Good Bite Pics...

[Junkyard]

I'm about to get a new yearling BC male and I hear he is a little "feisty". he's been raised in a shoebox type container of the right size for him. but apparently not handled alot. would have to restrain him to hold him I was told. well I plan to put him into a 4" boaphile cage w/ newspaper for bedding, a hide and water tub. I plan to let him settle in for a week. then how do I acclimate him to handling? suggestions? What is a "safe" routine of handling so he gets tame but is not overly stressed? Should I wear gloves? My yearling female from last year is as tame as she can be- partly just the way she is. I handle her once a week or so to keep her tame and feed her outside her cage in a tupperware container. She has only been "hyperactive" one time when I got her out of her cage and then quickly settled down.
Donna

Newspaper is fine.

You may want to hook train your snake. Use the hook instead of your hand to reach into the cage. Startling a resting snake, even if tame, can be stressful on the snake and a pain if you get bit.

What I did with a nasty boa is when I got her out I would wrap the snake in a used shirt of mine for about 3-5 minutes. This would help her become familiar with my scent, when she settled down I would then allow the snake to slither out of the shirt and crawl around my hands(she was safe in my shirt, I smelled the same so she became safe in my hands). I would have her out for 30 minutes and then put her back when she was in a good and safe mood. She quickly became very handleable outside the cage, after a month or two she was not defensive in her own cage anymore. Now, she is the best of all my boas and she has become a personal favorite of mine.

 

[snakehorse]

thanks for handling tips; question on bedding

thanks for the replies on handling tips. I already use a snake hook - I feed my female yearling boa in a separate enclosure (a clear plastic box) and use the hook to help take her out after feeding her. sometimes I use it to get her out of the cage is she seems unsure or is holding an "S" posture. I REALLY had to use it one time when I took her out for photos, and put her down in the grass. suddenly I had a "wild" snake who was much more aggressive than normal. "quick, go get my snake hook" I called to my friend. anyways.

I have a question on bedding as someone said "First of all newspapper is ok, but boas for some reason do a lot better with a more natural bedding"...

how do they "do a lot better?" in what context? I found that wood shavings were hard to keep the right moisture. had her on carpet/coconut chunks for awhile. recently switched to newspaper because I'm going to have 2 cages to care for and want to be sure I find the messes and keep the cages clean. but now I have the dilemna, how do you mist the cage down for added humidity if you are using newspapers?

Donna

 

[Vinny D]

SNAKEHORSE, I said it is better to keep boas constrictor ssp. on a natural bedding. I use keepers choice red cypress mulch. Their is nothing wrong with newspaper but, most boa keepers would agree. the cypress mulch keeps humidity where ever you want it. If your breeding boas a natural bedding is very important, since the mothers make a nest. For some AWSOME locality boa information check out ( riobravoreptiles.com)<--- I purchased a Pokigron locality Suriname B.C.C. from gus @ rio bravo. Im my opinion he knows more about locality boas than anyone i know "with 30 years doing reaserch in the feild and in captivity". Check out his site it has tons of information. I hope this helps. Take care.

Vinny D

 

[Junkyard]

I do not like using a substrate like wood chips, bark, shavings and mulch when humidity is not an extreme necessity. Mold can grow quickly, thus a lot of cleaning is needed, sometimes more often then you may want to deal with. There are tricks to keeping humidity where you want it when using newspaper. Placing the water bowl on heat works wonders, using a cage that holds moisture well. A cage with a screen top or sides makes humidity very difficult to keep inside the cage. Misting in the morning and at night is usually enough for boa constrictors.

Though if the water bowl is big enough for the snake to sit in, they will do so when they need more water. I live in the desert, keeping humidity is a pain in the rear chore sometimes. So during the summer my boas like to sit in their water, it works for them and me, it is easy to maintain and less of a hassle then spending money on a lot of substrate for them. I do mist them twice a day, morning and night to help. I have never had a bad shed from any of my boas.

If you want something that is pleasing to look at, then mulch or coconut husk will work fine, two cages is not too much work to take care of. I have used aspen in the past, boas like to snuggle beneath the shavings, but going through a huge bag every two weeks was not worth it for me.

 

[JCCS]

Newspaper is fine in most enclosures. The cage should be what holds the humidity, not the substrate. If you keep the substrate moist, you are asking for skin problems. I use aspen for most of my smaller boas, I like the smell and the ease of cleaning. Cypress can have more of the oil, whatever the name is, that conifers carry. That oil is harmful to snakes. Usually it is not bad with cypress, I just don't use it. Also, the localities or subspecies of boas do not factor in with the substrate, they are all very similar with keeping requirements, with just minor adjustments with temps and feeding. I like newspaper for breeding females because of the ease of cleanup after they drop. I have never had a problem with them delivering on it.

Chris