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questions aboutboaphile 421d

T

trevor0047b

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i am wanting to get a hatchling boa and a hatchling ball python and i was wondering if they could both be housed in the 421d with a divider. its kinda hard to explain but i was just seeing if they could both be housed in the same enclosure and still both have a temperature gradient. i imagine a 2x2 enclosure would be big enough for the entire lifespan of the ball and when the boa gets bigger just buy another 421d just for him i dont know if the heatmat is in the center or on one of the ends

any help would be greatly appreciated

Trevor
 
absolutley NOt! you would be putting both at risk of death due too the IBD virus. those two species need to be in seperate cages, also both have there own individal needs that need to be addressed. any decease that is airborn can effect them both, and since these animals live by sent they both will be under constant stress which very likely will lead to death. am not trying to sound like a :censored: but asking this type of qeustion shows that you need to go study about these animals before even purchasing them or a cage. Under no condition should a boa and ball python housed together even with a partition board between them
 
I don't think it's that serious ...

Housing a boa and a ball python in split Boaphile (so long as the divider was put in there by the manufacturer) is no different than housing them in a rack together, really. There are plenty of people who house both BPs and Boas in the same room and in the same rack together. Their husbandry requirements are not that radically different (boas prefer an averagae of five degrees plus differential in ambient temps) and hooking them up to separate heating controls is not difficult.

IBD is also not proven to be air born, for the record.

However, Jeff actually builds "condo" like enclosures that would be better for this situation because I do believe he puts separate heating in for each individual "cage". Still, this is not really the best option. A ball python will need a bit more than 2X2 as an adult (at least a female will, and a male would be appreciative, I'm sure).

What I would do is one of the following:

Get this: http://www.boaphileplastics.com/421coupe.html

When the Boa outgrows its side, get it its own 421D. The BP can remain in the original, or vice versa.

Buy two of the 421 coupes, keep the dividers in, let both utilize only one half of the cage as they age and remove the divider when they are ready.

Or ....

Purchase appropriately sized Sterilite (or equivalent) tubs, drill holes in the side near the lids, set them up with UTHs or strips of 3'' Flexwatt heating and hook it up to a thermostat. Then, get their permanent caging when they are older and better capable of dealing with the potential stress of a large enclosure.

Or ...

Purchase a rack: http://www.boaphileplastics.com/rhinoraxx_ball_room.html
http://www.boaphileplastics.com/rhinoraxx_four_high_1986.html
http://www.animalplastics.com/

And then upgrade later (though a BP can comfortably live in the Ball Room rack as an adult).

I will say, I could put a young boa in a 421D and keep it comfortable with numerous hides and seclusion (they wander quite a bit in the wild), but this does tend to be easier for them to acclimate.

You're asking questions, so that is good. That's part of how research is done.
 
My question would be towards the rest of the required husbandry set up
Heat source,heat control ?
Heat rocks,lights and ZooMed*(anything) is asking for problems
With the likes of todays offerings the really isnt a just cause for going
"pet store" cheap for anything.

Cant afford a cage a Ranco and a heat mat ? can you "really" afford your reptile(s)
Spending $$ 2-3 times "upgrading" easily surpasses rigging up once
with reliable equipment right from the start.

Taking a first run with those two species simultaneously is pretty predictable.
Besides being "snakes" they are complete opposites.
BP's are slugs the first year or two compared to a boa,boa have much more personality and interaction capabilities then BP's.(loosely termed)

There are some BP exceptions but they are rare.
I sold all my Bp's back in 02 and never looked back
Never once have I regretted it,nothing pumps the blood like owning boa's.

Anyway . . . . back to the equipment thing ^ ^.
 
Respectfully, Gordon, I think this analysis is a little harsh. I tend to agree with Diem.

I myself use Boaphile 421s with removable dividers. An animal gets a half viv when younger (another youngster gets the other half), and the divider comes out when they age and one then gets the full viv, with the other snake being relocated to their own viv.

Of course, the two snakes are the same species, but so long as proper conditions are provided and both have passed through quarantine already, I could see keeping different species in each half as fine too.
 
I have all versions. 421d's, t's and condos. The T's (single divider) are heated with a 1.5X flex DOWN THE MIDDLE.

The condos are back heated with a full length strip across the 4 feet.

421d's are heated on the left side (mine are left anyway, with 1.5X flex).
 
However you ask him. I got mine with double heat: one in the center and one on the end, which I switch between depending on how I'm using the cage.
 
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