Questions about the Brazilian Rainbow Boa

[Rose97]

Hi i need some questions answered. I've been reading alot of good information about the Brazilian Rainbow Boas. I wanted these questions answered before i purchased my Boa in September. :confused: Is the day-glow basking spot lamp and the night-glow infrared heat lamp alright to use with a Dome heat and light reflector?I also want to use a ceramic heat emitter is that too much for my future pet? I have a fifty gallon aquarium that i plan to use, will i have to change to a bigger tank, because i read that i'd only need a forty gallon. Is it better to keep a baby Brazilian in a shoe box when you first get him/her home, or can you just put him/her in the tank. When's the best time of day to handle a new Boa? Can anyone give me some advice on which way is the best way to approach a new snake? I've never owned a snake and i don't have any real idea on how to pick one up properly? I've also read alot about inclusion body disease and i just wanted to know if its really common with the Brazilian Rainbow Boa? All i can say is its got me kinda freaked. I've read alot about how to deal with the miner ailments, but if anyone can give me some pointers i'd really appreciate it. Thanks for your help. Rose :D

[HeatherRose]

I've moved your post to the appropriate forum :)

Tanks and rainbows don't mix. A rubbermaid is your best option. They NEED very high humidity, especially as babies. 85-90% is optimal. I cannot stress it enough, DO NOT use a tank. You won't be able to keep up the humidity, and with these snakes it can lead to dehydration, respiratory problems and eventually death.

As for heating, I would ditch the light alltogether. They dry out the air (not a good thing with rainbows) and belly heat from an under tank heat pad would be best.

As for IBD (inclusion body disease) my understanding is that it is not very common in Canadian collections, but that's all I know. I wish I knew more, I think there should be more education available on the subject. I hope a more experienced keeper can tell you more.

Good luck with your future aquisition! :D

[Rose97]

Thanks HeatherRose for your information, it really helped me from making a big mistake. But i do have another question how would you set up under tank heater in a rubbermaid container without the rubbermaid container burning? Thanks!

[HeatherRose]

No problem, it's great that you were open to other options :)

If you buy a dimmer from home hardware or Ronas, you can plug the heat pad into that, and then the heat pad into the wall... That'll give you more control over how hot the heating pad gets...

Good luck :D

[ravensgait]

Tanks are not so bad, as I sit here writing this I can see my two youngest BRBs in their tank and my GRBs in their 60 ga. long. The 60ga long is set up with a screen top that I attached lexan with a suitable number of small holes . The small tank the BRBs are in has a plexi lid. I have Red lights in my snake rooms so I can see them moving around while working on the computer at night.

You only need an under tank heater and a rheostat or thermostat to control it. Tanks have one big advantage over Tubs in that you can see your animals a whole lot better. I use some Tubs but most of my enclosures are larger display cages.

If you set your tank up right it should be fine though one that size is pretty big to keep young Rainbows in.

Randy

[Rose97]

Thanks ravensgait you've also been very helpful. So if i were to use the tank would having two BRBs in the tank be to much. Because i was planing on getting a campanion for my first BRB, in about a year after i buy the first one, which i've decided on calling Baby. I was hoping on getting a male first but if a female is better to get first then i'll get her. :D

P.S. Do you know any breeders of the BRBs that live in Kingston, Ontario or Perth, Ontario. There the closet cities that i live from, i live in the country by the way. Why i ask is i'm purchasing my first BRB from Roys Pet Shop and i'd like to get my second BRB from a breeder. I also just wanted to say is i've worked with Roys since i was child and i have'nt got a bad or sick animal from them yet. Thank you. :)

[HeatherRose]

Hey Rose :D

Keeping two snakes in the same cage is never a good idea. Snakes are solitary animals, they don't need companions or company, infact it would be more detrimental to a snake then beneficial... :(

There is not one single reason to keep two snakes together (that benefit the snake, the only benefit to the keeper is being too cheap to spend 8$ on a new rubbermaid), but there are SO many reasons not to:

Just a FEW reasons are:

Stress.

Competition for hot spots and hides.

If one snake gets sick, they will both get sick. This means two vet bills and twice the cost.

Competition for food, possibly leading to injuries (vet bills again)and stress.

If they're young, and opposite sexes, they may breed prematurely which can kill a female.

If one poops or regurgitates its food, you won't know which one it is.

I'm not jumping on you in any way, shape or form, I never knew any of this when I got my first snake (which was actually a BRB.)

But if you want to, do a search (top of the page, SEARCH feature) on keeping snakes together. You will find many, many more valid reasons. It is definitley in the snakes' best interest to keep them apart. :)

If you use Rubbermaids, it's only 8$ for another one. I still recommend a rubbermaid, and I know many, many other rainbow keepers and breeders would too, but if you feel you need to use a tank, do something to cover the top like ravensgait does, because tanks suck for humidity. Period. A screen lid (the most commonly found in pet stores) will be no good.

As said above, they are especially sensitive to humidity, that is a rainbow keepers' biggest challenge. If humidity gets to low, it will lead to shedding difficulty, illness, and ultimately death.

Good luck :)

PS Check the ssnakess.com classifieds for BRB's for sale :)

[Rose97]

Thanks again HeatherRose, two snakes together not a good idea, i get it. Can you answer which is better for a first snake male or female? Hope to talk to to you soon. :cool:

Rose

[HeatherRose]

I don't think there are really any behavioural differences between the sexes... maybe someone with some breeding experience can help with that (Jeff? :p )

Other than that, the only difference would be the size you want. Overall they get to about 5-7 feet, males staying at the small end of that scale and females usually maxing out near 6 or 7 feet. I'm pretty sure they're both equally nippy as babies ;) but with time and handling they tend to calm down :D

Good luck again :D

[Rose97]

Umm... Just two more questions, i just wanted to say thank you for being so patient. And here are the questions: when you where talking about a dimmer did you mean a dimmer switch?
When i set up my under tank heater it goes under the rubbermaid container right? I know that sounds very stupit of me that i wouldn't know these things already. But i thought i'd ask first. Thanks again. Rose :D

[ravensgait]

Heather Rose is giving you some good info about keeping snakes together. That said I keep many of mine together and know others do the same. I keep most of mine in larger display cages I have red lights so I can watch them at night.

Being as these will be your first snakes I'd keep them separate less chance of anything going wrong that way.

There are small differences in behavior the biggest I've noticed being that male RBs can sometimes be a bit harder to feed . I don't know why but it's something I've noticed in mine over the years( my oldest male BRB, almost 6yrs is reminding me of that he refuses to eat this week . Also the females seem to be a bit more active then the males.

Yeah the UTH goes under the Tub , There are a number of different Rheostats and Thermostats out there, one I like that is under 30 bucks(US) is the BAH 1000 from Big Apple Herpetological, hard to beat it for the price. Or buy an in line rheostat from a hardware store or Home depot or Lowes if you have them up there, they cost 12 to 16 bucks. This is the type used for lamps it works well.

As the saying goes the only dumb question is the one not asked, so feel free to ask and do some on line searches there is a lot of information out there.

Randy

[Rose97]

Thanks Ravensgait that helped alot. Now I just thought of another question. The under the tank heater i'm getting is supposed to attach itself to the tank(container), when its attached won't it burn a hole or something through the container even with the thermostats? Do think i could get the thermostat at Canadian Tire? Because thats the closest store that i could think of that might have something like that. I'll find one anyway, plus my boyfriend said he'd check Canadian Tire for me. Thats as close to my snake as he wants to get. lol :D. Thanks again.:D

Rose:cool:

[Jeff_Favelle]

Male and females are pretty much the same. One does not hold an advantage over the other in terms if being a better "first Rainbow".

Best of luck!

[thunder]

i dont know if you could find a thermostat, but rheostats (dimmers) can be found at pretty much any hardware store, they just take a bit more work (you have to check the temps more often as your room temp fluctuates and you need to dim/undim). nobody really answered the question you asked about handling, in your first post: basically, there are a bunch of times when you should not handle your snake. 1)for a few days after eating, no handling or you risk a regurge 2)while the animal is in shed, cuz you could mess up the shed, and also they are more cranky then 4)directly after a shed (like within the hour), cuz the new skin is delicate 5)a gravid female 6)if you have touched another animal and not washed your hands. also, dont be handling it constantly, other wise it will stress out, especially when they're younger. these guidelines pretty much hold true for all snakes, not just brbs. good luck!

[Rose97]

Thanks for answering my handling questions Thunder i really appreciate it. :D

Rose :D

[Rose97]

Hi everyone. I just thought of something. As you all know i'm planing on buying my BRB in september. But right now i own two cats(Lynx-my oldest, Cougar- my youngest). What i was wondering was if anyone had any ideas on how i should handle my cats around my snake. Because i really don't want to get rid of them, they have come to mean alot to me. My plan is when my BRB is out is to put my cats in a different room or outside. I'd be a fool to believe that they'd never meet. I just hope that when they do nothing bad happens. Does anyone know what kind of plants that BRB's like to climb on? I want to get a few tall but strong plant's or small tree's that my BRB can climb on when i have it out of its rubbermaid. Or is it wise to let it out of its rubbermaid because it might get sick. But if it is safe how long can it stay out for befor i should get it back in its rubbermaid? How often should i take my BRB out of its rubbermaid? How big an area can i let it roam around in, a room or the whole house? Should i set up a heat source for it when its out? I'll have a water dish out for it to. Thank you all for being so helpful. :D

Rose :D

[gargoyle]

I wouldn't recomend allowing the snake to roam free! Bad idea, there is always a high risk of injury to the snake in that case! Never allow the cats and snake to come into direct contact with each other. Handling should only be done when you can devote 100% attention to the snake (s). They are not like a cat or dog where they must have a daily exercise time, in the wild most of the boa species sit and hide for days on end waiting for food to come by! No handling should be done for a minimum of 24hrs (48 preferably) after feeding so that there is no chance of regurge! My BRB's and other similar boas don't climb much at all! Remember these are definitely "HANDS ON" animals! Handling when they are young will prove to be difficult as most are very nippy till they hit about three-four feet! Hope this helps, just my experience, and limited at that on this particular species, but handling guidlines apply to all snakes.

[HeatherRose]

Hey Rose :)

If you want to take it out when it's a baby, I would definitley hold it. They're so small and sneaky at that age that if you turn your back for a second they'll have disappeared under something. With my larger snakes, once in a while I'll allow them to roam around on the floor, but I'm always sitting there watching them. All individual snakes are different, you'll soon learn what kind of handling your BRB can tolerate.

I try to keep handling to a minimum with my rainbows, I probably work with them for no more than 30-45 minutes each in a week. I want them to become handleable adults, and that's why I handle them. My rainbows don't do much other than wrap around my hands tightly. Other snakes, like my ball python are better to have out and sit with.

As for my kitty, when the snakes are out she's not in the room. On the rare occasion when she's seen a snake, she hasn't really noticed them. I would just kick all of your other animals out of the room when you've got a snake out. If you're going with a rubbermaid, there's no worrying about a cat getting into them as well. There's no need to get rid of them at all. I know that if it came down to my cat or my snakes, I know that both the snakes AND myself would be the ones going :p

[Rose97]

Thanks guys, your answers made me feel whole lot better. What i was wondering now is can you buy clear plastic rubbermaid containers or do you have to order them from somewhere? I haven't had a chance to go any where, i just came down with a cold. So i've been on the enternet learing all i can about my future BRB. What i've been looking for is pictures of actual BRB's rubbermaid setups and i've foud nothing, but thats okay i've had fun reading what i did find.lol:D Does anyone have any pictures i can look at? I've told a few people what i was going to name him(i'm getting a male by the way) and i'm going to call him Baby. I'm getting the smaller of the species(i hope.lol:D), because it seems to be kepting my boyfriends daughter calm and more easier to convince that she doen't have to run and hide if she bumps into Baby on a one on one situation. I love this girl she so awesome, she said when Baby starts to get big(for his breed anyway lol ;)) that she would put her fear of snakes a side and help me with him when ever i need it. As long as she doesn't have to touch him under normal circumstances, she's cool with him. But she said if he starts to constrict around my hand she'll touch him them, then she'll run for her life after he's off. lol:D. Like i said befor i love this girl, she's going to face her fears so that way she can be around Baby, i'm very proud of her. Shes even read some of the information i have saved about BRB's and her favourite part is the fact is it only going to get seven long thats also her dads favourite part to.lol :D But my boyfriend is going tobe a little more hands on, in helping me setup my rubbermaid,but not Baby inless he has to. Thanks for everything hope to hear from you guys soon. :D :D :D

Rose:D

[HeatherRose]

I think I'm on this site too much :p It's better than school at least.

My sister is afraid of my snakes so I know where you're coming from. I'm sure if she holds a little baby rainbow (if it's not nippy) she'll love them :D In my experience my rainbows have only bitten when they've been taken out of the cage (or if I smell like rats...this only happened once :p). Once they're out they seem fine.

I took these yesterday, they're of one of my neonate rainbow enclosures.

Inside, and outside. I'm sure if I took off the rubbermaid label it would look better. But IMO it can look just as nice as a tank set up if you get the right kind. This rubbermaid was something like 8-12$ at Walmart. They're super cheap and available at any hardware store or store like Walmart. Mine have snap-shut handles so the lid stays on. Just drill a few holes and you're ready to go.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/Heatherrose/vrbenclosure.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/Heatherrose/vrbenclosure2.jpg

[Rose97]

Thanks HeatherRose it looks great, i like your Snake to. How many snakes do you have? :D :D :D

[HeatherRose]

I only have 5..for now... :medcomcic

[Rose97]

Yeah only...lol :D Lets see i know you have at least two BRB's, Guyuna, a Ball Python so whats the fifth one HeatherRose? :thumbsup:
Yeah i can see myself down the road a couple of years from now, i'll probaly have 4 plus snakes then too. ;) :p :D
How big do Ball Pythons get and are they a good second snake to own? How big is your Ball Python? Does he/she have name? Whats your other snakes names?

Rose :D :D :D

[HeatherRose]

She's a Venezualen rainbow ;)

My ball python is about 3 feet, approx. 1.5 years old and named Quentin...

He's the perfect pet, but I know some ball pythons can be very picky feeders and can even fast for long periods of time.

I lucked out with mine :)