Considering.....

[sunset]

My husband and I are in the process of converting one of our spare bedrooms into an enclosure for our two burms. That will then free up the encloseure that the one burm is in, a 6'x4'x2' wooden tank, with a plexiglass front. I would like to get another snake, and I thought a boa might be interesting, since all we have are pythons, and a couple little colubrids. (we had a red tailed boa in our possesion once, we were taking care of it for some guy who was a meth addict, but he dissapeared, so we placed it with someone, and she is doing well now, ANYWAY) I want something that will be able to stay in that tank permanently, and does not have very strict humidity requirements. (I live in Phx, AZ, our relative humidity is usually around 6-15%, very, very dry) Keeping humidity up here is a PAIN. If all it requires is a big water bowl, and maybe daily mistings, thats cool, but nothing more than that. I was just looking for some suggestions, and I figured you folks might be able to help.
Thanks in advance.

[Invictus]

I think a boa would be an excellent addition to your collection. I live in Calgary, AB, which is also notoriously dry - seldom more than 35%. Not as arid as Arizona, but still... we have 3 BCIs that do just fine in Calgary's dry climate. We up humidity only during shed time. If you misted daily and had a large water bowl over a heat source, your boa will be happy as a pig in mud.

[Linds]

Custom enclosures typically have limited ventilation making humidity much easier to maintain than in tanks. A BCI could be a nice addition. Most boas are moderate to high humidity animals, with the exception of the erycines, but they would be lost in a cage that size. Some of the Epicrates would do well in a cage that size, such Jamaican boas or Haitian Boas (though these are not that commonly available). You could also consider perhaps a BCC or BCO, or any of the other members of the BC complex. The above mentioned snakes require humidity levels 55%-70% depending on sub/species.

[sunset]

Thanks for the info, I will have to look into those a little more. Would one of those be good in that size enclosure permanently?

[Linds]

Those will all have more than enough room in that size enclosure when they are full grown. All the snakes listed can live in enclosures with between 6 and 10 square feet of space as adults. With something that has 24 square feet you could really get in to a lot of decorating and make a great looking setup!

[Piers]

with daily mistings and a large water bowl you can keep almost any snake. The cage will keep the humidity up and you can give the snake a hide box with moist spagma moss or peat moss.
Piers

[sunset]

Yeah, it is a nice tank, there are two built in caves, and two shelves, and three or four (I forget) poles along the top to climb on. We have company coming out this weekend, so after they leave, we will begin converting the room. Thanks for the info everyone!

[sapphire_moon]

I would like to see pics when your done converting.......also, what size heating pad do you use for burmese pythons?!

[sunset]

In the tanks we have one in the cave on the bottom, it's like 2x2 or something, as for when the room is converted, I think we are going to put them up on the built in shelves in the closet, probably two or three large ones, I am open to suggestion however. I also have some very large heat rocks, on dimmer switches, because I have heard so many horror stories of snakes getting burned, so I have them set pretty darn low. Our neighbor is going to build us some light cages to put up a couple of basking lights. I live in Phx, and it is pretty hot here all year, except for like two months, so we have the air condiioning shut off in there during the summer, and open for the heater in the 'winter'.

[sapphire_moon]

heat rocks are bad.......even turned down to almost off, the snake will sit there until it gets burned because it is directly on the heat source.

[sunset]

I must be missing something, please tell me how a barely warm rock is so different from a hot heat pad? I have had no problems with the rocks in the last 7 years we have had the big burmese.

[ohh_kristina]

heat rocks, like any heat form, must be on a rheostat or something of the like. They get too hot and can burn the animal, just like a heat pad or heat lamp that is not set on a rheostat. If it's on a rheostat, then I can understand..but I still wouldn't use one. UTHs and heat lamps are better, in my opinion.

[sunset]

The ones I use have a built in thermostat, and then it's on the dimmer switch. I actually had a snake die on an uth. My little baby albino burm died on one, after the breeder told me about the evils of heat rocks. Sooooo, I was out $200, I went to him the next day, and he apoligized profusely, and hooked me up on a new one. Don't worry, every time I handle the critters, I check them for burns, scratches, mites, the whole bit. The big one burns her nose because she tries to sniff her heat light. She bumps her nose on the metal screen, and hisses like crazy. Then she won't do it for a cuople months, then she forgets it hurts, and does it again.

[reverendsterlin]

Sunset, I'm in Las Cruces so share the problems which most don't understand. We need to maintain high humidity, good ventilation, and cool temps in areas that have 0-15% at any given time, breezes that are an ambient temperature of 100F, and keep temps below 90F? At least in my case as a student unable to provide better housing(more insulated) for them or me. I find we have to sometimes give up for a bit on some of the animals we want. I will have ETB, GTP, and BRB at some time, but here in the desert for now I have to pass.

[sunset]

I am going through that, I wanted a rainbow boa, but I read they need high humidity, and alot of the tree pythons and boas, and all sorts of other stuff. There are alot of cold water fish I want, but short of putting ice in the tanks, I can't keep the temp below 75*, which is great for tropicals, but well... I know it could be done, but I do not want to dedicate all my days, (and $$$) to keeping 85%+ humidity. As it is, I go around about 2-3 times daily and mist most of my enclosures, and make sure bowls are full, cause those suckers will evaporate before you know it.