Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was reading through a lot of the recent posts, and see a lot of people in here asking about the dimensions of a properly sized cage for an adult Dum... and I realized that none of those threads generated any responses from PBM - who has several breeding adult Dums.

My own little Dum has just finally broke over the one pound mark, and I have her in a 33gal long tank, so I am confident that she still has plenty of room for the time being (she has only just finally started a real growth spurt). I have "ear marked" my husband's 55gal tank (he really uses it for fish!) for her home in the future when she gets to be too big for her 33 long.

But I am really curious to hear from PBM, or anybody else who has more than one adult sized Dum... what size cages (or racks) do you use to house your adults, and how big are they (the snakes that you house)? Would a 55gal tank be too small for my little female at her full growth?

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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]

Generally, I come in here every few days, and see if there's anything new. If I see a post that has already gotten a lot of replies, I usually just leave it alone.....unless the title really peaks my interest. Well, as far as adult cages, it REALLY varies. I have some adult animals that are only a tad over 4' long and they're proven breeders(male and female). These animals are generally in 36" Visions that are 28" deep. They are also fine in tubs such as the CB-70 by Iris that alot of people use for Ball pythons. Generally though, I'm using either 48" Vision cages or 48" Freedom Breeder racks. My largest Dumerils is actually a male that's a bit over 8' and he seems plenty happy in the 4' cages, and seems lost in a 6' cage as I've put them in one before. I'm thinking the length of the 55gal. is definitely enough, just not sure on the depth from front to back. Some of them seem rather narrow and your Dumerils may not be able to coil without touching the front and back at the same time. You seem like an observant and caring keeper, so I'm sure your judgement will be the best way to tell when the time comes. I'm going back into stealth mode now-lol, talk to you soon. Take care

Paul Mitzelfelt

I agree with PBM...you be the judge of cage size for your snake. Although, a 55 gallons dimensions are usually 48x12x19. As PBM said the length is fine, but I cannot imagine a full grown female dum feeling comfy with 12 inches width. The largest of my three is a 4/5 year old female who is 5 feet long and 12 pounds. As I posted in the last "cage size" thread we have our three each in individual 4x2 cages. My smaller female is 5 feet and 9 lbs, and my male is 5 feet and 3.5 pounds. All three utilize the space well.
This is a pic of how my biggest female typically sits under her hide. As you can see she likes the extra space.

Here are some pics of her in a bin that measures just over 12 inches width. I think you can see how she is a bit cramped.

Again, I think the 4x2 cage is the perfect size for a dumerils. Regardless to whether your female turns out to be a porker, or on the smaller side, she should still feel comfortable. As always though, this is my opinion, and I am sure other people have different experiences. On the positive side, at least they are slow grower

Take care!
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6.14 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball python
5 normal x pastel eggs incubating!
1.0 Plains Garter
0.1 Rosy boa
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
1.1 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
-----My list is too long, so I'll stop here!
*Amy*

Paul,

Good to hear from you. I was just kinda surprized that you hadn't responded to those earlier posts.

By no means do I seek to offend anybody in this forum, but many of us in here (like myself) have only one Dumeril's Boa, which may or may not still be growing. I feel like I have plenty of experience with snakes in general to answer a great deal of questions on a great number of general subjects... however, there is not a whole lot of [accurate] documentation around concerning the mature size of a Dum.

If I am remembering correctly, you have several proven breeders, and have been breeding Dumerils for over ten years, so I feel like you have much more experience with the variability in mature Dum sizes.

Thanks for your input - I really had no idea that some could mature as short as 4'! My little runty girl will probably go for that 8' mark though, just to push my buttons.
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]