Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im getting a hog within the next few months and i am doing my research on how to care for them and to makes sure that ill be the best owner possible. ive never owned a snake before but i love boas and they seem to be the most calm of the boas and prettiest thus far. also, i dont know how to pick upa snake.. lol. i have been looking it up on youtube and have seem to find bigger snakes but im getting a baby... and what should i put in their tank? ill be getting a heating pad and i know not to use ceder or pine.. but should it be like a tall cage or a wide cage? and should i have real plants or fake plants.. or plants at all..?? also can i feed them once a week; or is once a week to much? and what happens when i feed him too much.. also, i know that people are starting to breed hogs with rtb's and how do i know if im buying for someone whos being loyal in thir word, does anyone know someone they got a hog from that they trust? these are just some of my questions thatts hard to find on the internet bc ppl like to give different opinions and such. thanks for your help -melissa

Hi!
Good job doing your research first.
Piking up snakes- just like any other baby animal, you want its body supported- they will be very frightened if they are 'hanging'. When I pick up babies, I normally come at them from the side, and gently slide my fingers under them, 'scooping' them up. If it happens to be nippy, a decent way to get them out without getting stuck is by distracting them by waving and scoop them up with the other hand. Don't HOLD them still, allow them to crawl on your hands. Anyone who sells to you should be able to show you in person and allow you to try a few times until you get the hang of it.
Heating pads are great, but make sure you get a thermometer with a probe, and a thermostat- heating pads can get INSANELY hot and hurt an animal if they're not controlled.
Consider using newspaper or paper towel at first, so you can check for mites and healthy poops. After that, Aspen shavings are cheap and smell nice.
Your cage needs several hiding spots across the temperature gradient- if you're buying a baby, using tissue boxes, etc. can be better until later, as they'll just grow out of anything expensive. Hide spots should be just big enough to fit their body. A heavy water dish, and a few things for them to explore or climb on are all that's needed. Driftwood, manzanita, grape wood are all fine- if you use branches from outside, look for how to sterilize them on the internet. A wide cage is better, though they climb a bit, especially when they're young.
Use fake plants if any, they'll just get smooshed over time and soil in the cage is just more of a chance for pests to get to your pet, in my opinion. Fake plants are awesome for young snakes to hide in, though, and can look nice. If you ever switch to overhead heat (RHP or lamps) please use SILK plants, not plastic, as plastic ones can off-gas chemicals if heated.

Feeding once a week is totally fine until they're a year or two old. Power feeding often leads to early death and obesity.

On the 'purity' of Hogs-
You can absolutely disregard that if you're just looking for a pet- find one that looks absolutely beautiful to you, and go with it.

If you're very serious about making sure you can trust that it's 100% Hog, start bugging people.

http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=155 is the address for the Hog Island/insular boa classifieds- look at the pictures, read the descriptions, send some emails.
Pure Hogs are absolutely stunning. Have fun.

Thank you so much for all of your help! How long do u think I should wait until I move the boa into a larger tank, how big should the tank be? I was thinking 85 gal. Do I need a fogger for when it's small or just when its full grown? How lo.g do I wait until I put bark in when its a baby? I'm sorry I have so many questions, I'm just looking for everyone's opinions to compare and contrast with. Also how should I have the lighting system? So many questions

Hi again.
The dimensions of an 85 gallon are more than plenty for an adult.
I will say, though, that glass aquariums are kind of a pain- I'd suggest looking into a plastic cage such as Boaphile, Proline cages, or Animal Plastics- they're very sleek looking, can be picked up by one person, and hold humidity and heat WAY better than a tank will.
That's not to say glass can't work, just that in my opinion it's a constant battle to keep it heated, humidified, and un-scratched.
You can move a baby snake to a permanent large cage relatively quickly, provided that you have TONS of hiding spots for security- I gave my 4 month old five hides and a few branches to hide behind. Even an empty paper towel roll makes a great hide for a very young boa.
I personally don't feel that a misting system is necessary and is rather a waste of money for as little as you would have to use it. While these guys like reasonably high humidity, keeping them like a rainbow boa or something will lead to disaster and infections. Misting them with a decent spray bottle once a day or so is more than plenty.

As far as lighting goes- I personally just have a 16" or so plain fluorescent fixture installed in each cage kept on during the day- this is just for viewing them, and to provide them with a light cycle since their room is kind of dark. Some folks say that UV light brings out their colors or something, but these kinds of snakes don't spend much time in direct sunlight.
Use one if you want, but totally unneeded. A cheap under cabinet fluorescent light is a great choice.

Change to aspen bark after several weeks, if you want, once you are sure it's healthy. It's fine to keep it on newspaper or paper towel forever, if you want.
One thing to mention is that you don't want to feed it on the aspen. Put its food on a sheet of paper, or feed it elsewhere, if you're going to use aspen bark.