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New to the Arboreals

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Griz

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I have decided to bite the bullet and get a nice display piece for my office. I have always been fascinated by arboreals but never really delved into them due to my obsession with red-tails.

I really have not done much in the way of studying up on them. Ideally, I am looking for advice from you all as to good care sheets etc so that my set up is as trouble free as possible.

Any advice you can give me as I wander down this path is appreciated. I do not plan on breeding. I simply want something beautiful that will be in my office with me throughout the day. It would strictly be a display animal. Thanks in advance.

Bob
 
well
how much cage space do you have?

if you have a bit of space, and want something that is very simple to care for, your best bet would be either a Jungle Carpet Python or Amazon Tree Boa. Both of these are smaller animals (the JCP being larger in girth), and have fairly simple care requirements.

There are too many species out there to give you a caresheet like your asking for. Gotta know what you want to be able to give you the right info...
 
I apologize. I thought I had mentioned either the ETB or GTP's. Those are the only two that interest me.

As for caging, money is really not an obstacle in deciding which route I want to go. The only one I have looked at in passing is the Boaphiles. Ideally, I want it large enough to really be a nice looking show piece. If I could find a cage builder that has the quality of the Boaphiles but give me a large height, such as 48 inches, then I would be game.

Griz

edited* - I just saw the A30 from Animal Plastics. That is exactly what I would want for my office. Something that looks like a nice piece of furniture. However, is this too large?
 
Hey Bob hows it going, Both Basins and Chondro's are a little touchier to keep that Boa's but with the experience you have either shouldn't be a problem for you.

If I had to pick I'd go with Chondro's as they tend to be the easier to keep of the two. Also depending on what you want to spend there is a much greater variance in colors in Chondro's than Emeralds.

As far as cages go I have a couple of the Cages by Design display cages. they are easy to transport and put together(if you read the instructions) and look good. I have 2 of their 4 foot tall by 4 wide by 3 deep cages and they are plenty big enough and give you room for plants and stuff. Both of mine have a two foot tall cabnet under them and a 1 foot top which is good for lights and the heat panel. One thing I would do is go with the glass sliding doors , one of mine has Plexi and it gets scratched up from opening and closing.

PVC cages. com makes great cages and specialises in Arboreal cages , Jim's a good guy and can make pretty much what ever you want. Hope this helps if you need more info just ask. Randy
almost forgot the link to some info for ya... http://p072.ezboard.com/bchondroforum
 
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And I'm one to say that Emeralds are likely a bit easier :D
Care for the two are more or less the same. GTPs are smaller at birth than ETBs, and would do better in smaller caging till grown. Their smaller birth size is kinda my holdback on them. Sooo fragile when they are young...

As far as caging goes, TNSCages.com has some GREAT acrylic display enclosures. Also, if you have a plastics shop near you, you can likely have something custom built to suit your size needs. I like the TNS cages for the pullout substrate trays. Print of a few of their pictures and take them to a shop and have it quoted... I know i've been quoted half the price on a custom build then pre-made acrylic cages run on many websites...
 
ravensgait said:
Hey Bob hows it going, Both Basins and Chondro's are a little touchier to keep that Boa's but with the experience you have either shouldn't be a problem for you.

If I had to pick I'd go with Chondro's as they tend to be the easier to keep of the two. Also depending on what you want to spend there is a much greater variance in colors in Chondro's than Emeralds.

As far as cages go I have a couple of the Cages by Design display cages. they are easy to transport and put together(if you read the instructions) and look good. I have 2 of their 4 foot tall by 4 wide by 3 deep cages and they are plenty big enough and give you room for plants and stuff. Both of mine have a two foot tall cabnet under them and a 1 foot top which is good for lights and the heat panel. One thing I would do is go with the glass sliding doors , one of mine has Plexi and it gets scratched up from opening and closing.

PVC cages. com makes great cages and specialises in Arboreal cages , Jim's a good guy and can make pretty much what ever you want. Hope this helps if you need more info just ask. Randy
almost forgot the link to some info for ya... http://p072.ezboard.com/bchondroforum
Click to expand...

Price-wise, I am in the $2000 range for the entire setup. I realize that there are some animals that are well above that price range. But, I am not doing this to breed so I figured that $1400 or so for the animal would get me into a nice display animal.

Griz
 
Well Basins tend to run more , your looking at 2 grand or more for a nice one. You can pick up a nice sub adult chondro in your price range no problem. If you need help finding one just let me know. Randy
 
I would have to agree with the pvccages.com as being one of the most aesthetically pleasing as well as an exceptionally functional display cage. They can be ordered complete with perches, heat panel and lighting. Make sure you get at least a 24" cube for an adult animal.
If you are 'carpentry minded', a wooden cage is not difficult to build yourself. Plans can be found on Greg Maxwell's site There is also some general husbandry info there that may be helpful.
While I have no experience with emeralds, I currently house about 35 GTPs. Their care is not extremely difficult, as long as you meet their temp and humidity requirements....extreme fluctuations in temperature are not well tolerated. I would advise an established adult animal as opposed to a neo., especially if this is going to be a high traffic area.
If you have any questions...feel free to PM or e-mail me!!!
 
ravensgait said:
Well Basins tend to run more , your looking at 2 grand or more for a nice one. You can pick up a nice sub adult chondro in your price range no problem. If you need help finding one just let me know. Randy
Click to expand...

Depends on who you buy from. I have sold some very nice, yearling, "textbook" animals for $1200.00 to $1500.00.

Craig
 
Basins...ALL THE WAY!!!

The arboreal cages are amazing that you can get for them. Just go to www.boas.net and check out the setup on the homepage. Craig also makes his own cages and like Tony's they are killer!

One thing about the basins is that they are baby tame and you can get a cage and basin for 2k...for sure!

GHIB200106.jpg
 
I love our GTP (even though she isn't as handleable as our boas). She's a great display snake.

When you mention building a very tall tank - I think that with GTPs at least, it's been shown that above a certain height, tall tanks are not that "useful" - as in, they will tend to stay at the top of the cage, to have some comfort from the ceiling, and that height over 2 feet or so will be wasted space. I've seen some nice displays that were 2 feet or 3 feet high, and gave the snakes more WIDTH to move around in that looked great, though it depends on the space in your office you have to fill.

I just have ours in a BARRs cage right now so I can't speak to the other cage types. :) Post pics when you decide which snake and which cage you decide to go with! They really are a pleasure to set up for (my boas completely TRASH their cages when I try to decorate them, but the GTP doesn't mess things up too much when she explores).
 
Lauren , they will use the space but like almost all the cage except their favorite perching spot they wont use it often. I've kept them in big display cages some over 4 feet tall and at one time or other the animals visited every inch of the cage but not very often lol. Randy
 
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