# JUST ORDERED MY BCI



## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

i asked for a pink, pastel, or buckskin colored boa.. with bright red markings, no flecks, and alot of striping or connected saddles.. should be around 14 inches.. hopefully arriving this week.. they dont ship out unless the overnight weather is over 38 degrees.. gonna be keeping him in a 20g long with newspaper substrate, a water bowl, and a piece of driftwood.. for heating i will use a medium sized under tank heater pad on one side so the snake has a hot and cool spot in the tank to regulate its body temp..


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## psychofish (Jun 5, 2004)

You should put something in for him to hide in too

Make sure to post up pics


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

at 14 inches thats still a hatchling?


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

yeh they hatch at around 12-14 inches..


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

You will need to upgrade the size of the tank pretty quickly. They grow real fast.

Full grown I would suggest an enclosure about 6'x2'x2'


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

they only need a tank 1/4 of their total length.. so a 20long is good til its about 6ft.. then id move it to a 40 breeder or a 55


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## furious piranha (Mar 22, 2005)

jiggy said:


> they only need a tank 1/4 of their total length.. so a 20long is good til its about 6ft.. then id move it to a 40 breeder or a 55


it will definitely need a bigger tank be4 it hits 6 foot. Imagine a snake 3-4 inches thick and 72 inches long in a 30x12 tank. It will take up more than half the tank when its not even moving, there will also be no possible way it could fit in the cool side of the tank without being in the hot side of the tank so that is pointless.


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## huntx7 (Nov 13, 2004)

COol sh*t man... good luck with it.

Btw, it's 1/2 of their body length.


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

SWEET!! My adult Boa's have always resided in 4'x2'x2' cages.

The snake in my avatar is an 11' female. She has been in the same cage for over ten years with no problems. But she does get handled quite often.

Sorry its not my avatar!









here she is..........


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

jiggy said:


> they only need a tank 1/4 of their total length.. so a 20long is good til its about 6ft.. then id move it to a 40 breeder or a 55


Uh... You're kidding, right?

Have you ever seen a 6' long boa?

If this is your plan for the animal please reconsider getting it at all... It will definitely need something larger than this at 6' long.


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

it was 1/2.. not 1/4.. so until 4ft.. not 6


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## huntx7 (Nov 13, 2004)

TANK said:


> SWEET!! My adult Boa's have always resided in 4'x2'x2' cages.
> 
> The snake in my avatar is an 11' female. She has been in the same cage for over ten years with no problems. But she does get handled quite often.
> 
> ...


4'x2'x2' is awfully small for an 11 foot female...


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

Let me explain how it works. You are supposed to measure the PARAMETER of the cage. The snake should not be allowed to go all the way around the cage and touch head to tail. Therefore my cage is just right for the snake. This is a rule of thumb that I have gone by for over 20 years with no problems. It is also the rule of thumb that MANY of the boa and python breeders I know go by. 
Now there are exceptions of course.
Also keep in mind that my snake is handled just about every day except when she is in shed or has just eaten. So excersise is NOT a problem.
If she should get any bigger than of course I will have to start building again. LOL!

That said IMO it is a waste of money to consider anything smaller than at least a 40 breeder for a BOA. Thier growth rate is fastest from neonate to about 6 feet so any cage smaller than at least a 40 breeder is only going to house them for a very short time. Therefore to me anyways would be a waste of money. 
Just my $0.02.


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## pamonster (Jun 26, 2003)

It's prety obvious when he would need more room, I'm sure you will do whats right for it. I cant wait to see pics!


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## huntx7 (Nov 13, 2004)

TANK said:


> Let me explain how it works. You are supposed to measure the PARAMETER of the cage. The snake should not be allowed to go all the way around the cage and touch head to tail. Therefore my cage is just right for the snake. This is a rule of thumb that I have gone by for over 20 years with no problems. It is also the rule of thumb that MANY of the boa and python breeders I know go by.
> Now there are exceptions of course.
> Also keep in mind that my snake is handled just about every day except when she is in shed or has just eaten. So excersise is NOT a problem.
> If she should get any bigger than of course I will have to start building again. LOL!
> ...


Hm, well I've always heard the 1/2 length rule. To each his own.


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