Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have experience keeping a ball python and a brazilian rainbow boa. I'm interested in viper boas right now. How big do they get> What size enclosure do they need? Are there any specific humidity requirements? How hard are they to handle? Thanks for any input you put in.

Boaguy,

Viper boas are great captives. They are usually pretty hardy once thier requirements are met.

Most viper boas can reach about three feet or so. they aren't so long as they are wide...they truly are built like a viper. And many act like vipers, too...don't buy one expecting it to be tame, especially if you buy a wild-caught adult. some calm down but I'd say they are in the minority.

Viper boas like moderate to high humidity. I keep my candoia boas on cypress mulch, as this retains humidity really well. They love to soak in water so make sure to add a water dish that will allow them to do so. i keep my temperature gradient at about 70-83. They have a relatively slow metabolism so feeding more than once every 10 days is not necessary.

Joe
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2.2 Solomen Island ground boas
0.1 Solomen Island tree boa
1.0 green tree python
1.0 jungle carpet python
2.0 coastal carpet python
1.0 Boa constrictor imperator
0.1 Borneo short-tailed (blood) python
0.0.1 CB Florida banded water snake
1.0 albino Burmese python

Thank you very much. Any idea on where to get one? What would be a good sized enclosure? If anyone else has any info it would be appreciated.

Boaguy,

Where I'm from (Chicago), it's fairly easy to obtain most types of snakes, but I realize it's not as easy in certain other areas. As I said before, captive-bred vipers are hard to come by, so try to get a long-term (LTC), established one. Check the Kingsnake ads, from time to time they'll have viper boas available in various color forms. As far as cage size, a cage the equivelant to a 10 to 30 gallon would probably be sufficient.
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2.2 Solomen Island ground boas
0.1 Solomen Island tree boa
1.0 green tree python
1.0 jungle carpet python
2.0 coastal carpet python
1.0 Boa constrictor imperator
0.1 Borneo short-tailed (blood) python
0.0.1 CB Florida banded water snake
1.0 albino Burmese python

I've had my viper for about a yr now...he's got a 10 gallon size tank with a huge water dish for soaking and moss that I keep moist for him to burrow in. He used to have peat moss but it was super messy and I somehow ended up with little roly poly bugs in it. I have a sprayer that mists him for 15 seconds every 3 hours during the day and I keep him around 80 degrees with about 75-85% humidity. A lot of people say they're nippy and can be nasty but mine is wild-caught (not my first choice but he needed me), eating pinky mice, and has never even snapped at me...I love him to pieces and I definitely recommend them to anyone who is experienced enough to keep them.
SuperKat