#dumeril's ground boa

[ceratosaurtalks]

Heya! Just a check in w my Dumeril's ground Boa. They're doing very well and are growing nicely <3. Your obligatory fun fact: Did you know the Dumeril's ground Boa is a terrestrial snake? That's right, these guys don't actually climb that well! He's squeezing my hand pretty tight here, but these animals can be rather clumsy. Though they have been spotted in trees, they're not the most adapted at navigating branches or holding on, and their fat shorter tails don't offer nearly as much as support as other arboreal boas do. Because of this, they can be prone to falling! That being said, they make a very fun animal to handle. They're like blood pythons in a sense, if your animal decides to start exploring while you're holding them as this one often does, its your job to stay under your animal.

[ceratosaurtalks]

I know my posts about my Dominican Red Mountain Boas are more popular than my Dumeril's Ground Boa posts. But still, I wanted to take a moment just to talk about this species and my experience with the Dumeril's thus far. Because I do think they're a fantastic animal to keep. Some basic information before I talk about the pros and cons of my individual; My Dumeril's ground Boa is a male and he is three years, almost four years old and only about four feet. These animals grow very slowly! But they get decently sizable. Nothing unreasonably huge, but they aren't a 'small' snake either. The one above is NOT a full sized individual, or close to a full sized individual. That being said, I do think this is probably one of the most fun sp. I've gotten into. I do have a lot of appreciation for this animal, and our interactions. Of course not every individual behaves the same, but this ones been a absolute joy to work with. I've found the Dumeril's ground boa to be one of the more inquisitive species I've kept, who actively wants to get in your business and see whats going on. I do enjoy that when I walk by this animals enclosure, this usually gets a reaction from them, where they will come out to watch me. I've noticed this individual spends a lot of time basking as well in the open, I mostly find this animal curled up on his hide and using the elevation to survey his surroundings. He also tends to move a lot, which is enjoying to watch him go about his buisness. The behavior of this animal and the temperament has been. Incredible. He's very relaxed, very laid back to handle, and prefers to climb up on the shoulder/head area where he has the most coverage under him to sit. He also tends to be much more relaxed when sitting. DGBs are terrestrial snakes- so trying to actively hold him while he's moving in your hands/arms off the ground is more like trying to keep yourself under him. Like my favorite sp. Of python, the Blood Python, this animal is incredibly clumsy and isn't the best with balancing themselves and prefer more contact under them when handling. The feeding response of my DGB has been above and beyond as well. The DGB I have has a insane feeding response, and, despite being raised on live, was able to be switched to F/T withing the first feeding coming into my collection. I have them on a diet of Quail, Chicken, Iguana links(From Reptilinks), Rat, and the occasional once-in-a-blue-moon feeder fish, and he has never rejected a meal for me. Infact, when my other specialized eaters pass a meal, he's my trashbin I feed the feeders too so they don't get wasted. Of course, your individual may vary in temperament and confidence. But this animal is extraordinarily fun to me and if you're considering something thats bigger than a Ball Python but not unreasonable, and also has a fantastic temperament? I would suggest looking into a Dumeril's ground Boa. You will need a larger enclosure for an adult Dumeril, which would be the downside of this Sp. Their heating is pretty simple, they don't like it too hot- I have my basking area set to a nice 88F, and they do well in a good range of humidity from 40-60%. I like to spike this with occasional misting, to aid with shed and to aid with the animals respiratory system. Their care is pretty simple overall, the only thing Id say you really need to look out for is overfeeding them. They have a pretty slow Metabolism and it is hard for them to shed weight. Overweight/Obese DGBs like, a lot of reptiles, can be prone to things like Fatty liver and muscle atrophy- the latter being one of the biggest and most common thing most Boas end up developing based on outdated husbandry and care. Always do your research!

[ceratosaurtalks]

Sunlight time with my Dumerils Ground Boa!! <333 I love sitting out here for about 10-15 minutes a day when I can, I try not to do it too often since it typically gets way too hot for him, but the brief spikes in humidity have been great for him! Your obligatory fun fact section:

This is objectively my most active animal which is super funny. I cannot pass the enclosure of this animal without them emerging and following me, and theyre always incredibly attentive when I open my enclosure. Despite the many hides I provide this animal, they prefer to sit out in the open ontop of their bigger hide to survey their surroundings, typically curled up and vibing. This individual in particular has one hell of a friendly and inquisitive personality, and a even bigger feeding response! They are approximately just over three years old, and still have a ways of growing to do! Dumerils ground boas are one of the very, very few sp. Of snake you can sex reliably without probing or popping. While plenty of other sp. Of snakes have spurs regardless of sex, male Dumerils will have small claws near their vent. These are the males Spurs! If you cannot easily see or feel these claws on your Dumeril, the sex of your snake is Female! The Sex of your snake isn't really important if you're not breeding, however, when it comes to big heavy-bodied animals like the Dumeril's ground boa, its nice to get a rough estimate of what size and weight your animal would be! In cases like Blood Pythons and Hognosed snakes, it could even effect what minimum sized enclosure you should provide your animal to thrive. Always make sure to do your research before hopping into a brand new species!

[ceratosaurtalks]

So I've been hesitant to post some feeding images to talk about the different variation in diets that I feed, but then I decided I totally could post a Dominicans feeding pic! Heres two different images of her with her 'prey', a month apart with the first being the most recent. She eats more often that but I rotate between feeding these and Frozen/Thawed Anoles Ive raised myself.

So you're probably sitting there wondering, wtf is she eating?

Well Ill tell you! She's eating a specialized Reptilink, its a sausage but for reptiles! They come in a lot of different types of whole prey items. From Quail to Rabbit, to Bayou blends, herbivorous blends and more! Not just for snakes either, but a lot of lizards can enjoy them too! Their insect blend is especially nice and adds a lot of nutritional variation.

So, which one is she eating? She's eating the Iguana blend! Its whole prey Iguana mixed with Quail eggs. I also feed her link occasionally to my Dumerils ground boa as a treat. So, why do I do this?

Well, for a few different reasons!

For the Dominican, it is better and healthier for this animal to be eating lizards over rodents at this age. Dominican Red Mountain Boas are specialized eaters, and the reason you don't see them bred super often in captivity despite being amazing animals? Baby Dominicans fresh born(Yes, born, they give live birth), are notoriously known for only accepting anoles as prey items. Captive-bred F/T Anoles are not readily-available feeders on the market, especially ones that are of *quality*. This means that you'll likely need to breed your own supply of anoles, which can be a HUGE hassle. There is a very small amount of breeders who spend a *LOT* Of time and effort getting babie on f/t rodents as they're more readily available, but ultimately it is not worth the time, effort, and risk to the animals overall health as Rodent prey items have a much higher fat content than they should be eating at this age. As Domincans get older, they will Naturally switch over to other prey items: Fish, Rodents, and Avian prey.

This is also to ensure she doesn't become a picky eater as she grows. I switch up my animals diets often because feeding the same exact nutritional value to an animal can be detrimental to them in the long term. A lot of snakes don't live out their fullest life span, or develop health complications way later down the line- most commonly being muscle atrophy, because of these things. Not only that, offering different prey items can be very mentally stimulating to an animal: Different scents, different textures, different nutrition, ect. Stimulating reptiles in captivity is often overlooked entirely, because a lot of people don't understand how intelligent a lot of these animals actually are. For example, did you know Monitor lizards, when given a mental stimulation, can be trained?

Heres one of my favorite videos of a Monitor being trained, but this is just one of many, many examples I can pull out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWTITUgDcmU

And this *can* extend to many sp. Of snakes that can be trained. Tap training, target training, and choice-based handling are some of the most common ways to train and build confidence with your animal. Feeding different prey items might be something extraordinarily small in this process of mental stimulation, but it plays a role in preventing mental degradation.

My Dominican Is target trained and practices choice based handling. As does my Dumeril.

I do a lot of the above for the same reason I give my Dumeril, but Dumeril's aren't specialist. So the first part of this doesn't really apply to her.

However, that doesn't mean Dumeril ground boas don't come across lizards in the wild. They are opportunistic hunters who won't pass up on a opportunity to get a meal. They do prey on lizards, rodents, birds- anything they can reasonably get their mouths on. And because of that, I like to offer her variation in her diet that she'd naturally have in the wild for maintaining her weight and keeping her healthy and strong.

Boas hold onto weight a lot better than Pythons do, *typically* speaking across the species. Animals like a Dumerill, BCI, BCC, BCL, and even BCOs(Just as a few examples) are known to really hold onto weight and can be hard for them to shed it. So the best way to prevent a very long, extensive diet? Is to not let your animal get obese in the first place.

Tag for @snake-spotted for the DRMB ahah.

[ceratosaurtalks]

Hey, so if you have a Dumeril's ground boa you may have been told that a reliable way to sex your animal is to check for a spur. While yes, in other species, both male and females can have Spurs, this is true for the DGB! But I notice no one actually shows you what you're looking for and it can be very hard to see. In this image alone, my individuals 'claw' is nearly invisible at first glance. So I wanted to show you what the spur actually is, and what it looks like. Again, this only works for Dumerils Ground Boas. If you find this claw, its a male.

Heres a close-up image, you'll notice to the left of the vent there is a 'claw'. This claw is hard, and can be moved around a bit(Dont recommend, please be gentle with your animals spur!). If you still don't see it, heres a red circle.

In smaller individuals it might be even harder to find, and you may not feel it right away either. Typically this is a lot safer than popping or probing; *Which should only be done by someone who actively knows what they're doing*. You can seriously harm your animal if you pop or probe them wrong. !!!!!NOTE!!!!!! Madagascar Ground Boas and Dumeril's ground boas are often mistaken for the same species. They are not. This trick, as far as I am aware, does not work for MGBs.

[ceratosaurtalks]

Happy Holidays or smth I exist on a rare basis but here's your fun fact; The Dumerils ground Boa has been spotted before in Isalo National Park, Madagascar. Contrary to belief, Madagascar isn't entirely a tropical jungles, and the climate changes to dry forests and red deserts on the South and West parts of the Island. These play a huge inspiration for the bioactive I am setting up for him, featuring local plants from the region and my own jank crafting skills in making a rocky foam ledged background.

[kaijutegu]

A Dumeril’s Ground Boa, dreaming of Coke Zero or something.

[snakeeaters]

dumeril's ground boa