Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im getting a rainbow this summer, *rainbows r us get ur butt over here~!!!!!!!!* after we get back from europe. I was wondering if a 4x2x2 boaphile is good or a 4x2x1 and can i keep a baby in that size. Also for heating should i use a thermostat or a dimmer? Are heat pads good or should i use a ceramic heater. Also then how would i cover the head emitor. DO redlights bother them at night? thanks!

I am pretty sure boaphiles are come heated... so you won't need additional heat sources (for future reference though, the ceramic heaters will dry the air... which is bad for brbs).

I would get a tstat - they are much easier and safer (as they will adjust with the change in room temps, where a dimmer stays the same no matter what the rest of the room does).

You can get a johnson controls or ranco tstat for about $60.. a smart investment in my opinion.

As for caging, it sort of comes down to you. 12" tall cages are fine for the snake, but will make it a bit harder to see the snake, and a little tricker to get large water bowls in and out, as well as the animal in and out. A cage with a bit more height will allow you to get things in and out, as well as see into the cage easier (note, it also makes cleaning much easier.. ).

For a baby, I would not put them in a cage that size. I would keep a baby in a shoe box for the first 6 months or so.. once it outgrows the shoe box, it should be fine in the larger cage.

>>Im getting a rainbow this summer, *rainbows r us get ur butt over here~!!!!!!!!* after we get back from europe. I was wondering if a 4x2x2 boaphile is good or a 4x2x1 and can i keep a baby in that size. Also for heating should i use a thermostat or a dimmer? Are heat pads good or should i use a ceramic heater. Also then how would i cover the head emitor. DO redlights bother them at night? thanks!
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

I see what you mean about room temp. Where i live, my room near the attick can get down to 55 in the winter and in the summer its like 110 degreees outside and for the last weak its been cold hot cold hot and for my leo im always changing the temp

i hope the temps in your room dont get 110 or even close to that thats quite high specialy for rainbows about 20 some degrees to high

Crap no, its 80 and the air conditioners in my room so i make make it cold

>>
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Congrats on your first BRB!! Please post pictures when the little boy or girl arrives.
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

Thanks! im getting a girly, in late august. I was gunna get a BCI anery female till my mom found out what i meant... So then i wanted a reticulated UBER dwarf but my dad said it was too much for a snake (He hates snakes) so then i showed my dad a brb and he said heed pay for it most cuz he like them!

CARE OF NEWBORN BRAZILIAN RAINBOW BOAS
Epicrates cenchria cenchria
By Jeff Clark

Brazilian Rainbow Boas (BRBs) make great pets. They are very hardy and typically grow to around 6 feet in length. Many BRBs have been kept in captivity for over 20 years. Their size is much more manageable and practical than many of the other Boas and Pythons. They do require high humidity. This is especially important when they are small. If kept too dry they will dehydrate. Minor dehydration will cause feeding and shedding problems. Major dehydration will kill them. Baby BRBs should be maintained with close to 100% humidity in their cages. This can be accomplished by using damp substrate and limiting the ventilation. They do require some ventilation but in cages with large screen sides or screen tops the humidity will rapidly escape from the cage. Ideal substrate material for little BRBs is paper-towels or newspaper. The advantage of paper-towels and newsprint is that it can be easily changed. Damp substrate will quickly grow mold. It should be changed often. BRBs drink more water and pass more liquid urine than most other snakes. Substrate that is kept in the cage too long will become contaminated with urates which are very acidic and this will harm the snake’s skin. Many people use mulch and chipped bark substrates. Some of these substrates are excellent but you should be careful not to use one that is too acidic or one from a garden center that may have parasites in it. I especially like the cocoanut husk chunks and chips substrates for BRBs. It is vitally important to not use cedar substrate. The oils in cedar and similar woods are toxic to snakes. Pine shavings and aspen shavings are also not suitable for BRBs. Did I mention that you should change the substrate often? BRBs require cages with a cool end in the low 70s and the warm end in the high 70s to very low 80s. If you keep them in cages that are too small to maintain a temperature gradient in the cage they should be kept with the entire cage in the mid 70s. Temperatures higher than this can quickly cause dehydration and death. Most reptile heating products are too hot for Rainbow Boas. These snakes are nocturnal and secretive. Using overhead lights to heat their cages will create too much stress for a BRB. Cage temperatures must be controlled with a proportional thermostat or a carefully set and monitored rheostat. Don’t guess what the temperature is down in the cage where the snake spends most of it’s time. Invest in good temperature measuring equipment and use it often to make sure you do not overheat your BRB. BRB temperature requirements are 10 to 15 degrees cooler than what is required for many other boids including Ball Pythons, Boa Constrictors and Burmese and Reticulated Pythons. People who try to keep BRBs hot like they keep their other boids often kill them. Extra care should be taken when transporting BRBs. If left in a closed car in the sun the temperature will rapidly rise and kill them. BRBs should be provided with caging with hiding spots so that they can avoid light and activity. Small plastic containers like margarine is packaged in with a small entry hole cut into the side of the container work well. Place substrate material such as damp moss or damp papertowels in the hiding container. BRBs need a waterbowl in their cage that is large enough for them to submerge. They will often soak in the water for several days before shedding. However, when they do not have a good hiding spot they may have to use the waterbowl for a hiding spot and spend too much time in the water. Adult BRBs can be set up in elaborate naturalistic caging. They look especially nice in large cages with exotic plants. However they will spend much of the daylight hours hiding in or under the plants. It is best with a new little BRB to keep the caging simple to make sure the snake is doing okay before adding too many variables that may cause problems. After the snake is acclimated and doing well you can make small changes in the caging and try different substrates and plants making one change at a time. Little BRBs should be fed small live mice at first. Many will also take live pinky rats for their first meals. They will feed much more readily on a live meal than a dead meal. They also like mice that are large enough to run around much more than they like pinky or small fuzzy mice. I have actually fed full-grown adult mice to BRBs for their first meal. They can handle very large prey but are more likely to regurgitate if fed extremely large meals When they have become accustomed to eating live prey they will easily switch to eating fresh killed and then frozen and thawed prey. Thawed prey will work best if it is heated to around 105 degrees for the first feeding attempts with it. BRBs are always more likely to eat undisturbed in the dark than when being closely watched in bright daylight. Do not force-feed a BRB. Force feeding is very stressful and stress is often the reason that one will not eat. These snakes are eating machines. If your BRB does not eat it is because of stress or improper husbandry. Eliminate the stress and correct the husbandry and they will eat readily. The most common husbandry problems are keeping the snake too hot or too dry or subjecting it to too much light or activity. Little BRBs have a very simple outlook on other living things. Anything it sees moving is either a predator or prey. When first born they will often strike and bite. The bite of a little BRB is not painful and usually does not bleed. If you handle the snake for several minutes everyday it will quickly become tame. If it bites or strikes it is because it is afraid of you or it thinks it can eat you. Just let it bite and hold on and chew if it wants. By doing this it will learn that you are too big to eat and that you are not harming it and that striking and biting will not make you go away. If you do retreat when it strikes you will reinforce the striking and biting behavior. Little BRBs can be handled for as much as an hour per day. Too much handling can cause stress and stress may cause them to not feed. It is okay to have them out of their cages in humidity much lower than 100% for short handling periods.

www.corallus.com/cenchria/index.html

>>Im getting a rainbow this summer, *rainbows r us get ur butt over here~!!!!!!!!* after we get back from europe. I was wondering if a 4x2x2 boaphile is good or a 4x2x1 and can i keep a baby in that size. Also for heating should i use a thermostat or a dimmer? Are heat pads good or should i use a ceramic heater. Also then how would i cover the head emitor. DO redlights bother them at night? thanks!

Congrats and welcome to a very elite club, rainbow keepers!!!

Have not read the replies yet, we'll see how well I track with them

IMO you should bring the hatchling up through various sized enclosures. Neonates thrive with VERY high humiditry and that is simply hard to maintain in a larger cage.

I start with a small shoebox size hatchling rack, That seems to work fine for 6 - 9 months, even a year on some. Then move up to a larger sweaterbox size. By the one year mark high humidity is not as crucial but still good for them. That larger tub will easily last to a yearling or 1.5 years old. At that time I move into something close to adult size. My adult size cages are relatively small at 2 foot square by 18 inches tall. But with the moss box and water bowl on top of that there lots of climbing opportunities and they seem to do just fine.

I'm sure most would agree a 3 x 2 boaphole would be fine for an adult. The "2" high would be a better display cage but not vnecessary as the rainbow will ide most of the time anyways.

IMO THERMOSTAT always!! Much better ption than a thermostat BUT be careful of probe placement. I like to put the probe directly on the heat source and OUTSIDE the enclosure. Then dial in the thermostat setting to get the heat you want in the cage.

Get a digital temp gun, I consider this to be one of my primary "tools" for keeping my snakes. In cage gauges are nice biut only measure where they are placed. The temp gun can be used to measure anywhere!!!!

Red lights are bad, tend to dry out the cage!!!! UTH's are recommended. I've also started using RHP's and have no complaints!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Ok Thank you very much. So a 4x2x2 is completely unncessicary? i have a temp gun for my geckos so that is good!

While a 4x2x2 would provide a nice large enclosure it is larger then necessary.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

ill just haveto check my dads wallet then