| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 02/05/2010 : 11:26:38
I've been doing a fair amount of research into them for a while now as i have been considering getting one.
The only thing that put me off was not knowing wether i would have the space for the enclosure size needed when they were fully grown, but i am now confident that with a bit of a move around i could fit an enclosure which is 6x3x3 in my bedroom in my nans.
I would initially house it in a RUB but i have a couple of questions for you boa owners.
On the majority of care sheets i have looked at it says that there should be a temperature range of 29-32 in the warm end and 25-27 in the cool end.
25-27c is warmer than most households room temperature so do you guys use an extra Mat and stat in the cool end? |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 08/05/2010 : 11:30:37
Thanks for that Kehhlyr. |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 08/05/2010 : 02:00:56
quote:
Originally posted by DannyBrown91
One more question, how do you guys gauge how much you feed them? eg do you go by girth eg. prey item same girth as snake or weight to prey weight ratio eg. prey item weighs 10% of snakes weight.
Dunno how I missed this.
I tend to feed mine a prey item(s) that's only fractionally wider than his body.
Mine is only a little tiny worm of a boa at the moment, so his prey items are governed by his body girth, as he's older and chunkier then the thickness of prey size in relation to his body thickness will decrease.
A nice sized rat will not make much of a bulge in his body, so he'll just be on probably a different multiple of prey items, and even then I couldn't even begin to guess how many he'll eat when he's bigger.
In regards prey items though, sometimes he has single prey items, other times he'll have 2. This is purely because some can be short fat mice, or they could be longer and fat, but still be classed as mediums.
I've had some XL mice that are nearly the same size as small rats and L mice that were BIGGER than jumbos in the past as well.
Plus the weighing of the prey item when you have multple snakes to feed and fill in charts can get a bit arm-achey.  |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 02/05/2010 : 19:22:23
Thanks Lee, i have looked at them care sheets already whilst doing my research. I did find the jnb-boas one very good but like to check multiple care sheets. I like to totally know what im getting into before i commit myself. Don't want to get the snake without making sure i have everything set up correctly and know what im doing.
I think i know pretty much all i need to now.
One more question, how do you guys gauge how much you feed them? eg do you go by girth eg. prey item same girth as snake or weight to prey weight ratio eg. prey item weighs 10% of snakes weight. |
| lee2308 |
Posted - 02/05/2010 : 18:48:31
http://www.jnb-boas.co.uk/page12.htm
http://repticzone.com/caresheets/823.html
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| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 02/05/2010 : 15:15:48
Thanks guys.
My bedroom isn't too chilly and there are no drafts accept for near the window if i have it open. So aslong as i have the RUB on the otherside of the room do you think it would be ok without an extra heatmat?
Once it was big enough for a 3x3x3 viv it would be heated with a ceramic and possibly might put the heatmat in the cold end aswell on the lowest setting the stat has but that wouldn't be for a good year or so i would have thought.
Do any of you know of any common/columbian BCI care sheets you could recommend?
I was looking at the new MODX vivariums, they're extendable so i thought they would be perfect. I figured it could live in a RUB untill big enough for the initial 3x3x3 viv and then as it got bigger i could extend that to make it a 6x3x3 viv. Sounded perfect to me, plenty of depth for it to move around and a nice bit of height so it can climb comfortably.
Edit - thought i would add, general cool end temps in my other fauns which are in my room are around 22c |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 02/05/2010 : 13:22:31
yes the temperature gradient required for boas DOES require a bit more thought.....especially as prolonged exposure to temps below what's recommended can result in health problems, commonly RI's.
i was using a Reptile Radiator which was great all summer and autumn keeping warm and cooler end temps within range but with the really cold winter we've just had i found the Rep Rad was struggling so i changed to a Microclimate AHS. they come in 250w, 350w and 500w and i use a 250w to heat a 4'x2'x2' viv and this does the job great 
apparently some people use 2 rep rads for large enclosures (the rep rad is only 70w or 75w) and 2 cope no problem
generally adult boas are best heated from above rather than using a mat providing belly-heat so ceramics would also be an option but again, it might take 2 to provide the correct set-up
i can definitely recommend boas they're usually great feeders (though this can be species dependant!) and all-round nice and relatively easy snakes
and of course i would highly rate Dumerils................ |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 02/05/2010 : 13:13:04
I use nothing in the cool end of mine. At the moment Marshy is still only a dinky tiny thing (about 3ft) so he's still got a heat mat for now.
I'd imagine that it depends on where the viv is, if it's a chilly area, then it might be worth having a secondary mat but even then I'd say that 25-27c in the 'cool' end is still a bit more than necessary.
I shall get temp readings from my viv later to show temp gradient. |
