Howdy

[RTBoy]

Ok, so here's my story.

Last monday I came home and on my front porch. (This was before the parents got home, thank god!) I saw this 10 Gallon tank with nothing in it. I opened the door and carried the cage in, and I proceeded to read the letter that was attached to it. It noted that I was a young energetic kid who could take well care of it.

I looked at the cage once again and I saw nothing. So I opened the top and I placed my hand on the bottom of the cage ( ) and sure enough this snake lunges out of the pine chips in it and misses me. ( Yes for you people out there who want to know, I screamed like a little girl ) I started to wig out. Someone had left me this 3+ foot snake in a 10 gallon tank. To be honest I was expect a hamster or a gerbil. Low and behold that would be one of the many food sources available to it. I called my mom and my dad and they told me not to freak and get a spatchula *SP* and slowly help it back in the cage and put the lid on it.

They got home and my mom is squeemish about snakes as it stands and my dad loves them to death, at this point I don't know... it tried to bite me on first contact. I guess thats normal? Well My dad of course the wierd guy who shows fear to nothing until it involves pain or blood. And he got lucky, he got both.

And there went my dad's trust in the creature.

The next day I took it to the vet and had it check up on and it was in near perfect health condition except for a few mites. (Which I have already taken care of) and he encouraged me to keep it and gave me a breif "intro" to snakes if you will, and I grew increasingly interested in the thing. I took it back home and I told my parents the news and as odd as it seems they let me keep it.

I've taken a few hits so far, but for all I know, I'm making progress. I found out it was a RTB and it was supposed to be a relatively docile snake. Yeah.. maybe if you have handled it for a while. This one had been cooped up for a while and not handled at all.

So this weekend we built it a massive cage (yes my dad is a wood worksman, go figure) its 4ft long 2 ft tall and 2 ft wide and we built it of sterilized and sanded 3/4" plywood. We bought a piece of plexi glass and a piano hinge and we pretty much had a snake cage. Well I stand here looking at this enourmous cage and I haven't the first clue what to put in it for the snake other then a source of heat and a water dish for soaking.

What I really need to know is, what can I put in the box, thats going to last the box and snake a while to make it feel more at home.

Thanks,
Chad

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[hostensteffa]

I might have just read over it twice, but i don't believe you mentioned whtat kind of snake it is...what kind is it, that will make a slight difference in how to set up the cage.

[RTBoy]

RTB

[LdyDrgn]

Hi, Chad!

What great luck you have.

Ok, what you need to put into the cage is a LOT of places to hide. Since the boa is a bit young, it will be insecure in such a large enclosure. Half log hides, some silk plants so it can hide as it goes from one end to the other without being in the open. Need one water bowl in the middle that is partially hidden so it doesn't have to be exposed to drink or two water bowls on each end so it won't have to go far to hide again. Did you seal the bottom of the enclosure well to protect against wetness and humidity? Newspaper is an easy substrate to clean up, but the bottom should be well sealed so it does not absorb any liquid. Since the box is wooden, you will need to find a good way to heat the cage, too Boa constrictors like temps to be about 88 on the warm side and 78 on the cool side. Humidity needs to be about 50%. If you get bottom heat, I suggest using a Kane heat mat. Get a thermometer and a hygrometer so you can keep track of these. If you decide to go with overhead heat there are 2 ways to do this. Cut a hole in the top and place good, strong metal screen over it. Place a heat lamp over the screen. Or attach a ceramic light fixture inside the box but make sure to cover the light with a protective screen so the snake cannot nose the light or wrap directly around it causing major burns.

This is all I can come up for now off the top of my head. If you have any more questions, just ask!

[JonnyB]

Hi chad Welcome alot of smart people around here. Enjoy your snake careful for me and many otehrs They are very addictive LOL

[Stormyva]

Congrats on the new snake and welcome to RTB!
Lady has given you some great information and will get you off on the right track!
Check out the care sheet section of this site for some more detailed information on feeding and care.
Heres a link to the care sheet section for snakes....
http://www.redtailboa.net/modules.ph...page&pageid=13

[JuliusSqueezer]

Make sure and take pictures...We wanna see! also..what ya gonna feed him?

[reptilemama]

Tom McCarthy uses a really neat 2-part eopxy for the bottom of his cages. I can't remember the name of it, but it's used for things like bar tops. You should be able to find it at Menards or Home Depot. It works great and is really easy to clean. Make sure you seal the sides, too, and let it air out for at least a week before you out the snake in. The better sealer coat you use, the easier it will be to clean, because liquids won't soak into the wood. Good luck!

[RTBoy]

Oh when we made the cage, we tiled, grouted, and sealed the bottom, it looks very nice.

I put in a nice overhead heat lamp today and I bought a nice 12" Diameter watering bowl for it.

As for the log hides.. I can't seem to find any and finding some big enough is going to be a problem I can tell..

I picked it up today and to my surprise it wasn't hostile at all. It just wrapped around my arm and stayed put.

For food.. hmm. Good question. My sister has a rat that is about 9" long.. she's 16 and doesn't want it anymore I believe and to be quite frank, I hate that rat. So I think its going to be well fed next time around.

Also today, I plan on going to the pet store and buying a male and female rat and breeding them for my own food. I already know how to care and breed rats.

I also made a handling hook today with a rubber coated hook that screws into the handel I made.. which is from a warped piece of wood. (looks really cool)

[RevMojo]

Sounds like a good start. Finding hides once your snake starts to put some size on can be challenging. Be creative, you'd be surprised at what works.

As far as food goes, raising your own rats is good, but for the short term, I'd recommend frozen/thawed. Even in the long term, if you're breeding your own, it probably wouldn't hurt to throw em in the freezer (after you whack 'em) just to ensure there's no parasites.

[RTBoy]

Quite interesting how you said 'whack em'... How would I go about whackin a rat?