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Seperating Viper Boas?

V

viper8red

Max Powers
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Should I seperate ~20" viper boa's from the juviniles which are abou 12-15"?

I was feeding the 20" female and she was in a feeding frenzy but one of the smaller viper boa's came out of the tub and she whacked it, curled tightly aruond it (O)_(O) and started to constrict. Thankfully I was right there and grabbed her head and carefully got eh juvie female out of her larger females mouth.

I didn't think they would attack each other? My breeder seemed to think they would be fine together, and i've kept different sizes together before and not seen this. Was this just because I was feeding her in the same cage as the others? Should I seperate the 2 smaller ones from her?

I really don't want to wake up and find out she ate one of my juvies :( Right now the small juvies are chilling under their log and the big female is under her log. So i'm thinking if they kinda chill out for a little while that feeding mentality will wear off?

Thanks for the help
 
viper8red said:
So she's gonna take another swipe at one of the younger ones sooner or later prolly then huh?
Click to expand...

Its possible.

Not only that, but what if one of them were sick? It could pass on to the others that they are living with, or you might not be able to tell which one is sick.

Another reason to put them all in their own enclosures, is stress. snakes generally dont seek out the company of other snakes on a daily basis. The stress of having to compete for hide spots, or the same warm spot, can cause them not to feed, or to not digest their food properly if they cant get to the right warm areas of the enclosure. There are many many reasons not to house them together, not just the ones im giving you.

its best to just house them all separately. :) Its much easier to keep track this way too. And then, you arent worrying about if youre going to find a baby gone, due to a hungry snake.
 
Mooing Tricycle said:
Not only that, but what if one of them were sick? It could pass on to the others that they are living with, or you might not be able to tell which one is sick.
Click to expand...

True, and if I'm correct the female of discussion is a WC specimen purchased from Dan Scolaro. Best health guarantee in the industry he has. :rolleyes:
 
I agree with Alicia, house them separately if you can. At the very least, you should always separate snakes from each other when you are feeding, no matter what kind they are. Two snakes can start at opposite ends of the same prey and that could lead to losing one or both snakes, if one can't completely swallow the other and suffocates. If you are going to separate only for feeding, I would also suggest that you wait a few hours before putting them back together again. They could still be on feeding mode and/or the smell of prey still in the air or on your snakes could also lead to an accident.
 
Mooing Tricycle said:
Its possible.

Not only that, but what if one of them were sick? It could pass on to the others that they are living with, or you might not be able to tell which one is sick.

Another reason to put them all in their own enclosures, is stress. snakes generally dont seek out the company of other snakes on a daily basis. The stress of having to compete for hide spots, or the same warm spot, can cause them not to feed, or to not digest their food properly if they cant get to the right warm areas of the enclosure. There are many many reasons not to house them together, not just the ones im giving you.

its best to just house them all separately. :) Its much easier to keep track this way too. And then, you arent worrying about if youre going to find a baby gone, due to a hungry snake.
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Thanks Mooing, I think i'll get a small setup for those two juvies and them put a divider between them. That should be easy enough.
 
while i got you guys can I ask another question. What is the easiest/cheapest heating method for sweater box/plastic/sterilite enclosures? I tried undertank heaters from zoomed but they got so hot they started warping the underside. But this was without the rheostat they sell. Now i'm using heat pads and they work decently for heat dispersion but seems like I have to keep them on med-high setting. I don't know which uses less enegry. But I'm trying to heat the water bowl(one of those corner reptile bowls) and part of the ground.

How do ceramic overtank heaters fair with viper boas? Does that dry them out to much?

Any thoughts, opinions welcome.
 
Thoughts and ideas.....You buy an exotic animal, you don't look for the "cheapest" method to house and heat them. If money is an issue, make sure you get all the stuff you need over time, before you get the snake. Getting the animal first, then working on the proper equipment will likely cause your new critters health issues. Hopefully that won't be the case here.

As for heating, I'd say go to Reptile Basics website, and buy a couple of the Ultra Therm heat mats that Rich sells there. They cost a bit, but they'll last a long time, and they are safer then most other forms of heating, since you elect to not use a thermostat.
 
crotalusadamanteus said:
Thoughts and ideas.....You buy an exotic animal, you don't look for the "cheapest" method to house and heat them. If money is an issue, make sure you get all the stuff you need over time, before you get the snake. Getting the animal first, then working on the proper equipment will likely cause your new critters health issues. Hopefully that won't be the case here.

As for heating, I'd say go to Reptile Basics website, and buy a couple of the Ultra Therm heat mats that Rich sells there. They cost a bit, but they'll last a long time, and they are safer then most other forms of heating, since you elect to not use a thermostat.
Click to expand...


With all due respect, most breeders I know do not put huge expense into the viepr boa setup because it's simply not necessary. Even Jerry Conway, the expert just uses a very simple sweaterbox/newspaper heater setup with a bowl. These animals are not to be confused with something far more picky. Most everyone I talk to says that simpler is better. I've actually used heating blankets for 2 years on one enclosure, and I used a ceramic overhead heater for almost the same time. Both seemed to work quite well, thats why I was looking for preferences as I already know there are many options. I will go take a look at those ultra therm heat mats, but blowing money doesnt necessarily equate good.
 
Well, what you are calling blowing money, I call investing in your animals health and well being. :yesnod:

It's up to you though. They are your animals after all. :shrug01: You asked for thoughts and opinions, I shared mine.

Peace out, hope they thrive for you. :thumbsup:
 
crotalusadamanteus said:
Well, what you are calling blowing money, I call investing in your animals health and well being. :yesnod:

It's up to you though. They are your animals after all. :shrug01: You asked for thoughts and opinions, I shared mine.

Peace out, hope they thrive for you. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...


I agree, I try to spend money wisely using the smartest care for the animal. I've got a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't. Never lost a snake yet and never actually had a single loss of viper boa's. But in a single thread of care for viper boa's I once saw 6 different people all have different setups, each they claimed was best. Temperatures and enclosure size and some other basics were about the only thing people were unanamous on. I can't comment on all other snakes, cause i've only owned garters, rubber boa's, ATB's, oh and some rosy boas.

I seperated the vipers today by size. I may never haev another instance where one takes a swipe at the other, but better safe then sorry. I think it was because I put them all back into the same cage too soon after feeding. Waited an hour or so and the big girl was still in hungry mode :rolleyes:
Cheers,
 
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