baby boa home

akroflyer · #1 (**permalink**) 09-08-2007, 10:14 AM

So I finally made up my mind about which boa to get..... Caulker Cay

Currently knocking down the virtual door of Gus with emails about them.

I want to get the home of my future snake all dialed in and perfect so I can be prepared for the arrival of my new family member

I know he or she will eventually grow to 4,5,6ft or maybe more eventually and I'm fully prepared to upgrade accordingly. However, what setup do you reccomend for a baby boa? I hear that too much space to start can be bad. Don't get me wrong, I want to provide the happiest, healthiest, and safest environment possible----- but I dont wanna break the bank on a small cage that will be replaced within a year.

Can someone give me some options to play around with? Any complete packages out there? Again, I'm starting off with nothing right now... just a space set aside in the livingroom.
-Mark-

Ranger · #2 (**permalink**) 09-08-2007, 01:19 PM

Don't worry about the "too much space" thing. Nothing you buy or build will have more space than nature. Boas are native to the great outdoors.

DO WORRY about having enough hides and other cover distributed throughout the enclosure so the snake has plenty of places to feel secure. It is important that the hides are distributed throughout the heat gradient so the snake never has to choose between the temp it's looking for and security. It must be able to have both at the same time.

akroflyer · #3 (**permalink**) 09-08-2007, 08:22 PM

Sounds good. Guess I'll be going for a large enclosure

I'm thinking one of the expandable cages from boaphileplastics would be a good option. They start at 24''x24''x'11.5'' for the smaller, less expensive cages---- then you can add on to it as the snake grows! Seems like a good route to take right now.

anthrpicdecadnce · #4 (**permalink**) 09-08-2007, 08:57 PM

rubbermaids are pretty cheap too ^_^

ssjsmits · #5 (**permalink**) 09-09-2007, 08:24 AM

The rubbermaind setup will be very beneficial for a baby boa. They provide a lot of security, hold heat and mositure well.
Another approach is buying one from Animal Plastics. You can get a cage that will house them for life (like a 6 footer), but you can get a divider so that it will serve as a 3 foot cage. Then when the boa grows out of the 3 foot cage, just take the divider out. There are other sizes that can be divided too, like 4ft for example.
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Finally, you can do what I like the best and just make your cages

akroflyer · #6 (**permalink**) 09-10-2007, 07:13 AM

What heating setup is ideal?
I see a lot of posts about how an UTH or flexwatt is required for healthy digestion. Heat lamps help ambient temps but unless they are custom built into the cage they let too much humidity escape... and can't be used with a rubbermaid setup.

I live in hollywood so the room temps stay at a steady 75 pretty much year long.

I know what is desired for a cage setup as far as the temp gradient and water bowl, hide location etc. I've just never seen an UTH setup before... how do you adjust the temp? If anyone could post a picture of their cage setup (rubbermaid, custom, or commercial) that shows the heating elements it would really help me out.

ssjsmits · #7 (**permalink**) 09-10-2007, 07:18 AM

If you use a rubbermaid setup, you'll need a thermostat for the uth. Those suckers get very hot. A space heater for the room would be ideal too to try and keep the ambient room temp around 80.

I personally don't have any rubbermaid setups, yet. They are a great, inexpensive and effective way to care for your boa. As long as you can keep the room temp at a proper air temp.

Eric H · #8 (**permalink**) 09-11-2007, 01:49 AM

I know im new here but maybe i can help a bit.

Look at my setup http://redtailboa.net/forums/boas/38112-my-babies.html for the boa. Its a 36X12x18 , cost around 50$ brand new, plus the top which is around 25$ or so. For humidity and heat, I went to Home Depot, got a piece of plexiglass cut the exact width of the aquarium, and about 3/4 length of it. I can just it down on the little "lip" under the cover, so theres not as much open space.

Plants I bought at Wal Mart, for a total of about 12$ for a big bundle of them, and the wood i got outside, sanded it down a bit and disinfected it.

You will of couse need either a heat pad or light heater, i opted to use both and a thermometer (wal mart is good for that as well), an indoor outdoor one is about 15$ so you can monitor both ends at the same time. I use eco earth, and with a good base of substrate, you shouldnt need a thermostat, even though its a good idea (ive never used one and temps are always good). Although in my Python's setup i use a dimmer, as hes on outdoor carpet and its thin.

Substrate is about another 5-10$ or so, and then a couple pinkys to get you started.All in all, your looking at about 100$ give or take, not including the snake. Hope this helps!

Eric H · #9 (**permalink**) 09-11-2007, 01:50 AM

Id like to mention as well, that this setup is probably good for about a year or so im assuming, but the only thing lost is the price of the enclosure. Just waiting to buy a house so I can have the room to make one.

akroflyer · #10 (**permalink**) 09-11-2007, 05:28 AM

Ya, 36x24x12 seems like it will be tons of room for a new baby boa. Caulker Cays grow slower and max out at 4-6ft anyways so that size should last at least a year, maybe more.

I'm just about to place an order with Animal Plastics... they made me a very decent deal on one of their cages and were very helpful in answering all of my questions.

Yes, I could have made a cage myself--- but living in a 20 story building in Los Angeles doesn't lend itself to any big DIY projects. Finding parking is enough of a challenge, let alone a space to cut materials.

So with the cage only 1ft tall I think the UTH they install will be sufficient heat for the whole cage. I'm opting for a dimmer on the UTH right now and will do some trial and error with a thermostat at a later date.

Expect some pictures of the setup and baby boa soon

Eric H · #11 (**permalink**) 09-11-2007, 01:34 PM

Nice congrats, cant wait to see. The dimmer is a good idea, i believe theres a good DIY dimmer somewhere in these forums you can make for about 10-15$ or so. The only reason i dont have a dimmer for my boa is that its a very small UTH, and has a dimmer on the lamp, plus theres a good thickness of Eco Earth as well.

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