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My Ball Python Resources

Here is a current list of write-ups a ball python owner might find useful. Please understand that none of these write-ups are to be taken as scientific fact. The majority of the ball python hobby is based on experience and hearsay, and these write-ups reflect that. The purpose of these are to provide some entertainment value and be somewhat educational- but NOT academic. I strongly advise doing your own additional research. Do you find these links helpful? Support the WMSS Patreon and help keep this blog going! Enjoy :)

Ball Python Care

Ball Pythons- Do you want one? A summary of ball python perk and drawbacks -Old Summary Body Condition and Weight by @40-snakes-in-a-trenchcoat Feeding Ball Pythons (size and how often) Feeding Strikes and their causes Obesity in Ball Pythons Setting up your Enclosure: Ambient vs. Surface Temperatures Setting up your Enclosure: Heating Tanks: How to Create an Appropriate Ball Python Tank Tubs: How to Create an Appropriate Ball Python Tub -(Old Tub Guide) The Shedding Process Substrate Snake Enrichment Snake Sauna: How to Solve Stuck Shed Switching your Snake to Frozen Prey Treating Mites

Misc Care Info Feeder Breeding R.ats How to Navigate Reptile Basics for Heat Tape Installing your Thermostat for your Under Tank/Tub Heater Keep Your Tub Lids on! Make your own Snake Hides Moving with Reptiles by @thlpp Pet Store Thermo/Hygrometer Dials

General Ball Python Information Basic Ball Python Morphs Ball Python Genetics Part 1: Dominant and Recessive Inheritance Ball Python Pattern Terminology Sperm Plugs in Ball Pythons The Spider Morph and the Wobble

wheremyscalesslither

I’m getting closer to a place where I feel motivated to updated everything lol

securityunit-ese

Loving all these DIY bunny toy ideas with the most adorable models!

dogpantry

Hi, I'm uhh,,, looking to get a ball python and I was wondering- Do you have any pointers on caring for one? I'm really nervous because I don't want to screw up with the baby.

hello! i do have pointers, however i don’t necessarily have the time to give all of them ahcksnkcs so i’m gonna point you to resources by @wheremyscalesslither who has been doing this BP thing for a while. check her FAQ and other things — everything you need to know is there!

but if you have any specific questions you can always message me!

wheremyscalesslither

And one day the resources here will be actually updated

But until then, definitely check the website because I'm pretty sure I didnt update the ones here

https://wheremyscalesslither.weebly.com/

Reptiblr, tell me about your favorite pets! It'll be a good long while before I can get another pet, but I'm fantasizing about all the possibilities and would love to hear about your babies and why you think they're the best :)

#reptiblr #snakeblr #snakes #lizards #turtles

theramseyloft

How do you find other healthy birds from another person's flock to add to your program/keep as a pet? I'm never sure who's reputable, or what to look for, exactly. Thank you!

Here is Sun Tsu, the evening he was purchased.

His eyes are bright. His nose is clear. No crusts or anything.

Breathes comfortably through a closes beak. No open mouthed panting.

His feathers are smooth and well groomed, regardless of the direction they are pointing.

He is well put together, and looks elegant, slick, and nice.

He’s standing upright and alert in this new environment that he has never seen before.

Wu (Same breed. Same breeder.) is severely stressed.

Comparing her to Sun Tsu, you can see how her neck is sunk down into her shoulders.

She’s kinda sitting on her butt.

Her eyes are clear, and so is her nose, but she did a lot of panting.

She died in quarantine.

For comparison:

Here is a recent addition: Jet.

They are stressed in this photo.; backed into a corner, standing horizontal, head hunched into their shoulders.

Here it Jet’s normal, curious posture.

A little wary, but interested in what’s going on.

Same bird, out of quarantine, fit, molting, and curious about their surroundings.

Look how smooth their feathers are. The new pins look pretty rough, but the established plumage is beautifully preened and in excellent shape.

Here is Charybdis, in January.

She is an older, heavy lady, but she was in excellent shape at the time.

Here she is in July, feeling her age.

Her eyes have sunken in a little more. (Giant Homers are a breed with deep set eyes)

Her crop is less full, and she gets tired more easily.

This is what Ankhou looked like when he got here. He’s 4 weeks old in this photo.

He’s blury as heck, but this is what a 4 week old feral pigeon should look like.

These are decent examples of Sick, stressed, aging, and malnourished..

But not seeing any of those symptoms does not mean the bird is fit.

In the years I have been keeping and rescuing and breeding Pigeons, I have learned that they have a CRAZY immune system!

An individual infested with two species of worms, coccidia, and an active Salmonella infection showed absolutely no symptoms through out her full 4 week quarantine.

She came from a breeder that handles his birds every day, brings them in when they are ill, and seems to genuinely care for his flock like family.

So it’s always better to test and be sure.

Unfortunately, pigeons are not kept like dogs, cats, parrots, or pretty much any other type of popular pets.

They are just outside, with, at best, two immunizations and monthly wormings.

It is not possible to avoid parasites and pathogens in outdoor enclosures, and pretty much every pigeon is kept in an outdoor loft.

Even by the people that actually do care about them as individuals.

So I kinda have to assume any and all new pigeons to be ill or at least infested with a gut load of parasites.

I can’t expect to find a healthy bird anywhere but my own loft, or maybe the children of a pair of house pets if I’m lucky.

For breeding, I just look for what traits I want and prepare to test and treat the new birds for what ever they may be carrying.

Pets can come from anywhere.

I get ferals, homers, rollers, and a few exhibitions and mixes from wildlife rehab.

I get performing and exhibition breeds as owner surrenders.

You would be amazed that you can find on Craig’s list or hoobly.

John McDougall specializes in Voorburg Shield Croppers and advocates people build relationships with their pidge.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008646034304

Lisa Rasmussen works with a wide range of breeds, all of whom she dearly loves, and it SHOWS!

https://www.facebook.com/LisaJRas

Baskar Anjappan is Astrid’s breeder, and he was NOT lying about loving her like Family.

https://www.facebook.com/baskar.anjappan

Robert Dryden is the president of the Classic Old Frill club and the Old German Owl club.

https://www.facebook.com/robert.dryden.9480?ref=br_rs

And there are a few of my followers who breed.

@pigeongay

@birdgeppetto

I know there are others, but I will not list them unless they give me permission.

wheremyscalesslither

My Ball Python Resources

Ball Python Care

#ball python

labelleizzy

Here have something beautiful my friend shared with me

nonbinaryresource

[a black square with text on it. The text is a patterned gradient of yellow to orange to red to blue to green to white from top to bottom. The text reads: “Not queer like gay. Queer like, escaping definition. Queer like some sort of fluidity and limitlessness at once. Queer like a freedom too strange to be conquered. Queer like the fearlessness to imagine what love can look like and pursue it.”]

wheremyscalesslither

Snake Keeping Pro Tip: tiny flying pests

When keeping ball pythons, or any high humidity and tropical animal, a couple of types of gnat-like insects may begin to make themselves at home in your enclosure. Although not dangerous or inherently problematic, they can multiply into a problem that makes you want to gnash your teeth. Whether you think bugs are gnarly or they squick you out, or if you've swallowed and sniffed a few too many by accident, this tip will help you get rid of them.

Thankfully it's a pretty easy fix, the first step involves stopping the gnats at the source- their food. This is a preventative measure that is very important! Without taking this step, they'll keep coming back!

The two most common undesirable winged nusances are the fruit fly and the fungus fly.

Fruit flies, despite their name, will eat anything that is decomposing. Typically a rapid explosion in their population means there is a poop or regurgitation that was missed that needed to be cleaned up, but can also be caused by deterioration of your substrate.

Remove their food source: clean up any waste in the enclosure, along with the surrounding substrate. If the substrate is decomposing and the enclosure was not intended to be a bioactive enclosure, empty the substrate, clean the enclosure, and place new substrate in.

"Fungus fly," on the other hand, is no misnomer: they primarily eat fungus, but have also been known to gnaw on plants. If they have multiplied, it's usually from mold/fungus growing in your enclosure. These guys are slightly more worrisome, because they can also indicate conditions that are more likely to cause scale rot in ball pythons. It doesn't necessarily mean your snake will get scale rot, but it does correlate.

Remove their food source: troubleshoot the enclosure to figure out why so much fungus has taken up residence in your enclosure. Is there enough ventilation? Is the substrate being kept too wet? Are branches or furnishings molding? Find the mold and get rid of it. Sticks and some furnishings can be baked at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 2-3 hours, or set out in a dry place to fully dry before placing into the enclosure. When placed, make sure the stick isnt buried in the wet substrate to start the mold over again. If necessary, add ventilation, avoid misting, or mist less frequently, and pour water directly into the substrate to rehydrate it, allowing for the surface to stay dry (this will also prevent scale rot).

For bioactive vivariums: be sure to clean up any large waste from your animal, at least until your habitat is fully established. Some may require large waste to be removed regardless. Add in more CUC to outcompete any flies as they will eat the fungus and may predate on the larvae and eggs.

Subtip: make sure the garbage bin in the same room is empty and there is no old substrate or no old food scraps, human food or otherwise, laying around. Also ensure that you are drying out any unused new substrate and storing it in a closed bin. These flies will find any opportunity to continue their species, and all the work will be nullified if you arent thorough.

The rest of the guide is for everyone, regardless of enclosure type!

Next, take measures to kill the larvae. I present to you, a bioactive and reptile friendly option that only affects the larvae of these pesky critters: Mosquito Dunks. *triumphant horn sounds*

These harness a biological larvicide, which sounds intimidating and scary but is relatively safe. These emit a bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, that releases a toxin that targets and kills many types of fly larvae, without impacting other animals. You can use them inside the enclosure without harming your residents,

Chunk these bad boys up and toss them in a spray bottle and go to town. You dont have to saturate the substrate, but give it a good mist down and let the dunks do the rest.

That takes care of the main cause, and from there you can either wait for the adults to die off, like 3-5 days ish, or you can continue your crusade and try to wipe them out faster.

To help tamper down the amount of adult flies you accidentally consume just by existing in the same room, you can set vinegar traps or buy a bug zapper.

Vinegar trap: take a liquid holding container with a lid, and poke several small holes in the top using a needle, safety pin, etc. Just large enough your flies can get in. Poking it from the outside-in can make a helpful ridge that further prevents the flies from leaving the trap. One way in, no way out. Pour a bit of apple cider vinegar into the container, about 1/4 inch deep. Add a couple drops of dish soap and stir. The vinegar will attract the flies and the soap will break the surface tension, causing them to become trapped.

A bug zapper attracts the flies using UV light, then sucks them up with the fan and zaps them. It's way quicker than the vinegar traps, but may be cost prohibitive. I'm not sure, we just had one laying around the house.

herps-and-derps

boa constrictor care sheet (plus extra)

i’m going to be directing this care sheet for the boa constrictor imperator (bci) or the common boa. however much of what is said is applicable for other species of boa constrictor and i will mention several other boa subspecies and locals of bci

basic info: the boa constrictor imperator is the most commonly kept species of boa in the pet trade right now, there are 11 total subspecies of boa constrictor that range in size, temperament and patterning. many of which stay smaller with the exception of boa constrictor constrictor. they do however get to a large size and have a lengthy lifespan and can sometimes have an attitude which is why i recommend them as a moderate to semi advanced care requirement snake. boa’s are pretty readily available at any store or expo, ranging in price from normals (50-75 at shows and about 150-200 in stores) to high end morphs like moonglow, img, and luecistic that can be in excess of 4000$. the number one thing to make sure is the boa you’re going to buy is from a reputable source and is healthy, no retained sheds, no signs of respiratory infection (constant wheezing when breathing or foam around the mouth) no kinking and no mites.

size and lifespan: boa constrictor imperator is the second largest subspecies of boa constrictor specifically the Columbia local of the imperator subspecies. central american locals stay smaller. Colombians are usually between 6-9 feet and 35 pounds, with females being larger. central Americans are usually closer to 5-7 and 20ish pounds. there has been records of Colombians getting 10 feet but that is very rare. other locals of boas usually stay the same size and the centrals or even smaller with the exception being b.c. constrictor which have an average of 9-12 feet and 40-50 pounds. boas have been recorded of living 40 plus years in captivity but 20-30 years is the average. careful consideration must be taken into account before purchasing these animals.

housing requirements (tank): baby boas should be kept in 20-30 gallon long aquariums or the size equivalent. a tank about 30 inches long by 12 wide by 12 high. baby boas are semi arboreal and should be provided with several things to climb on. as boas grow them become less and less arboreal and of course get bigger. the minimum tank size should be a 4 foot by 2 foot by 1 foot enclosure, personally i prefer 5 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot so they have a little more room to roam around and a little bit of climbing space as adults will climb a bit. the length plus the width of the tank should be around the same as the boa (ie, a six-seven foot boa should be in a 4x2 foot enclosure, a nine foot should be in a 6x2) two hides should be provided in the tank, one on the hot end and one on the cool end so the snake can properly thermoregulate while still feeling safe. adult boas are hard to find hides for. trust me. the best thing to use is large cat litter pans with a hole cut into them and melted around the edge of the cut so it is smooth. baby boa tanks should be fairly busy with a few barren spots so the little ones can move freely throughout while still having some cover. make sure anything in the enclosure is free or parasites and harmful substances.

housing (temp): boas need a hot end, cool end and a basking spot so they can properly regulate their temps. the cool end should be at 75 degrees f. with the heat rising up to 85 f. in the hot end with a basking spot no higher than about 90-92 f. belly heat is a better option for boas rather than lighting, lighting drains humidity and belly heat aids in digestion far more than a light will. using both is definitely an option having the belly heat as a main source and a light to bring basking spot temps to the proper temp. belly heat can be achieved with heat pads, heat cable or heat tape, any of these things NEED a thermostat otherwise you risk damaging the tank, burning your animal or even burning your house in the worst case scenario. there has to be something to control the temps on the heat source. a low wattage fluorescent bulb can be provided to ensure a proper day and night cycle and to better observe your boa, you can use a full spectrum uvb light and it has been said it provides physical and psychological benefits but nothing is proven. the only thing i have noticed uvb lighting does is it brings out the animals colours more (there are several ways to make the colours come out more on the animals) not having it will not harm your boa in any way shape or form and most keepers don’t have it. feel free to add it however, it won’t hurt your boa and it may have some unproven benefits.

housing (humidity): boas come from a semi tropical environment so humidity is definitely necessary, humidity for boa’s should be between 60-70%. easy way to do this is just spay down the cage with a mister once a day or every other day. but don’t be concerned if it drops to 50% just give it a little spray. during shed periodically get the humidity up to 80% (once a day or every other day) to ensure your snake has a good shed cycle. for baby boa’s a water dish large enough for them to soak in is required as babies will often soak themselves before going into shed, this usually results in them defecating in the water, this means changing the water fairly often for babies. as boas grow it’s almost impossible to find dishes large enough for a 9 foot boa to soak in, so proving a dish with a 10-12 inch diameter is a perfect option. there are also large corner water dishes (my personal favorite cuz they’re almost impossible to tip over) are the best option because of the quantity of water they hold and they have more surface area so it’s harder to tip over. you can also provide a third hide with moss in it to have a humid hide that the boa can crawl into during it’s shed cycle. sometimes the tips of boa’s tails will stay on (the shed skin) especially for babies, this is not a sign of bad husbandry, boas have longer tails and alot of the time it just rips right before it finishes, if you catch it quickly you can pull the remainder off, if not, give it a quick spray with water and it should come off easy.

housing (substrate): the most commonly used substrate for boa’s by breeders is newspaper, paper towel or butcher paper, all of those are acceptable and economically smart, but don’t hold humidity to well. i find plantation soil, coco husk or melelucha mulch to be the best because they hold humidity well, you can also use a mixture of plantation soil and cypress or plantation soil and reptibark. having the bark in with the soil really aids in shedding, you can use regular carefresh or shredded aspen as well and i have heard good things about them, but i find those to substrates mold and get to much water too easy for my liking. if you are using something loose like the soil mixtures you can spot clean twice a week, if you see fecal matter grab it and handful or dirt in the surrounding area and throw it out, top up when necessary and every 2-4 months change out the entire substrate completely. if you are using the paper bedding’s mentioned first you should change out the entire substrate whenever you are doing a cleaning.

feeding: it is important to give any new boa a “grace period” which means, giving any new boa you bring at least 5 days before offering a meal. i promise they’ll be fine. if you feed to soon they can not eat or regurgitate their food. a re-gurge is worse than any poop. ever. if this occurs be sure your temp and humidity are correct than wait 2 weeks before offering again (for already food depraved and starving animals i do ten days). the biggest reason for regurgitation is improper temps and excessive handling, don’t handle your snake for at least 2-3 hours before a feeding and leave them alone for the rest of that day plus the next. This assures proper digestion and no added stress during the most crucial stages of meal digestion. do not feed a new boa (baby or new addition of any size) something bigger than the girth of their largest part, you DO NOT want a bulge for any new snakes until they are established. once they have been established (4-5 consistent meals in a row) than you can offer them meals large enough for it to make a small bulge in their stomachs. make sure you are buying quality mice or rats for your snake that are parasite and disease free. they need no additional supplements (you can provide certain things to make colours pop more as i mentioned earlier) boa’s that are one year old and younger should be fed every 7-10 days the appropriate sized meals, between the ages of 1-2 you should switch them over to 10-14 days. from 2-4 years 14-30 days is recommended (as they age increase time between feeding, a two year old should be every 14 days while a 3.4 year old should be closer to 30). 4 plus years of age they should be fed every 3-6 weeks depending on age, sex and if they are breeding or not. feeding more or less is okay (to a point) just make sure you monitor their size and weight so they don’t become obese or underweight. boa’s should naturally have an almost bread loaf like shape, a little bit of girth is not a problem so long as they aren’t overweight. (my boa is a little more girthy than some others if you’ve seen him but still fit as a fiddle!) you can switch most boa’s over to frozen super easy, just skip one feeding and then the next feeding offer it a frozen thawed and it’ll usually take it without question. rabbits are another good option for older boa’s, they are a leaner meat so make sure they are not loosing any weight when they switch to rabbits. when feeding rabbits over rats you want to have longer periods of time between feeding as rabbits are much larger and more packed with proteins, fats, nutrients ect. frozen thawed or prekilled is always recommended as any live feeder bigger than a mouse fuzzy or rat pup can seriously harm or even kill your snake. if you do feed live never leave the boa unattended with a live prey item in with it and have a pen or tongs on hand to put in the feeders mouth in case it does try to bite your snake.

feeding newborn boa’s: newborn boa’s take best to hopper mice, fuzzies don’t seem to move around enough to get their instincts to kick in enough and most take 2-3 weeks longer when offered fuzzies or hoppers. newborns should be offered a meal 2-4 days after they have hair their first shed and poop or on day 14 after birth either way. i’ve had baby boas eat 5 times before they even shed once. Mice hoppers are the best prey item for newborns as they move around more, have denser bones, more muscle and less fat than a rat pinkie. you want to feed your boas mice of appropriate size until they are on larger rat pups or weaned rats for the same reason. switching to frozen thawed is recommended as soon as you can. some start their babies on frozen. i make sure mine have eaten 3 times before i switch them to frozen to get them established.

handling and temperament: boa constrictor imperator tends to be a very well behaved boa and usually are very tolerant of handling. they are very curious snakes and tend to want to explore, eventually they will find a cozy spot near you (you’re warm) usually near the armpit or some nook and hunker down so get some heat from you. most boa’s aren’t even all that head shy once they get used to you and will activity try to wedge their heads against you and try to “shovel” you out of the way (ie, mine will push my fingers apart with his nose and just sit there once he pushes his head through) they seem to like to use their face to examine their surroundings which makes for some pretty entertaining situations.. certain locals of b.c.imperator can have a bit of a temperament, central Americans and Nicaraguans can be a little more on edge than the Colombians and nip quite a bit more as babies.

personally, boa’s are my favorite species of snake and will always hold a spot on top in my heart. if you do have any questions or concerns about boa’s please feel free to send me an ask. if there is anything you think i missed let me know (i spent 3.5 fucking hours on this i better not have missed a god damn thing lol)

special mentions. xxxkyrareaperxxx fattynoodles crispysnakes snoots-and-boops butthurtherpetologist reptiliaherps

herps-and-derps

What's the difference in true red tail boas, Colombians, and other little sub species of boa constrictor? I didn't know there were different ones but they're a snake id like to get eventually, but I want to know exactly which species I've had my eye on (since everyone's just said "red tail" ): )

True red tails are BCC or BC (boa constrictor constrictor or boa constrictor) BCI or BI (boa constrictor imperator or boa constrictor) are different subspecies of BOA, there’s also BCO, BCA, BCL, BCS and a few others. The biggest difference is colour. True red tail boas (suriname, guyana, North Brazilian, peruvian and a couple.others) will have deep purples and pinks as a base colour with the gray. And have lipstick red tails. Whereas common boas, colombian, tend to have a duller gray and more rust coloured tail. I recommend the book the complete boa constrictor by vin russo! It was the single most helpful thing I ever did for boa info

thlpp

Rocky’s new enclosure is finally done! Finished it late last night. I think he approves. He lives in my bedroom now, next to Pothos.

On top of his cage you see the HVAC and the humidifier, controlled by ZooMed Hygrotherm. Bottom picture shows the humidifier output coming through the vent.

Since this was all a bit rushed, I didn’t do anything to the insulation foam (Foamular 2x2 ft from Home Depot). It’s going to stay pink for now. I may Dremel some relief into it and paint it when I have time and inspiration.

Tension poles create a base for the shelves, made with woven bamboo (an old shade cut apart). I put got glue on the threads to prevent the shade from unraveling, and used zip ties to attach to the tension poles. Didn’t trim zip tie ends to keep them soft. Safety over looks.

Climbing structure is made of bamboo poles I had sitting around, lashed together with zip ties.

Foliage is lacking, but that’s all I had on hand. Will get more and add to provide a bit more cover.

Heat tape is creating a 2x2 ft hot spot on the bottom right.

Today will be dedicated to cleaning up yesterday’s mess from putting this cage together, and then cleaning and disinfecting Rocky’s old cage, to move Sunny in.

#boa imperator #snake cage

butthurtherpetologist-deactivat

Hi! I was wondering if I could get advice on owning a red tail boa (Idk the difference between bcc or bci... I just know I eventually want a red tail..) such as what type of enclosure I should get or what not. I don't like just googling care sheets because they usually vary. I'd really appreciate it!

If anything I’d suggest talking to crispysnakes They know far more about boids than I do.

But if you want a true red tail you are going to want to be on the lookout for a Bcc. Fair warning though, they get bigger than Bci.

scarletandgreyexotics

Hi Anon! I have a Bci and a Bcl. Here are some boa basics, please don’t hesitate to message me for more details if you want!

First, the difference between Bci and Bcc! Bcc (“true red tails”) get larger, with females reaching 8-10 feet (or more!). Bci females will max out at 6-8 feet. Males of both species will be smaller than the females. Bcc will have brick-red tails that say very red as the boa ages, while Bci’s tails will darken with age. Also, Bci came come in many awesome color morphs (albino, anery, jungle, etc for days), while Bcc only come in “wild type.” If you need help visually identifying whether a prospect pet is a Bcc or Bci, shoot me a pict and I can help with that.

Young boas can be kept in tubs, racks or regular enclosures (IE, Animal Plastics, Boaphile, etc). The general rule is, the length PLUS (not times) width of the enclosure should be at least as long as your snake. AKA, a 3 foot boa should be kept in a cage no smaller than 2’ long by 1’ wide. Height can vary - some boas like climbing, others don’t really care. I’ve found that if you provide climbing materials (branches, etc), they will at least explore it a little. Provide at least one snug hide on both the hot and cool sides of the cage. Aspen, care fresh, newspaper/paper towel, or cypress mulch are all suitable substrates.

An adult Bci/Bcc will need a cage at least 6 feet long. Rack systems are not suitable for boas.

Temp/Humidity: Hot spot ~90 F, with a temperature gradient down to the upper 70s. Under tank heaters or radiant heat panels (with thermostats of course!) are the best ways to accomplish this gradient. Boas prefer belly heat to basking heat, so a heat lamp is not ideal (though you can still include a low-wattage fluorescent light to give a light cycle). Humidity should be around 60%.

I hope this helps! Others, let me know if I’ve forgotten anything important.

#boa constrictor #bci #bcc

scarletandgreyexotics

Hi! So I'm getting a BCI soon, and my past snake was a corn many years ago. I was wondering how setup/care was diff. between the two (besides space requirements)? IE humidity, temps, feeding, etc.? There's so much conflicting info online and it's kinda killing me. Thanks!

I’ve never actually owned a corn snake, so I’m not sure how to compare them (aside from what I read online). But I’ll tell you a bit about my experience with BCI, and hopefully it helps you in your planning! :-)Humidity: 60% humidity works great! If you have trouble keeping your humidity up, use cypress mulch bedding, avoid glass aquariums/heat lamps, and/or add a humid hide (hide stuffed with moss or damp paper towel) to the enclosure.

Temps: Hot spot of 90 F, with a temperature gradient down to high 70s. Radiant heat panels, ceramic heat emitters, under tank heaters, and heat tape are ideal heating implements. All of the above will need to be regulated by either a rheostat (RHP and CHE) or thermostat (UTH, heat tape) to avoid burns. Heat lamps are not ideal because they dry out the enclosure. You do not need a day/night light cycle - ambient light from the room is sufficient.

Caging: Young boas do well in tubs, but adults will need a large enclosure (plan on 6 x 2 x 2 ft; the length + width of the cage needs to be at least as long as the snake). Glass tanks of this size are impractical, so you’ll likely either need a custom enclosure or something from Boaphile, Reptile Plastics, FX Caging, etc. These can be expensive, so be prepared for that.

Substrate: Paper towel, newspaper, aspen shavings, cypress mulch, and coconut fiber/husk are all good substrates. Avoid sand at all costs!

Feeding: Boas have much slower metabolisms than corn snakes! They are prone to obesity and fatty liver problems, so it is best to “slow grow” them. An ideal feeding schedule will be to give one appropriately-sized prey item every 7 days as hatchlings, every 10-14 days as juveniles (1 to 3-ish years), and every 14-30 days as adults. An “appropriately-sized” prey will leave little to no lump after being swallowed (if you have a food scale, this works out to the preying being about 10% of the boa’s body weight). Boas are piggies and most of the time are very very happy to eat frozen/thawed food. Feed inside the cage - the idea that you need a separate feeding area to avoid cage aggression is a load of hooey.

Other: Boas do get pretty large, but not gigantic. A common boa (Boa c. imperator) will reach 5-8 ft in length (males smaller than females). These are the boas that come in all those fancy morphs. There are some dwarf species that stay 3-5 ft at maturity, while true red tail boas (Boa c. constrictor) can reach 8-10 ft. If you’d like help in identifying BCI vs. BCC, feel free to ask :-) Any respectable breeder will be upfront with you about their stock. Avoid pet stores! I do like to recommend that anybody interested in boas attend a reptile expo or reptile shop and ask to hold one of the adult boas. This will help give you an idea of how large and powerful a boa can be, so you are not intimidated as they grow!

Did I miss anything? If you have more questions, ask away!

#boa imperator

snakerambles

Feeding your Boa Imperator

I figured it might be helpful to share this with those who are new to boas, those who just purchased a baby, and anyone who is currently raising their animals up without a schedule in mind. This is tailored specifically for boa imperator. Boa constrictor ssp. (as well as Central American BI’s and certain imperator morphs, such as arabesques and super jungles) should be on a slower or diminished schedule - in particular BC’s & BCA’s, owing to their incredibly sensitive stomachs and the high risk of regurgitation and death if fed too much or too frequently.

Recent studies have shown that these animals go through extreme internal changes during digestion, so it’s incredibly important to let them complete the digestive process prior to feeding again. Continuously keeping them in that taxing state via power feeding or overfeeding will result in organ failure, sooner or later. It’s worth noting that boas that were power fed early on in the hobby’s history were reported to die within 4 years, and boas that are simply overfed frequently do not live past 10. These are animals that should be living into their 30s, easily, if not their 40’s. And yet most do not live to see adulthood.

If you want a big boa immediately and lack the patience to grow out a baby, please consider adopting or purchasing an older animal. Imperators are opportunistic ambush predators. They are built for irregular, infrequent meals, and will eat almost anything you give them whenever you offer it - and thus will eat themselves to death if you allow it.

The following is a general guide for feeding the common (Colombian) imperator. An alternative is to simply wait until the animal defecates before feeding again (it’ll be about the same amount of time if you stick to these prey sizes). The goal is a slow and steady growth rate, with the animal’s longevity in mind. Please note the prey types - the prey should be about the same width as the largest width of the snake. Boas are not pythons, and do not handle excessively fatty prey items well. It’s wise to avoid (or feed sparingly) items high in fat such as pinks, fuzzies, pups, jumbo & colossal rats, and guinea pigs. You want the most developed version of the prey animal that fits the appropriate size.

Every animal grows at an individual rate, but I’ve posted photos of my own with their ages so you can get a ballpark average of size.

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Neo - 1 year: Frequency: once every 7-10 days

Type: from neonate to six months: hopper mice

from six months to 1 year: adult mice

Electrolyte - 6 months

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1-2 years: Frequency: once every 10-14 days

Type: from 1 year to 18 months, weaned rats

from 18 months to 2 years, small rats

Pink Lady & Hawaiian Hammer - 1 year

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2-3 years: Frequency: once every 14-21 days

Type: from 2 to 2.5 years, small rats

from 2.5 to 3 years, medium rats

Bubble Trouble - 2yrs

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3-4 years: Frequency: once every 14-30 days

Type: Medium rats for males

Large rats for females (if intending to breed)

Deep Eddy - 3yrs

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4-+ years: Frequency: one food item once every 21- 60 days depending on male or female and if breeding.

Type: Large rats or appropriately sized quail or rabbits

Sunkist - 4yrs

Seabreeze - 7yrs

As far as body condition goes, you want an animal that is square-shaped with visible muscle definition on its back and sides. If it’s triangular and you can see its ribs it’s underfed. If it’s round and there are fat rolls or if there are spherical fat deposits present down the sides, it’s overfed.

I hope this helps, please feel free to ping me with any questions.

mkmorphs

Thank you for writing this up! Makes me so angry to see all these over fed and overweight animals on social media.

thlpp

Great info! Thank you!

Also breathing a sigh of relief that Rocky has been fed pretty much spot-on, despite him being my first BI. Having read about the dangers of overfeeding, I’ve resisted feeding him as much as he’d like me to. He’s 2 years and 2 months old, and we’ve been keeping him on small rats until now. We’re offering him a medium every other meal, but after reading your guide, I think we may adjust the size back down for a few months.

#boa imperator #feeding

i-m-snek

Rainbow boa care sheet

Doing another one of these, solely because the internet is full of misinformation. Care sheet is under the cut!

Keep reading

i-m-snek

Hi, do you know of anyone with a good red tailed boa caresheet? A friend just got one dumped on him and came to me for help, but I've only ever had a ball python so i don't really know where to start

I don’t know of any, but @odorpatrol might :3

odorpatrol

I made a care sheet for boas here. Definitely do other research, but this is a good guide based off of what has worked for me and others.

thlpp

Disinfect reptile enclosures without bleach

If you’ve ever encountered household bleach, you know that it stinks, it burns everything it touches, including your airways, and it’s really something you don’t want to expose your reptiles to.

But you do need to clean their enclosures, and from time to time, you’d want to disinfect them, too. In the past, I’d evacuate the reptiles from the room, use weak dilution of bleach, suffer through it, air out the room, and reintroduce the reptiles hours later. I’d lose my ability to smell for a day or two, also. Bleach is a powerful oxidizer, and there’s just no getting around that.

But there’s a different oxidizer-based disinfectant I’ve found that’s been a complete boon: Sodium Percarbonate.

Na2H3CO6

This glorious basterd. When dissolved in water, it disassociates into H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) and Na2CO3 (sodium carbonate, aka washing soda).

Check this shit out: a disinfectant and a cleaning agent! Woot!

It isn’t a stable solution, and fairly quickly the H2O2 turns into plain ol’ H2O and O2 (aka water and oxygen), but on the way there you can use it to clean and disinfect reptile enclosures!

This mofo is used by brewers and wine makers to disinfect their barrels, so it’s food-safe (I mean, don’t drink it, dummy, but after you use it on a surface and wipe it down with water, there’s no toxic residue). It also leaves no odor, and even gets rid of the smells in the cage, like pee or poo or whatever.

It is the “Oxy” component in the “oxy-clean” and other such cleaning powders. But those buggers have other cleaning agents in them, and perfume and shit, so you don’t really want that in a snake cage. But this dude here, totes safe when used in correct dilution - which is stated right there on the bag.

I said, don’t drink it, dummy.

I wear gloves when I use it because after a few mins in that solution my hands get all yucky, it’s an oxidizer after all. You wouldn’t soak your bare hands in bleach, right? Right?

Best thing is, I can use it on a small spot, and don’t even have to disturb the snake, or like today, I evicted Sunny and cleaned his home, and now it smells of nothing – and it started out rank, let me tell you. He was chilling on the floor next to me while I was working, and I had no concerns about irritating his respiratory system or leaving caustic residue in his cage.

Oh, and it’s CHEAP. Like, 5 lbs (2.2 kg) for $15 bucks or something. It lasts a long time, since I only use a little at a time, and the powder is shelf-stable for ages, so buying in bulk is a good option. Any brand marketed for food/beverage industry use is fine, don’t have to use the one I have. This is not a paid advertisement, it’s a cool thing I discovered and wanted to share with you all.

Now that I have Sodium Percarbonate, I disinfect and deodorize snake cages so much more often, because it’s not such a giant production anymore. Also, nice not to lose my sense of smell for days. I hate bleach. Like, really really hate it. And now I don’t have to use it. Woot!

Oh, and you can use it for everything where you’d use bleach. Add it to laundry, clean sinks and counters, etc.

Anyways, this was your PSA. If you’re like me and you hate using bleach, especially around reptiles, this bad mofo is your friend.

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