I need answers asap please

[MandaFaye]

I have a few questions:
1) I have a 16 month old red tail male boa that ate his first small frozen rat from Petco today. He had no problems at all.
I was feeding him 2 adult mice.
He ate one every week.
He ate the small rat easily, he acted like he wanted more.
Should I feed him the rat more than once a week, less than once a week?
Should I feed him a rat and a mouse?
2) I was using Eco Earth. It's a REAL hassle. I was told by a Petco rep. that aspen was a bad idea because it could get lodged underneath the scales. (Even though they were using aspen) Is aspen a bad idea? I REALLY don't want to use Eco Earth anymore.

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[B-Spec]

I use aspen in only 1/4 of my enclosures... the rest is astro turf... its fine, just dont feed on the aspen

You were feeding 2 adult mice but ate one every week>? or once a week?

you should be good on one rat.... no need to grow a fatty lol

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[MandaFaye]

He was eating 2 adult mice, per sitting, once a week. I feed him every sunday.

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[MandaFaye]

Is it safe to use aspen then? Is paper towl a good idea?

Yall, I really need to know what I should use as substrate. My boa is still in his feeding tank waiting for me.

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[John]

MandaFaye,

Aspen is safe to use. It is very popular. I think you will find it easier to mess with than the Eco Earth. The only thing you should watch out for is that is molds easily if it gets wet. Just watch out for spills from the water dish. If you see any that is wet, just remove it.

Many folks use newspaper also. If you have lots of snakes, newspaper is just easier. But, many folks believe that snakes benefit physically by having a particle substrate to move around on rather than a smooth surface. It's all up to your preference.

How large is your boa, and how noticeable was the lump from eating the rat? If there is a visible lump from one rat, I would stick with that for now.

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[B-Spec]

^
agree

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[tucuxi88]

Sounds like the petco guy is a real winner.

Seems like you're doing everything just fine. If you're feeding in the cage make sure you lay something down so the boa doesn't eat the substrate as well.

That eco-earth stuff is a major pain. I see that more likely to get stuck in places it shouldn't be than aspen.

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[Icicle]

Originally Posted by tucuxi88

That eco-earth stuff is a major pain. I see that more likely to get stuck in places it shouldn't be than aspen.

I have used eco earth from day one and The only pain is drying it out.

Eco earth part 1
YouTube - Eco-Earth 101 part 1

Eco earth part 2.
a salad spinner work too, I just made this one cause I use about 20 gallons of Eco earth for all my cages
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J3kGxdonzY

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	1.1 One Male and One Female

[tucuxi88]

Originally Posted by Icicle

I have used eco earth from day one and The only pain is drying it out.

Eco earth part 1
YouTube - Eco-Earth 101 part 1

Eco earth part 2.
a salad spinner work too, I just made this one cause I use about 20 gallons of Eco earth for all my cages
YouTube - Eco-Earth 101 Part 2

I think I'm more excited to see who's the face behind the rabbit than the proper way to plump up a block of dirt.

It seems you have it down to a science though. I just squeezed it like a sponge. (before my newspaper days)

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	1.1 One Male and One Female

[DiamondCreek]

I use something similar to Eco-Earth myself. It is shredded coconut husk. I'll probably switch to reptile carpet or astroturf myself, though, as I am seriously considering feeding my crew in their cages.

Eco-Earth and the like are great for keeping humidity up for good sheds, though. That part, I will miss.

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[Icicle]

They make the stuff loose in bags too.

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[Sliding Scales]

I have never had luck feeding inside the enclosure as they always slide off whatever I placed in the cage, and then scarf a piece of bedding. That is just MY experience and that is why I feed outside. As far as bedding is concerned I just recently made a change. I use ZooMed Aspen bedding but I also use ZooMed Forest Floor, which is Cypress Mulch. I like the Forest Floor as it holds the humidity better and looks better. I now do a 1/2 mix in the enclosure and it makes for a nice looking cage floor and my colubrids seem to just love tunneling all throughout the cage.

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[tucuxi88]

When I use actual substrate, I'd buy the bulk bags for rabbits because it's A LOT cheaper. Though it was so dusty I had to get a netted laundry bag and kick it around a bit until I thought it was okay to use.

Kind of thread stealing, but has anybody ever used the peatmoss you can get at gardening centers? I know monitor keepers use that and potting soil that has nothing added in it. I find it would be neat to have a naturalistic cage for my king. (the whole dead leaves and everything)

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[Sliding Scales]

Originally Posted by tucuxi88

When I use actual substrate, I'd buy the bulk bags for rabbits because it's A LOT cheaper. Though it was so dusty I had to get a netted laundry bag and kick it around a bit until I thought it was okay to use.

I can just see your neighbors as they look out the window...
"Mary...come here and see what this girl next door is doing."
"Oh pa...she is doing some tribal dance or something."
"Yeah...but why does she do it in a string bikini?"

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[tucuxi88]

Originally Posted by Sliding Scales

I can just see your neighbors as they look out the window...
"Mary...come here and see what this girl next door is doing."
"Oh pa...she is doing some tribal dance or something."
"Yeah...but why does she do it in a string bikini?"

And here I thought the fence was tall enough.

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[Icicle]

Originally Posted by Sliding Scales

I can just see your neighbors as they look out the window...
"Mary...come here and see what this girl next door is doing."
"Oh pa...she is doing some tribal dance or something."
"Yeah...but why does she do it in a string bikini?"

Originally Posted by tucuxi88

And here I thought the fence was tall enough.

It was tall enough, they just lived on the third floor of the apartment building across the street.

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[tucuxi88]

*thinks to herself* When did RTB members figure out where I live? hmmm...

Me thinks the thread has been stolen and it has nothing to do with peatmoss.

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[MandaFaye]

Thanks you guys. I ended up getting restless and put some paper towl down. I'll buy aspen next. I really appreciate all yall's answers.

For those that asked, I feed my boa in a separate tank from the one he's housed in.

Here's a video of him eating the rat. Let me know if you think it's ok.

YouTube - Red Tail Boa Eating Rat 2

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[Icicle]

There is a thread about that same thing on here.
Most of us feed in the same enclosure.

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[Doc Holliday]

That's a beautiful snake, MandaFaye. I wish I could shed some light on the substrate issue, but I just joined the forums and got my first boa.

I am also using plain white paper towels for now, but I have some Eco bricks given to me by a friend I've never used. I have a few questions. 1) How deep should you fill the enclosure - 1" 2" 6" ? 2) is there a problem with water/mildew collecting under the substrate? 3) Other than obviously removing the substrate around feces, how often do you change out the entire substrate?

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