Proper Red Tail Housing - Should I make a change?

[Starkey]

Yesterday I purchased a Guyana Red Tail at about 2 foot in size. My first BCC and I am very happy! She has ALOT of pink.

I also purchased a 10 Gallon Tank and a lid to fit. After reading the Care for a True Red Tail on this site from Rio Bravo, I am thinking I made a mistake.

I have always kept my reptiles in an aquarium type setup. However the little girl seems a bit nervous. Obviously a change in environment is stressful, but could the glass enclosure be adding to this? I really like being able to see her. However I would rather her be completely comfortable in her surroundings. Should I get a smaller rubbermaid type enclosure like my other two boas are in?

I did try to feed her and she would not take it. I am sure this is from the stress and change as well.

I purchased her from S&S Exotics in Houston TX. They are very good at what they do and the cleanliness of their shop was suprising!

Any information or ideas you can offer would be most welcome!

Thank you

Chad Starkey

[Morgans Boas]

I am not a fan of glass-style set-ups, but some ppl make them work . The issues are :
> humidity escapes from the screen lid . That can be somewhat avoided by covering most of the top with plastic, or foil - but avoid using material such as a towel, as that will also absorb humidity .
> Aquariums have too much open view points and can be stressful as you had mentioned. If you provide hiding spots (and you should) they will likely spend most of there time under them .
> The temps are hard to keep at optimal gradients due to glass being a poor insuate - thus having fluctuations from day/night, and season to season .

Some things that I feel every snake keeper should have .

>heat source on a decent thermostat (no exception imo) . I don't like Reostats (dimmers). They also allow fluctuations as the room temps change.
> No heat from lights at night - there are better sources for heating.
> digital thermometer with a probe . Not the thermometers that hangs or sticks to the sides .
> temp gun . This gives you readings from all areas of the enclosure . You can find them at hardware stores for much cheaper than the ones sold as reptile temp guns, but they're the same thing.
> offer hides at the warm end and cool end . If your snake doesn't ever use them (some of mine don't) , then you can remove them after awhile .

My prefered caging is made of either plastic, or melamime , and opens from the front . They are much easier to clean and work with . Plus you can stack them if you get more snakes.

	In My Opinon IMO = In My Opinion and IMHO = In My Honest Opinion

[Starkey]

I changed to a smaller Sterilite like I have my 2 larger boas in and She ate. She is not as jumpy when I approach as well for some reason (it is an opaque container sold at wal mart).

I killed the mouse put it in her container and before I could get my camera turned on and night shot set she was eating. She did not constrict it, she just started swallowing. Thats a first for me.

I am buying a temp gun tomorrow. Should Home Depot carry those? or Lowe's?

I have a heat strip under all of my boas at one end of the container. They have plenty of water and the humidity is a steady 60% in this room (I live in Houston TX). The temp is a steady 80 to 83. dropping to mid 70's at night. I let the natural light from the windows keep the light cycle consistant and turn no other lights on unless absolutely necessary at night.

Thank you for your help, hopefully I can post pictures soon.

Chad

[AGActaeonia]

If you must choose between an aquarium and a tub - I would recommend a tub.

Glass is difficult to control, or rather, the factors associated with it are. Boas do not enjoy overhead lighting (heat-lamps are a great asset when using glass, but are all around more suitable for an arid reptile, such as a King Snake, desert gecko or Bearded Dragon. Lamps also dissipate available humidity much more quickly, and in an open-air enclosure, this can prove quite detrimental), nor being exposed on every side (as you've presumed could be a problem).

Something like this would be appropriate for a young BCC.



That setup is a 75g aquarium personally designed by me. The screen-lid is a custom refitted one (hot-glued a piece of plexi-glass 1/3 the total size of the lid beneath the rim to minimize humidity and heat escape as well as the usual "nose rubbin" tendency displayed by some snakes kept in aquaria.

That setup ran me over $500 and houses a 4 foot female BCI. She will by summer's end be placed in a T25 produced by Animal Plastics.

If you spend the money - which can be a considerable amount - work out the kinks and tune what works best for your snake and less for you, you can make an aquarium work. Every problem associated with aquarium usage is void when applied to my series of setups, and I am proud to boast a year running without a single incomplete shed.

Get a tub. It's easier.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

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

[AGActaeonia]

PS:

I'd like to add here that aquariums - as anyone with half a mind can guess - are not "long-term" appropriate for a large Boid. After having spent as much money as I have on my 4 large scale vivaria (over $2,000), I've plans for all of mine.

The above pictured setup will go to a 4ft male Ball Python, for example. Aquariums can in the long run be a huge waste of money, especially when you must upgrade every other month to accommodate the growing animal.

Ultimately tubs can house an adult BCC for their entire lives, are easy to retrofit with a divider to provide more security instead of a wind-tunnel - something the younger prefer, and are hand-down easy as all get-out to maintain.

That having said, let this be a lesson to any others seeking insight on aquarium usage as well. It's much easier to "not do it at all" than it is to do it the way I do. Believe me.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

[Starkey]

Very Nice setup, and I agree the tubs are MUCH easier. Maybe someday once she is larger I will invest in a setup like that.

Again thank you for the information.

[BlackLava]

i looooove me some tubs i swear they are the best thing ever for tropical boids i keep my young boas and pythons in a rack wtih sterilite tubs with some ventilation holes drilled in them, and with flexwatt hooked up to a herpstat. it works great, holds humidity without any misting and holds the flexwatt at a constant temp no matter how warm or cold the house is. my subadults are in T10s from AP. Im hoping to get some of their T25s towards the end of the year for my girls. AP cages are awesome with heat and humidity too