Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all - you all sold me on getting a boa as opposed to a ball python (how could I have ever thought otherwise?) and am making some advance planning for bringing home my first snake. I have a starter setup in a 20 gallon aquarium, but want to give some thought to the adult enclosure now, since I only want to build it once!

I've heard the requirements for floor space for a boa are 1 square foot of cage area per foot of snake length - is that true? Also, what should the ratio of cage length to width be for a boa? If I have a 6 foot snake, will it be happy in an enclosure six feet long and 1 foot deep? (I'm thinking about converting a melamine bookcase, and they're usually no more than a foot deep.)

A cage that is only a foot deep could cause some trouble for a decent sized boa curling up at any point in the cage.

The typical size for an adult boa is a 4'x2' cage. Only REALLY large females, monster Colombians or BCC would need anything bigger.

Dwarf boas, and males of nearly all BCI locales are able to be housed in CB-70 tubs in a rack system.

OK, no bookcase for my new roommate. Thank you so much for the information!

Congrats on the new snake. usually a boa cage is wider than 1 foot. A 6' boa may want to coil up every now and then and one foot is alittle narrow. Also remember an adult boa can be strong so your converted bookcase will have to have a sturdy door but easy to access also. you might want to go with 4'x 2' or so

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Adrian De Leon
Hissenia Reptiles

Noted, thanks. I'll make sure whatever I end up building is plenty sturdy and escape proof. I've tracked down wayward wildlife in my house enough times; I'd really rather not repeat the experience with my snake! I'll post pictures when I bring it home.

Generally speaking, for non locale BCI, 4' X 2' are the recommended minimums (mainly for breeders, to optimize volume housing). If this is going to be a single pet, that you want to spoil, you can go (5'-6') X (2'-3') That will be way to big for a baby. However, you can put in a divider and make the cage half size, until you boa needs the full cage length. That way, you only have to build it once.

I agree with az_gunner. If you've got the space, give the snake more room.

If the cage will open from the front you might want to keep the width of it between 24 - 30 inches. 3ft is a long way to reach into a cage to clean it.

If the cage will open from the top, keep the same principle in mind. You'll have to reach in or get in to clean it.
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Good to know. While I predict that I might get hooked and start a collection eventually, my first snake is intended to be a pet I can fuss over, kind of like a tropical fish tank. So I'll err on the bigger side. Thanks!