Your one stop reptile community

Lisa · #1 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 03:00 PM

Hello, my name is Lisa and last week I bought a little 22" boa, its a male. Since I brought him home I've housed him in a 24" terranium, with under mat heater at the left side and a 15 watt heat lamp above but at the same side, a thermometer at each side and a cave/hide away at each side. I've also included a large waterbowl on the cool side of the tank and wood chippings and a plastic plant and a secure branch for him to climb on , which are also positioned on the cool side.

Have I done it right?, its just since I got him home he seems very slow. He looks healthy enough but he hardly moves all day and if I get him out he slowly wraps himself around my hand, he grips fairly strong but moves so slowly, it makes me wonder if he's ok, or are all boa's slow like this compared to my quick moving baby corn snake which I have only had a few weeks but although she never seems to come out of her little cave, when I get her out she can often be very energetic.

Also, I've offered my boa a dead thawed mouse to eat and it hasn't taken one yet.

The temperature of its tank doesn't get up to the required 86 to 88 degrees according to the strip thermometers I stuck on the tank, yet despite this, the boa never goes into the hottest part of the tank and feels cold when I get him out....this is confusing me because I thought perhaps the snake was so sluggish because it was not warm enough for him..please help [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
[addsig]

Joltman · #2 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 03:14 PM

what are the temps at? I do not like the terriums myself but that does not mean anything. The main thing you want to acheave is the 84-88 degrees the rest of it sound fine. Do you have pics of the set up that would help.
[addsig]

Relayer · #3 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 03:19 PM

You seem to be doing everything correct. What is your substrate? NO cedar. It took my snake about a month to find both hides and use them to warm up or cool down. He needs to get use to his surroundings, I would suggest not changing your tank so he can become aquainted with his new home. Don't worry about him not moving much, they don't, especially during the day. Do you know when his last feeding was? You must convert him to frozen/thawed though, seen some pretty nasty pics of bites by live fed. It can be frustrating but my experience was once he ate f/t once I had no problem afterwards.
You found the right place to discuss your snake, there are many people here with much more experience than me who are wonderful at answering questions.
[addsig]

bewSi · #4 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 03:22 PM

Welcome to RTB, Lisa.

First off, unlike most newbies you sound like you have done everything right off the back. Since he is still small, his attitude will vary quite abit since he's getting used to his surroundings with you as im sure arent the same as the store you got him from.

I would recommend placing a larger plant/branch in his tank so it will spread from the cool to hot side and he wont have to choose which he wants more. Also, try replacing his substrate with aspen as it dosent give mites an easy place to hide.

As far as him being sluggish, both of my baby bci's are slow moving when taken out, its not a Boa trait.. its a baby thing. If I take my 6ft Argentine out, he's gone like the wind, lol. It seems like you're doing the right things though.. if you have any other questions, ask away.
[addsig]

Lisa · #5 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 03:40 PM

Hello again, his branch does stretch across the whole tank but the higher end of the branch is at the cooler side of the tank because I'm worried that he might coil around the heat lamp when its turned off and get burned when the timer turns it back on again.

I started off timing the heat lamp to come on for about 12 hours per day as advised in the manual, but seen as the temperature in the tank is low without the lamp on....not even reading 70 degrees, I have been having it on almost constantly, ands even then it is never reaching the 86 to 88 that it should.

I'm planning on getting a higher wattage light to fix in additionally, so I can switch which ever one I need accordingly, plus I'm going to encase the lights in a wire casing to protect the snake from getting burned, and I also don't trust those stick on thermometer strips, I'm thinking about getting a pair of more expensive types next time I go for a visit to the pet shop.

When I put my boa back in his tank after handling, I always put him in the warm side hoping he will stay there and warm up, but he just slowly slithers his way up into the fork of his branch and sits there very beautifuly most of the day, I get the feeling he likes it there.
any more advice would be very welcome
[addsig]

mirabelasunshine · #6 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 04:31 PM

Good call, putting that wire thing around the lamp -- I was just about to suggest that. Do you maybe need a bigger undertank heater? What about the top of your cage -- is it screened? If you cover over 80% of it, you'll still get plenty of ventilation but the heat will stay in better. Just a thought -- for all I know, you've already done that or something. Best of luck -- you sound like you're off to a good start, and as soon as you get the temps straightened out your boa will have a very nice home.

- MS
[addsig]

travis66 · #7 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 05:08 PM

so what are the temps you told us what they are not.you might want to think about a larger bulb.everything else sounds good.you should use aspen as bewsi said.its cheap also a good thing.good luck and welcome to rtb.net
[addsig]

Lisa · #8 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 06:21 PM

Ok, I've just checked the temperatures in the vivarium....the hot side reads 78 and the cool side reads 69 degree's . This is with the heat mat plus the lamp also, and the central heating has been on for an hour too. when the heating is off the temperature of the vivarium drops a few degrees..same if I switch the heat lamp off. The vivarium is the type made of chipboard with sliding glass front doors. It's 25" long, 20" tall, and 12.5" wide. In the evening when we have our fire on the vivarium gets into the 80's but thats as hot as it gets and then its on the lower end so I think I need a higher wattage bulb.

The snake seems fine, he's coiled himself around the plastic plant in the cool corner. I've just phoned the snake shop where I bought him and the owner said to leave him a week before I feed him, and not to handle him for a week till he settles down in his new home.

I was just wondering.....the man who sold me the snake said that he wouldn't grow bigger than 7 foot, but I've since discovered that red tailed boa's can reach 14 feet........how likely is it that my little boa will get bigger than 7 feet because thats bigger than is practical for me really. I've read that you can stunt their growth so that they don't get too big....is this a case of feeding them less often, I need more info about this please because I'm still feeling like leaving him for days without food is going to starve him, and I feel so tempted to offer him a thawed mouse every other night like I've been doing with my corn snake and his pinkies... [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]
[addsig]

morti · #9 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 06:34 PM

Hi there! Just a couple more ideas for you... Those stick on thermometers are basically useless... The best think I have found is a hand held infared thermometer from Radioshack. I think they are $49, but they are the best thing since sliced bread. That way you can get a truly acurate temp reading (+/- 0.5 degrees) and know not just what the air temp is, but also what your surface temps are. It is also really handy so you can test all your cages with the same thermometer.

About your substrate, there is much to be said for loose substrate like apsen or repti-bark, but I don't like any of it. If you have loose substrate in the enclosure, you MUST feed your snakes in a seperate container. I recomend this anyway, but if you feed on loose substrate the risk of your snake consuming substrate with dinner is just too great. Loose substrate also harbors bacteria and mites and it has a tendency to hide fecal matter and urates. Especially if the substrate smells nice.... I could mask that icky smell that signals time to clean the cage. For the above stated reasons, I use newspaper.

Boas are chambion non-movers. That is one of their most attractive characteristics as far as I am concerned. Colubrids are too energetic for my tastes, and my boas just cuddle up with me whenever I pick them up. It is a good thing. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I wrote a pretty neat caresheet that can be found in the caresheets section of this site or by clicking here.

About the feeding... I have found that boas like rats better than mice. Rats are also better for their digestive systems.

Good luck!
-Morti
[addsig]

morti · #10 (**permalink**) 04-17-2002, 06:45 PM

And to address what you asked while I was typing that last bit... [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Those temps are too low. You might look into getting a ceramic heat emiter. It will screw into the socket where your bulb curently is. It will produce heat more effeciently without producing light.

What kind of UTH are you using? If it is a human heat pad, you might up the setting a notch. If it is a comercial reptile pad, smack the person you bought it from for wasting your money. Then put it on a rheostat or dimmer switch. That way you can control how much heat it puts out.

If it is a colombian boa (BCI) the average sizes are 7-9 ft for a female and 6-7 ft for a male. Anything larger than this is the exception rather than the rule. You would probably know if you had purchased a South American boa (BCC) because of the otlandish price. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

-Morti

[addsig]

Advertisement