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Old 04-16-2017, 12:49 AM   #7
elena
Purchasing an adult male rosy boa might be a good idea. My adult males don't feed as often as the females, and don't feed at all for months during brumation. I keep mine in plastic containers that I bough for around $15, and the only modification I had to make was drilling air holes A quality heat pad that won't need replacement, aspen or carefresh bedding that only really needs to be changed 1-2 times a month, a couple of cardboard or plastics boxes or paper towel roll tubes for hides, and a little water bowl. Of the subspecies I keep, I find that the gracia (desert rosy boa) stay smaller and therefor eat cheaper food, as opposed to the slightly more robust roseofusca (coastal). My gracia eat small-medium mice, whereas the roseofusca are eating large mice. Rosy boas are also an inexpensive breeding project, since their live birth does not necessitate an incubator, and litter sizes are small, so fewer mouths to feed.

Most of these things are also true for a second species I work with, east African sand boas (KSB). In this species, the size difference between the sexes is even more pronounced, and while most of my animals are young, a friend who has been keeping KSB for decades told me that most of her adult males only eat every other month, and maintain their weight, body condition and fertility. The things I've said about feeding only apply to adult animals. It is important for growing animals to be fed more frequently. That is why I said you might want to start with an adult.