Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, guys,

Currently, I keep all of my females in 4 x 2 x 1 cages, but am planning to start moving them into 6 x 2s over the next few summers.

I'm open to eventually moving them to 8 x 2s.

Does anyone keep their girls in big cages?
If so, how do they like them?

I moved all of my males from CB70s to 4 x 2s last summer and they LOVE them.

Thanks in advance!

Aaron
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www.voodoomagicboas.com

8 foot caging seems like a little overkill to me. If you use any aspen for bedding it would be kind of pricy plus more wattage for heating

I do.
mine are in 12' ..I want bigger.

and you keep a single boa in your 12 footer?

I think give them as much room as you can. I'm sure they will utilize it. If you have the space and money...good for you.

I use the Visions that are 54" wide and 36" deep for some of my girls, mainly columbians, peruvians, bolivians, they love them, but I would like to go bigger to provide more temperature gradient, and more floor excercise space.

I guess saying it's overkill depends on what your keeping goals are. It seems most people keep snakes like baseball cards and forget about behavior. They keep them in a minimalist way. Makes sense if you only pull out a draw every once in awhile to show off your new baseball card. That is ok if that's what you want. If you are a commercial breeder then it also makes sense to minimalize everything because profits depend on it.

Larger cages in my opinion will maximize the keeping experience, you will see more behavior and I think enjoy your snakes even more.

If you only keep snakes so you can say "yeah, I have one of those" then skip the 8ft. If you want to enjoy your snakes GO BIGGER.

IMO sometimes the boas are a little dumb and cant find the warm spot especially the juveniles.

Also won't it cause cage aggression??

I agree with most comments on the positive aspects of larger not smaller cages. I believe too many breeders keep their boas in too small cages! Boas like to climb and move around (even if they do so at night when you might not see them). I say go for it if you have space and you will have happier snakes.

cheers, John
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John Berry
Designer Morphs, 2nd edition - totally updated, hardback edition due May 2010.

I think the most overlooked aspect of boa keeping is their ability and inclination to climb. Perhaps rather than going with 8'x2'x1' cages,you might opt for 4'x2'x30" cages complete with climbing branches, multiple shelves and hides, etc...

My next change to boa housing will be to allow them to experience and exercise their ability and desire to climb up!

jb
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What's written above is purely my opinion. In fact, MOST of what you read on the internet is someone's opinion. Don't take it too seriously

Jonathan Brady
DeviantConstrictors.com
Deviant Constrictors picturetrail

Im totally with JB on this..... I have started to give some of my adults taller cages 2 feet min, and the difference in muscle tone is amazing...... I also had a Surinam female that was always a bit clumsy.... she could never really grip my hands while handling and kind of flailed around when I had her out..... Iplaced her in a tall cage with a limb and now she's more "Normal" and has better control of her muscles

It's not very convenient to have taller cages when you have a large collection .... but I at least keep a few of them... that way I can rotate boas in the tall cage if they need to get better fit......
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Marc Duhon
Lafayette, Louisiana
SURINAMBOAS.COM
kaiyudsai@SURINAMBOAS.COM

Thanks, everyone. I was really great to hear all of your thoughts. (If anyone has anything else to add, please do so.)
Very much appreciated.
Aaron
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www.voodoomagicboas.com