Size of you boas enclosures

[Forever]

There was a thread from awhile ago involving the size of everyones boas. It got me thinking about what people keep them in.

Personally for the first long while I will only have one Boa. As i would like to give it all that i can. Kind of be able to spoil him in everway possible. If at this point after being able to do all that i can for my first boa, if i think i can or should get another, I may.

At first (until i get into the building of a custom enclosure) I will just be using a 40 gallon tank. Afterwards i am looking to use the 11x5x9 foot space i have for him.

Anyways so what about you guys? I have seen some of the snakes you currently own and keep wondering what kind of enclosure you keep them in. Pics would be great if you have em.

Edit:Just to save some bitching or uneeded advice. This topic is exactly where i meant to put it. I do not want it in enclosures nor do i think it should be. As i have been and am speaking to those directly in the Boas forums. Im not interseted at this time about enlcosures in general. Thank you

[BoidKeeper]

This is my female Colombian's cage before I painted it.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/289Boa_Cage_1-med.jpg
It is 5'Lx2'Wx18"H. Looking back I wish I had built it 6' long. She is only 6' now but if and when she ever hits 9-10 feet this cage is going to be too small. In my opinion people’s cages are too small for their boas. I see trend of the minimum acceptable cage size coming down all the time and I think it is so people can justify putting a snake into a small cage. The smaller the cage the less room they take. The less room they take the more cages you can fit into you snake mill.
My two cents,
Trevor

[Linds]

I keep all my larger snakes in 4lx2dx1h cages. Here are a few of them...

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/22cages-finished.jpg">

[thunder]

argentine is not full grown (7ft) and he lives in 6lx3dx3h
my adult pairs live in 8lx5d

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

My male boa has a cage that is 5' L x 2'W x 2'H, It also has a shelf that is 1.5'Lx2'w, 1ft off the ground in the hot end. He is 5'8". It has a 5'L x 2'W x 1'H feeding cage right on top of it.

C.

[thunder]

i feed mine in plastic storage bins i keep under my bed. i love those things! they even have wheels!

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Mine is like that cause it was simple, Less cuts to the wood. All we did was put a floor on the top foot of it and it seperated it perfectly. I will try to get a pic.

C.

[thunder]

cool. i did not make my enclosures. they are awsome wood and glass things. i dont know anything bout carpentry, so ive gotta spend the big bucks.

[MouseKilla]

Awesome cages Linds and Trevor! Love the door design on them, screw sliding glass I say. lol! Does an extra foot or two of cage space make any real difference? Who can say? Good cages in both cases for sure though.

To anyone currently paying way too much to have someone build cages for them, buying great big aquariums or worst of all keeping their boa in a cage it has outgrown I have to say that building a cage yourself is way easier than you likely think.

It doesn't take a lot of tools or materials to make a box out of 5 pieces of wood, then all that's left is a door. I built one (approx. 4'x2'x2') out of a single sheet of melamine using only a circular saw, a drill and a tape measure. Measure, cut, drill then screw it together. There are excellent plans available in the Enclosures Forum.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Exactly what mousekilla said. Building your own is the way to go. Always ends up being the size you want, 'cause YOU built it, and always a FRACTION of the price!

[Jezabel]

I agree, I was amazed how cheap and how easier it is than what I first thought to built my own enclosure. 100$ for my 4' x 2' x 1.5' with the look, metal track, everithing, and less then 2 hours of work. My big BCC has an 5 x 2 x 1.5 one. Not the nicest look but work great.

http://www.hissnherps.ca/terra-001.jpg

[Edwin]

Here's mine. It is 6x2x2. The hole leads to the hide box underneath, and is also to facilitate cleanup.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=62067


Here is the link:
Click here (http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9084&highlight=6x3x2)

[Jeff_Favelle]

BEAUTY cage. Couldn't ask for anything more!!

[Mike177]

I just built a 4X2 cage for one of my boas but im going to put my female in there and build a 5X2 for my male. i can build a 4X3 cage for under 50 bux and if i have some scrap wood i can build a 5X2 for under 60. i build all of my snakes cages. Its easy, cheap, and gets me off the couch.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/1727cages-med.jpg

[Forever]

Originally posted by Mike177
I just built a 4X2 cage for one of my boas but im going to put my female in there and build a 5X2 for my male. i can build a 4X3 cage for under 50 bux and if i have some scrap wood i can build a 5X2 for under 60. i build all of my snakes cages. Its easy, cheap, and gets me off the couch.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/1727cages-med.jpg

These pics give me a really good perspective as your snakes are in the enclosures.

[Linds]

Originally posted by MouseKilla
Awesome cages Linds and Trevor! Love the door design on them, screw sliding glass I say. lol! Does an extra foot or two of cage space make any real difference? Who can say?

I hate sliding glass for larger animals. Not secure enough IMO. Right now I am having a dilemma with a melamine cage in which the track on one side has become ajar. I cannot silicone it back in place because I cannot move the snake out of it (she is believed to be gravid), so instead I have to massacre the front of the cage to secure a piece of wood so she doesnt realize she can push out :mad: As for the extra space in a cage, in my experiences with boas housed in larger cages (4 - 8 foot boas in 6x2x2 cages), they really didn't make any use of the additional space, which is why I feel housing them in "minimum" space is adequate.

It doesn't take a lot of tools or materials to make a box out of 5 pieces of wood, then all that's left is a door.

Exactly. You can also get everything pre-cut so all that needs to be done is assembly.

[Nicky]

I'm still in the research phase for my first boa so please don;t laugh if these meausrments are way off but when she or he is older ( i'm planning on getting a commen boa or a red tailed boa depends which gets bigger from what i;ve read red tailed's get generally bigger around 10 or 11 feet does anyone know which is bigger, sorry again only in the early phases of research) would a wooden cage with a pexi glass front and sides measuring 6 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet be big enough or will i need to go bigger when it eventually gets 8- 10 feet( does anyone know the average size a bought a few books but they all say different things like some say 8 feet some say 12 ). Aso what kind of wood works best and is and opening top cage the best way to go for larger boas or front sliding glass ones? thx alot
thx alot kayla

[Forever]

Well, from what i know, do not use cedar. Personally i wouldn't have any exposed wood at all. I would only use it as the frame.

[ChristinaM]

My BCI's tank:

http://img6.photobucket.com/albums/v16/ChristinaM/enclosures%20and%20decor/bcitank3.jpg

http://img6.photobucket.com/albums/v16/ChristinaM/enclosures%20and%20decor/bcitank2.jpg

on the right, which is the warm side, is a sliding piece of plexi. The other half is open. I have a screen lid that goes on ontop, coverring both, and is secured on.

The tank I believe is a 40g, I will measure then edit my post. I have it on its side.

It's not a permanent enclosure whatsoever. I will be custom making my own next year. If he needs something bigger before then, I have a nice 90g aquarium for him. :)

[Linds]

Nicky,
Colombian "Common" boas and "True Redtails" both attain the same sizes on average, males sometimes being a bit smaller. Usually 5.5-8.5 feet in length. I keep all my adults in cages measuring 4Lx2Wx1H. Some larger specimens may require a bit more space.

[Nicky]

Thx Linds,
But after taking my little cousin to the zoo today with my family my mom saw an 8 foot long boa and decided she didn;t want coming into the house so i'll have to put a pet boa on hold until i have my own place or can convince my mom other wise thx again though
Kayla:)

[ChunkyMunky]

The dimensions are 6Lx3DX2H, the decorations cost about twice as much as it did to build lol.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2705enclosure.JPG

Pretty bad pic, just realized how bad the duct tape looks, haha.

[Linds]

Chunky,
I would stronlgy suggest finding an alternate method to secure things in your boas cage. Duct tape WILL end up on your snake eventually, may be sooner may be later but eventually it comes off. Snakes and tape never mix.

[ChunkyMunky]

Linds, yes, you are right about snakes and duct tape not mixing. I had the heat panels up with tacks but one of my snakes got behind the panel and ended up with a minor burn because of the heat being trapped. As for the wires i guess i could drill an individual hole for each plug. And for the heat panels, I am open to suggestions.

[MouseKilla]

Linds,

I had the same problem with the cage I built since it had sliding plexi at first. Once the cage's resident discovered that he could apply pressure to one panel then force his head out between them that cage was finished.He didn't forget the weakness in the design when I returned him to his cage.

He was working his way out for a third time in less than an hour and I decided it was time to fire up the circular saw for a bit of midnight carpentry.lol! Now it has a big drop down door which was far simpler to install than the bloody window tracks that I spent a whole day trying to find. Talk about Learn by Doing... damn. lol!

Chunky Munky,

I would suggest that you install the heat panels underneath the cage and skip drilling, taping and tacking anything. Don't worry, it'll heat the floor up (which is better for the snake and more efficient anyway), providing a good hotspot and getting all that stuff out of the cage.

[LINEBACKER 2]

Here's me digital cameraless, so you won't see an image of my cage. Perhaps in a couple of weeks.

My big boa is in a 4x2x2 cage. Hey, I'd like bigger, but I don't have the room and she seems fine.

Steve