The Snake Guru
10-18-2007, 04:14 AM
Boa constrictor care in a nutshell
By: Brad Baysinger
Here is a simple care sheet on keeping both B.C.I and B.C.C I’m not going to into this to heavy this is going to be more of a quick glance reference guide for anyone who wishes to read it.
B.C.I (Boa constrictor imperator):
Temperature: B.C.I should have a back round temperature of 80 to 86 degrees F, Back round temperature being the temperature taken at any given area in the enclosure…..but not where the hot side or hot spot is.
Hot Spot: A 90 to 95 degree F hotspot should available to the snake at all times, this can be in the form of any number of designed heat pads, or through an overhead heat source such as am incandescent bulb or ceramic heat emitter or even heat panels.
Temperature Control: The easiest way to control the enclosure temperature is through a Rheostat or a Thermostat.
Rheostat: Just fancy term given to a dimmer switch, usually a round circular knob that controls how much current goes to the electrical heat source. This type of control is manual and will have to be turned up or down to get the temperature adjusted.
Thermostat: This device is more of an automatic control style, comes with temperature control panel, and some form of sensing probe. Basically you set it to the desired temperature and it adjusts accordingly.
** Temperature should always be monitored through 2 thermometers one at the hot end, and one at the cool end, even the thermostat style setup still must be monitored incase the device fails**
Humidity: Average accepted humidity for this species is from 60% to 70%. This can be raised slightly during times of shed. Usually simply misting the enclosure once or twice a day is all that is needed. Humidity can fluctuate as it does anywhere else it will go up and down and that is OK. If condensation is common place on the inside of the enclosure the airflow needs to be increased stagnant air will cause molding, and bacterial growth. Devices for humidity can be any of the following (in order from cheapest to most expensive) Hand held Spray bottle, Garden variety pump sprayer, Ultra-Sonic Foggers, Automatic misting systems (such as Rain Maker Jr. ect. ect.)
*Humidity can be helped out with the use of a household style humidifier as well simply humidifying a room will raise the humidity in the cage as well.*
Housing Size: Minimum cage size required for an adult B.C.I is 4ftx2ftx2ft however 6ftx2ftx2ft or 8ftx2ftx2ft would be much better. Some breeders will keep their boas in smaller caging, however this is a situation where floor space = money, if you are not planning on full scale breeding I would suggest larger more acceptable accommodations for your boa.
Feeding: Boas should be fed one or two appropriate sized meals every 7 days, appropriate sized meal is one that is no thicker than the snake’s body at its widest point. Over feeding will cause your boa to show “fat rolls” if this condition is present scale back on your feeding regimen. Over feeding can lead to the early death of your snake.
B.C.C (Boa constrictor constrictor) also known as “True Red tails”:
The above requirements can be simply applied to this group as well, besides these few changes:
Temperature: The back round temperature for B.C.C should kept higher than B.C.I 85 to 87 degrees F for the cool side, and 90 to 95 for the hot side. These boas like it warm insufficient heat may cause regurgitation syndrome and upper respitory disease.
Humidity again can be kept like B.C.I
Housing Size: B.C.C tend to grow to greater lengths than B.C.I and so will require larger accommodations, 6ftx2ft2ft being minimum 8ftx2ftx2ft or bigger being better.
Small note on Neonate boas:
Neonate boas should be kept under higher temp. conditions with the same parameters of B.C.C 85 to 87 F cool side and 90 to 95 hot side. This applies for both B.C.I Neonates and B.C.C.
As stated this is basically a quick reference sheet of the very basic requirements, please research your snake before you buy!
Brad Baysinger
By: Brad Baysinger
Here is a simple care sheet on keeping both B.C.I and B.C.C I’m not going to into this to heavy this is going to be more of a quick glance reference guide for anyone who wishes to read it.
B.C.I (Boa constrictor imperator):
Temperature: B.C.I should have a back round temperature of 80 to 86 degrees F, Back round temperature being the temperature taken at any given area in the enclosure…..but not where the hot side or hot spot is.
Hot Spot: A 90 to 95 degree F hotspot should available to the snake at all times, this can be in the form of any number of designed heat pads, or through an overhead heat source such as am incandescent bulb or ceramic heat emitter or even heat panels.
Temperature Control: The easiest way to control the enclosure temperature is through a Rheostat or a Thermostat.
Rheostat: Just fancy term given to a dimmer switch, usually a round circular knob that controls how much current goes to the electrical heat source. This type of control is manual and will have to be turned up or down to get the temperature adjusted.
Thermostat: This device is more of an automatic control style, comes with temperature control panel, and some form of sensing probe. Basically you set it to the desired temperature and it adjusts accordingly.
** Temperature should always be monitored through 2 thermometers one at the hot end, and one at the cool end, even the thermostat style setup still must be monitored incase the device fails**
Humidity: Average accepted humidity for this species is from 60% to 70%. This can be raised slightly during times of shed. Usually simply misting the enclosure once or twice a day is all that is needed. Humidity can fluctuate as it does anywhere else it will go up and down and that is OK. If condensation is common place on the inside of the enclosure the airflow needs to be increased stagnant air will cause molding, and bacterial growth. Devices for humidity can be any of the following (in order from cheapest to most expensive) Hand held Spray bottle, Garden variety pump sprayer, Ultra-Sonic Foggers, Automatic misting systems (such as Rain Maker Jr. ect. ect.)
*Humidity can be helped out with the use of a household style humidifier as well simply humidifying a room will raise the humidity in the cage as well.*
Housing Size: Minimum cage size required for an adult B.C.I is 4ftx2ftx2ft however 6ftx2ftx2ft or 8ftx2ftx2ft would be much better. Some breeders will keep their boas in smaller caging, however this is a situation where floor space = money, if you are not planning on full scale breeding I would suggest larger more acceptable accommodations for your boa.
Feeding: Boas should be fed one or two appropriate sized meals every 7 days, appropriate sized meal is one that is no thicker than the snake’s body at its widest point. Over feeding will cause your boa to show “fat rolls” if this condition is present scale back on your feeding regimen. Over feeding can lead to the early death of your snake.
B.C.C (Boa constrictor constrictor) also known as “True Red tails”:
The above requirements can be simply applied to this group as well, besides these few changes:
Temperature: The back round temperature for B.C.C should kept higher than B.C.I 85 to 87 degrees F for the cool side, and 90 to 95 for the hot side. These boas like it warm insufficient heat may cause regurgitation syndrome and upper respitory disease.
Humidity again can be kept like B.C.I
Housing Size: B.C.C tend to grow to greater lengths than B.C.I and so will require larger accommodations, 6ftx2ft2ft being minimum 8ftx2ftx2ft or bigger being better.
Small note on Neonate boas:
Neonate boas should be kept under higher temp. conditions with the same parameters of B.C.C 85 to 87 F cool side and 90 to 95 hot side. This applies for both B.C.I Neonates and B.C.C.
As stated this is basically a quick reference sheet of the very basic requirements, please research your snake before you buy!
Brad Baysinger