Reptile & Amphibian Forums

2:05am I am siting here trying to brainstorm and figure out a way to keep my boas. I did have the room for them but now that the new baby is here as I said before I must give up my snake room. my house is not to horably big, In my oppinion I can not provide them the proper housing anymore but I guess more than anything ells I am hoping there is somthing I have missed? Shadow is about 3' long and spirit is about 2' long. They are both Columbian Boas, Spirit is curently in a 55G witch I more than likyl will have to get rid of and shadow is curently in a 40G wich I can posably find another place for. I am not horably worryd about housing them now as they are small. What worries me and makes me want to part with them now is there is noway anyone will take a couple of monster boas when I can no longer house them properly, As it stands now I have the pet store that will take them both now, However there first question was "How big?" They wont even take them once they outgrow there curent enclosures. Should I just say my good byes and oart with the 2 or is there any hope here? I can not aford to move or make any huge modifications like aditions to my home. Any advice is greatly welcome. Thanks a million.
My Research and Collection

I believe a 55 gallon is 5 ft long and a 40 gallon tank is 4 ft long. If you have a female she should be all right in the 55 and a male will fit fine in the 40 gallon.
If you do not have room for them then yes you should give up your boas before they are adults.

I know full grown are very rare but my care info says they have the potential to reach 12 feet long and weigh about 80lbs, Lets just asume for a second that this female reaches her full potential of 12 feet. wouldnt a 55G be inhumane? She couldnt even streach out in it. I would feel bad puting aything in there that could not streach out LOL I mean dont get me wrong, If there is a way for me to keep my beutifull Boas I would like to do it and you all are the pros so if you say so I will take your word for it, I just want to make sure. A 12 foot boa is hard to get rid of LOL
My Research and Collection

Hi, do you only have the 2 boas? Have you considered changing their housing arrangements? A 40 gallon tank, and a 55 gallon would probably take up more room, than a couple of Boaphile 421Ds. It might be worth your while to check them out. Do you have any pics of their set-up? We hate to see anyone have to give up their boas.

Rick & Sherry

Yes I do have pictures but they are not uploaded. I have to run to the store and get some new baby stuff right now but will upload them when I get back. I have been thinking about other arangments but the fact of the mater is I just brought a new baby home and know I cant aford it, Unless I can make iut out of particle board witch is free but we all know that will not hold up to humidity.
My Research and Collection

if you can get particle board free then i would use that ... you could make two cages to stack ontop of eachother to take up less room. if you have the room you could go 6'x2'x2' but if nto 4'x2'x2' will work also. all you would have to do is get some vinyl from a sign shop and cover the bottom and sides then silicone the corners. this would be virtually water tight and last for a good many of years plus it shouldnt be too expensive.
on the other hand if you are looking to get rid of snakes i would advise against most pet stores as we all know how those are like. i am sure there are many people on here at least that would be willing to adopt boas of all sizes. if you are located near philly in pa i could help you with the cage building if needed.
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- Jason F.

Thanks for the offer but unfortunatly I live in N California. I am not worried about this pet store as its where I get all my animals and I would trust them with my son for the weekend, Good people there that I have been close personal friends with for years. A 6X2X2 may be a little dificult but 4X2X2 witch would actualy be 4X4X2 stacked up like you said. I may actualy be able to do that. I had thought about just adopting them out to somone but another big thing is the pet store is wanting to give me $100 for the pair and knowing them more than likly they will give me a whole lot of stuff for my other snakes for free, Anyone here that has kids can atest that I sure could use that $100 right about now, Especialy if there kids were as big of a shock as my new one, LOL she was born at 7:55pm and we didnt even know she was there untill 6:30pm he he heeI still cant figure out how my 110lbd wife can cary a 7lbs 6oz babby to full term and not even look the part but oh well. Thanks agan, I realy apreciate all the help.
My Research and Collection

Look for a place with a bit of space. I am actually moving all of my reptiles into my alright sized laundry room. I will be putting all of the larger snakes into 3' enclosures with shelves (same and in some cases more floor space then current enclosures) the smaller and mid sized animals will be in a rack to hold 41 qt (34"x19"x7" and I think 70 qt (same diameter and length but 13" tall).

You just have to be innovative on what you want to do if you truely want to keep them

Good luck.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
Boas make the world go round.

Doi you think reptile heating pads would be sufficient to heat them in the garage? The garage would be an excelent place for them but I jsut have a few concerns
My Research and Collection