Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am looking to purchase a Dumerils Boa, and I was wondering, I was told that the care is the same as a red-tail, but now reading more and more, it says that the care ISNT like a redtail as they come from a basically Arid area of Madagascar. Are there any Dumerils ownders that can help me out with this? Also i was told that with a Dum i absolutely HAD to get a UV light for the snake or it wont be able to get Calcium from its food, and will ultimately die... As you can tell... I need some help. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

PS... Care sheets are few and far inbetween... so any good ones are a great help. Thanks.

The care is similar as for redtails, but not exactly the same IMO. I've read that they are from arid regions as well, but I've also read that they can be found in forest and scrub areas - my take on that is that they are adaptable.. I keep all of my snakes at whatever the ambient room humidity is, ocassionally misting in winter to offset the dry air from heaters or just prior to a shed the rest of the year. My dumerils do tend to like slightly cooler temperatures than my redtails. Generally I keep a basking spot for my redtails at 92-95F with ambient temps of upper 70's to 80F, but my dumerils would rarely bask under the heat lamp and stayed on the cool side 24/7. I dropped the temperatures on their warm end to the mid to upper 80's, and the cool end of the cage in the low to mid 70's which has caused them to utilize more of the cage - even basking on the warm end after meals. They do not require UV light as they get their calcium from digesting the whole prey they eat. I could be mistaken, but I don't know of a single species of snake that REQUIRES UV to live, it's simply a nice bonus for those who wish to provide it. FWIW, I've had my pair of dumerils for 4 years and they have never had a UV light provided nor does anyone I know with dumerils provided UV. Another main difference between dumerils and redtails is that dumerils should not be fed as heavily as you do a redtail. Their metabolism is much slower and they also typically grow slower. If fed on the same regimen you would a redtail, you will have an obese dumerils. A good site for dumerils information is Classic Dums. Jason has been breeding these guys for years, so he's got to be doing something right.

Raven
Classic Dums

88 warm end
78 cool end
Use a particle substrate that they can burrow in
Use 2 hides, one on each end
Large water bowl
I keep humidity at about 70%
I feed a rat slight larger than the thickest part of the snake, no more frequently than every 2 weeks. Sometimes I'll skip a week and make it 3. Younger dums may be fed every 10-14 days.