Container

[mark129er]

I'm getting a 3 month old bci on thursday and I was wondering what kind of container I should put her in. I don't know what is better, a glass aquarium or a rubbermaid. I want to build an enclosure for her when she is bigger. Also what is the best way to heat the enclosure. Thanks I know I can count on everyone.

Mark

[Invictus]

If possible, use a custom built melamine enclosure. If it's a female BCI, use MINIMUM 6x2x2. If it's a male, MINIMUM 5x2x2. If you need to give, give on height, not length or width. Ideally (and this is my opinion, I'm by no means an expert, and others will disagree here), a female should be in an 8' enclosure, male in a 6'. Remember, they will be fully grown within 3 years. That will sneak up on you. In the mean time, if space or finances are a serious issue, I'd personally go with the rubbermaid. But make sure it has a TIGHT, LOCKING lid. The standard snap-on lids absolutely will not cut it.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Invictus: A "custom-built enclosure" for a 3-month-old Boa?? Are you serious man???

[Linds]

Rubbermaid. Tanks are crap unless your room is the perfect environment for whatever you are housing. They don't hold heat or humidity at all. Just use a heat mat or heat tape underneat, controlled with a dimmer or thermostat so it doesn't get too hot ;)

[Bryce Masuk]

Put the snake in rubbermaids of the correct according size untill its nearly full grown

[mark129er]

Thanks all

[Invictus]

Jeff - That 3 month old boa will be 3-4 feet by its first year, so yeah, I'm serious. It will probably spend most of its time in its hide box (if one is provided) anyway. So why not just start him out in the enclosure he will eventually grow into? You'll notice, if you read my post, that at the end I said to go with a rubbermaid if space or finances are lacking.

[Jeff_Favelle]

You don't put the snake into a cage so that it can grow into it. Not the way it works man. You move the snake on AS IT GROWS OUT OF THE CURRENT CAGE. That's how it works.

You don't feed a baby snake large rats just because one day it will eat them. You provide the cage that's necessary in the PRESENT, not the future.

[JDouglas]

Your both right...

I guess I can go either way on this.

If you are building a NICE custom cage out of melamine becuase you have one boa and want to display it and you don't want to use a rubbermaid tub, you definately don't want to build something every 6 months, so I agree with Invictus. If you are talking about a NICE custom built cage that will cost some money, build a big one that will be it's home forever.

On the other hand if you have many boas or pythons, or you aren't interested in displaying your boa then rubbermaid is the way to go. In this circumstance I agree with jeff, gradually increasing the tub size as the boa grows is the best method.

I personally raise my smaller boas in tubs because I like the many advantages they offer. (Easy to clean, hold heat & humidity well, cheap, save space, help the animals feel secure, etc.) I move my larger boas to melaine cages. I think it just a personal preference really.

Good luck