Care should be take to ensure the boa can NOT come into contact with the bulb and that the bulb is always OFF during the night time hours. Light bulbs should NEVER be your only source of heat. There are many varieties of bulbs. Heat lamp, red, black, etc etc.
Florescent--Probably the most widely used light source for snakes. These long slender bulbs fit most aquarium type hoods and fit on most enclosures. These bulbs provide the best display light for showing off your boas. Again this light source should be OFF during the night time hours.

[pathfinder36]

I also don't use or prefer lighting options in my caging. I've found that any extra lighting causes my critters to spend way more time in their hides then out roaming about. The ambient light from the room during daylight hours is more then enough.

[Kool-Aid]

Cool... Thats a relief.

[xerces]

Several links in the above post don't work anymore. Can anyone provide the correct links?

[pathfinder36]

Originally Posted by xerces

Several links in the above post don't work anymore. Can anyone provide the correct links?

Bigapple herps changes their links around all the time. Might want to just browse their site.
www.bigappleherp.com

[n5zow]

Originally Posted by softkiss

Thank You. It's nice to see that someone else has spent alot of time testing the likes and dislikes of their snake and I totally agree with you on feeding in their natural habitat. I was beginning to think I was the only person that found this to be a more progressive way of feeding the snakes.

This is my first post here besides pics. I have not had a snake since I was in the Ait Force 15 years ago. Then I had a Burmese Python. Great snake but I now know it was ill advised in the accomodations I had it in. Now I have two BCI's one 30 inches and on 5.5 feet. My little snake is a hisser for sure, but once out of the enclosure he is a baby.... But Willamena my 5.5 foot BCI is a true baby and I lucked out getting her from a pet shop that had no idea about her. I have tried to get as close as I can afford to make them happy. I have posted photos. I would appreciate constructive critisism regarding whe you see in my enclosures.... Thanks!


Scott

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[thinkdanni]

I'm getting a bunch of errors when trying to access the information

[petrie]

Originally Posted by thinkdanni

I'm getting a bunch of errors when trying to access the information

Me too

[navyfc117]

now that u mention it. about 10 years ago when i got my first snake(s). I always fed them in their own enclosures and never had a problem at al with them being aggressive. Now that I take them out and put them in a box i have had more problems with them eating. especially newer babies

[razeraze]

I can not believe a single book is not mentioned.

Here are some more references:

The Art of Keeping Snakes by Philippe De Vosjoli

The Complete Boa Constrictor by Vin Russo

The Boa Constrictor Manual by Philippe De Vosjoli

Red-tailed Boa (the guide to owning a) by Glen Drewnowski

Red-Tailed Boas (a complete guide to boa constrictor) by Ben Aller and Mark Bayless