Ok, So I was looking for some recomendations on building a great habitat for my boa. I want to put some live plants in there, A. for humidity and B. to look a little more natural. But being 5.5 - 6 ft long and weighing about 15lbs, Im not to sure what kind of plants can be put into his cage that he wont crush, kill, or just plain mangle. I would like somthing that would help a little with humidity, but at the same time provide a place for him to wonder around and feel a little closer to nature.
Second question is with the lighting and temperature. Right now I have an infared heating bulb that runs 24/7 and a florescent bulb to put off the UVa/b that runs 12/7. Now I was curious, knowing how many different bulbs there is it causes me to think. Should I go with a daytime bulb for 12 hours and then a night glo bulb to yet again help provide a natural environment.
One last question, what exactly is the best substrate... hes a tropical snake. Im currently using aspen bedding as recommended by the reptile house I bought him from. Now Ive been told by others that the aspen is bad because it can hold bacteria and obsorb all of the moisture. Which would explain the low humidity in his cage.
Answers to any of these questions would be appreciated.
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
Perfect Habitat...
Replies (3)
You should pick up a copy of "The Art of Keeping Snakes" by Phillipe de Vosjoli. He does have a section on Boa contstrictors. It will be a small price relative to what this cage will cost you.
Most of the planted Boa cages I've seen were fairly tall and had viny plants mounted up high with the vines falling to the floor. Heavy bodied snakes would be less likey to climb up there and crush the important parts of the plants.
If you got that book you could read through the entire plant section and find out what he/they recommend for Boa constrictor spp.
For sure I would plant a form of Pothos up high.
Lighting and heating depends on way to many variables. How large your cage ends up being and the temperature of the room where it will stay.
In a tall cage I'd build a ledge of some sort and have a radiant heat panel (RHP) mounted underneath. You'll probably need an additional, larger RHP mounted at the top of the cage. Tall large cages are not as hard to heat as some would suggest. But when building the cage you have to take care to use a foil-faced insulation and provide it the proper air space.
The book I mentioned above has a great section on substrates. In particular bioactive substrate that is ideal for planted enclosures.
-----
Current snakes:
0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)
1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)
7.6 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)
0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)
.
-----
0.1 chickens (Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.1 Normal phase California Kingsnake (Sophia)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human
Two words "Fake Plants" unless you intend to go live then sorry no info. But fake plants never die.
My 2 Cents
-----
"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Rebert Oppenheimer
