Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey - I am a very new snake owner. I got my first corn 5 months ago and she has grown quite a bit. She is roughly 6 months old and is housed in a 20g long (a little large I found out - but meh too late now.) When she is full grown - will the 20g long be enough for her or should I go bigger? I ask this because I am getting a red-tail boa within the next few days from someone who cannot take care of it and I've went and looked at her. She is roughly 3 1/2-4ft long and in a 20g long which looks way too small for her. I was thinking of upgrading to a 40g breeder (I've looked into custom cages but really cannot afford them at the moment.) Will that 40g breeder last her for a couple years or should I go bigger yet? I'm also wondering if my corn will live comfortably in the 40g breeder when she is fully grown.

Thank you for the input,
Zack

I house my adult corns in 20 gallon long tanks an they are fine. I take them out for handling / exercise often. Now I'm not sure how long the boa can stay in the 40 gallon breeder. I have a baby boa in a 15 gallon tall tank for now an not sure what I'll do when she out grows that.

For the cornsnake:
Not all adult corns attain the same adult size. Many would be fine in a 20 gal long, some may need a bit larger eventually. You have some time however. The 20 gal will suffice for the next year or two even if you have one of the larger varieties/individuals of cornsnake. You can decide later what works for you. BTW, a 3ft Neodesha cage is plenty for 1 or 2 adult corns and does not cost that much. Put away $5 a week, and in a year you would have it shipped to your door with some money left over. A cheap alternative is a large plastic storage box. They do work well for snakes in general, can't argue against that.

For the boa:
Same thing, some varieties/localities/individuals of boa get larger than others. Females are always more bulky than males and often longer too. Boas can be expensive to house. They need a large heated area and large cages. IMO glass tanks are not good for boas - they let the heat and humidity out unless you make a cover for the top that holds it in. Not hard to do, just make sure you can secure it so the snake can't push it open.

Boas, especially young or smaller types, can also be housed in large plastic storage boxes. This type of maintenance cage is good because it holds humidity well (almost too well, poke lots of ventilation holes with a soldering iron or drill with a stepped drill bit) and can be heated easily with a length of 11-inch wide Flexwatt or other suitably-sized heat pad. The boa in the pic below was housed in a plastic storage box at the size shown. I had to move her to a 4ft cage around 4 months after the pic was taken. Eventually your boa will grow out of a storage box too, so save up for a 4x2x1 or larger plastic cage. I believe they are about $220 shipped these days without heat. Not bad considering they will last forever and will hold heat and humidity well.

Good luck.