Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there:

My local snake store just got a flawless sub-adult viper boa that is on sale for $70.00. It is amazing. I am looking into getting a new snake. Right now I have a reptile zoo. I was wondering about getting the boa. Has anyone succesfully fed these mice? Do they need a very big cage? Is this a good snake to handle? I need to find out more about their environment, because even my book about keeping boas of all shapes and sizes has almost nothing on them. Thanks.

DAVE

Hi Dave, Viper Boa,s, AKA (New Guinea Ground Boa)are found in the Rainforest of New Guinea and nearby Island's,they are in the (Candoia Group of Boa's, (Candoia aspera)check out the Forum for (Boa's Candoia) there's some info. there on Viper Boa's.
Have A Good One ! !
Kenneth

"The" site to get information on these boas is www.kingsnake.com/candoia/ by Jerry Conway. He's pretty much the end-all-be-all of Canodoia and has kept and bred them longer than anyone else I've ever heard of. While I don't keep viper boas, I do have four Solomon Island ground boas and one Santa Isabel ground boa. The personalities vary - of the five I have, two are quite docile, two tolerate handling, and one is Satan's daughter. lol To be fair, the aggressive one was wild caught when I bought her and has acclimated to captivity pretty well except for the handling thing...it's just a no-go with her.

I have read that the viper boas tend to be a bit nippier than some of the other Candoia, but that is really something of an individual trait. As for feeding on mice, in my limited experience I've found the older animals will pretty readily eat rodents as prey and it is more the juveniles that are adamant about alternative prey items such as lizards and frogs. Even so, I would insist on seeing it feed prior to purchasing it. On the same token, I would also insist on handling it prior to purchasing it. There's no need to purchase it if you want an absolutely calm snake and that one isn't. I've found that even the ones that are more shy will calm down with gentle handling (with the exception of that one female). Because most - though not all - of the Candoia stay small, they don't need large enclosures. Except for my two juveniles, mine are currently kept in tubs that measure roughly 22" X 16" X 7" (if I remember the measurements correctly anyway) and do quite well. As my females mature, they should have a slighly larger enclosure - probably one of the 3' length cages would be fine. They're great little snakes and if you have some experience keeping other boas or pythons, I'd gladly recommend them as something a bit different and interesting to keep. They're greatly under-rated in my book, but also not a group I'd recommend for the beginner.

Raven

Dave - I cant really add much to what Kenneth and Raven have given you in the answers. If you do decide to pick the Viper up I have a Yahoo site devoted to Candoia. Here is the address http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pacificislandboas Between my yahoo goup,Kingsnakes Candoia forum and Jerrys site I think we have a fantastic network of info.
Randy

From my experience with Viper Boas they are very cool boas. They tend to be quite nippy but with continued handling will usually calm down. They are super quick tough and will even strike sideways so keep your guard up at all times. They love to hide under there bedding, and hang out in there water bowls. They require high humidity about 80% is good. They perfer cooler temps than most boas about 82f is good. Usually they are easy to switch over to rodents if they are not taking them already. There "frisky" nature helps in that department. I hope this helps.