Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey my name is steve and i'm 18. i been in love with these snakes for a while now, so i figured i'd go to the reptile expo in white plains new york and buy myself one. i bought myself a female, and she's about 4 months to 6 months old.

i dont know how to post pics but hopefully someone can try and help me. i'm gonna try now so hopefully it works. let me know what you think..

also i have her in a 20 gallon long tank. i use paper towels as a sustrate and i have a big water bowl for her to soak in and a hut for her to hide in. is there anything else i should put in the tank?
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Steve,
You will need to provide high humidity for your enclosure. Sphagnum noss works very well in the hide. You mentioned a hut. If it is a coconut hut you will need to closely monitor it for mold growth. All you do with the moss is soak it in warm water, then squeeze it out and stick it in the hide.
You did not mention your temps/humidity and these factors are very important. I am guessing the breeder helped you to set her up so she will thrive.

Have you seen Jeff Clark's page?
The Rainbow Boa Page ?
Take a look at it if you haven't.

Depending on how the lid to your tank is, you may need to modify it to keep the correct temp/humidity.
I'll post the link for you.

Linda
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"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance- that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer

www.corallus.com/cenchria/

.
Rainbow boa webpage on Corallus.com

after reading his web page i think my temp is to hot..... also my humidity seems really low but i do mist him at least 3-5 times a day. i just dont think the paper towels keep the humidty up. i think they dry out to quick.... i am going to get my temp around 80. i have to go get a lower wattage bulb. my temp now is in the high 80's. is there a better substarte than paper towels.....

i am also going to cover the open parts of the screen lid with a towel to keep some of the humidity up and the heat in. i really hope it isnt to late. i am already attached to the snake and dont wanna loose her.

also, if there are things i can do, please let me know. i will admitt i need help. i read up on this snake before i bought her but i guess i didnt read enough.

is my tank big enough. it is a 20 gallon long. it has a hut out of wood, the dry bark kind. and a plastic water dish thats big enough for her to soak in. is there anything else i should put in there. another hide maybe? please help.

sorry for the long post, but i know i can ask questions here and they get answered by people who know what they are talking about

Steve,
. Try covering 95 to 98% of the screen top. Most snakes need good ventilation but these snakes do not. Rather than spraying several times a day and only spraying half an ounce at each spraying just pour three or four ounces of water straight onto the substrate. Your paper towels are drying out because spraying them does not get much water on them and with the open screen top all of the humidity is evaporating out of the tank. The heater may actually be creating a flue effect where the warm air rises out of the tank and cool dry air from your house pours in and replaces it. A 20 gallon tank will be large enough until the snakes gets to 3 or 3.5 feet long. IMO bare light bulbs are the wrong thing to use to heat BRB cages. These snakes are nocturnal and bright light is stressful to them. If you do use a light bulb paint it with several coats of red or black high temperature engine or exhaust paint so that you just get the heat from the bulb and not the light. There are more sophisticated reptile heating products such as ceramic heat emitters, IR panels, flexwatt heattape etc. but a dark painted light bulb is a cheap effective alternative. You can try lower wattage bulbs to get the temperature right or you can use a thermostat and/or a rheostat dimmer to control the heat output from a higher wattage bulb.
Jeff

>>after reading his web page i think my temp is to hot..... also my humidity seems really low but i do mist him at least 3-5 times a day. i just dont think the paper towels keep the humidty up. i think they dry out to quick.... i am going to get my temp around 80. i have to go get a lower wattage bulb. my temp now is in the high 80's. is there a better substarte than paper towels.....
>>
>>i am also going to cover the open parts of the screen lid with a towel to keep some of the humidity up and the heat in. i really hope it isnt to late. i am already attached to the snake and dont wanna loose her.
>>
>>also, if there are things i can do, please let me know. i will admitt i need help. i read up on this snake before i bought her but i guess i didnt read enough.
>>
>>is my tank big enough. it is a 20 gallon long. it has a hut out of wood, the dry bark kind. and a plastic water dish thats big enough for her to soak in. is there anything else i should put in there. another hide maybe? please help.
>>
>>sorry for the long post, but i know i can ask questions here and they get answered by people who know what they are talking about

jeff,

thanks so much, you've been really helpful so far. i say so far b/c i am sure i'm gonna have more questions for you lol... i guess i am doing the right thing so far, because i have a red heat bulb. its a red 65 watt bulb. i am going to buy a lower wattage bulb, i was thinking maybe around 20 or 25 since a 20 gallon really isnt that big of a tank.

i'm going to try and feed her for the first time tonight since i got her. the breeder i got her from said he fed her every monday, and this is the first monday since she had her last meal. hopefully things will work out.

1 question, should i feed her with the lights off, making it look like its night or will she eat if its light out.

thanks
steve

Steve,
. A BRB should eventually feel safe and secure so that it will eat under bright lights. Some of them will reach this point very quickly and some of them are more shy and take longer to become this relaxed and secure.
Jeff

>>jeff,
>>
>>thanks so much, you've been really helpful so far. i say so far b/c i am sure i'm gonna have more questions for you lol... i guess i am doing the right thing so far, because i have a red heat bulb. its a red 65 watt bulb. i am going to buy a lower wattage bulb, i was thinking maybe around 20 or 25 since a 20 gallon really isnt that big of a tank.
>>
>>i'm going to try and feed her for the first time tonight since i got her. the breeder i got her from said he fed her every monday, and this is the first monday since she had her last meal. hopefully things will work out.
>>
>>1 question, should i feed her with the lights off, making it look like its night or will she eat if its light out.
>>
>>thanks
>>steve