Brazilian Rainbow Boa

[GarterPython]

A lot of you know that I have been trying to figure out what type of snake to get. I was going to start researching Irian Jaya's but my mom said that they were ugly and that she doesn't want me to be getting an ugly snake. I showed her lots of pictures of awesome Irian Jaya's and she thought they were ugly. I showed her a Brazilian Rainbow Boa a while back and she liked it. I have done a little bit of research on them so far and I don't know how hard it will be to keep up humidity here in Alberta. I do like them a lot and was thinking of getting one of them also. A couple of questions. How big of a cage would an adult male Brazilian Rainbow Boa need? How would I keep up the humidity? Do any of you canadian people know any breeders that sell them? I am still going to try for an Irian Jaya but I like to have options.

[Rainbowsrus]

Check out the care sheets on my website. Maintaining higher humidity is not hard at all in the right enclosure. With the wrong type enclosure it's impossible. Mainly it's a factor of limiting the ventilation = keeping the humidity in the cage.

Rainbows-R-Us Reptiles (http://www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com)

[GarterPython]

So would a 4'x2'x2' cage be minimum or could you go smaller than that? So if you use, say a rubbermaid container how would you make holes in it without letting out humidity. Also my friend has a 12x12x18 cage that he is giving to me for a trade. Is there anything that I could do to keep the humidity in because it is a glass cage with a screen top. I would like to use this take for when it is a baby.

[Tekpc007]

i have a BRB but he is tiny (20 inches) still in a 105 qt tub , however it should be fine until he is 3 feet . here is a photo of it , i cover the vents ( pvc drains you can buy at home depot ) to adjust humidity and there are few holes in the top and a UTH on the bottom of the tub under the water bowl:

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/1212/20120513142208.jpg

you should figure on about 1 square foot to 1.5 sqr foot of floor space per foot of snake and it should be 1/3 wide as the snake is long . A 48lx24wx18t should be ok for a 6 foot or so snake. A 5 foot snake i think would be ok in a 36 x 24 x18 .
There are several breeds of smaller boas , especially males , like hog island , cauker cays , and a few other island boas that stay under 5 feet that do not need high humidity.

[DeesBalls]

Listen to what Dave says.. but you can use a tub, or even a screen top cage, with a screen glass cage you can:

get a piece of plexi glass that will fit on the lip of the top of the tank... get it cut so it covers about 2/3 of the tank (or all of the top, IF you have ventalation holes) if you using an UTH this is perfect...
you can put the UTH right under the warm side (about 80) and a little under the water bowl, so it will evaporate the water causing humidity it cant escape since the plexi glass is there.

then after the plexi glass is in place, you can put the screen top over it.

a tub is what i am using just going to get some holes in the side, and a big water bowl, UTH and thermostat... using cypress multch since it hold humidity well...

hope this jibber helped... but Dave knows his stuff, i am just giving some insights...

[GarterPython]

Ok thanks. I will for sure get the tank from my friend hopefully soon. I am actually starting to lean toward the BRB because I really like it and plus my mom likes it which is a bonus.

[Tekpc007]

just keep in mind BRB's are nocturnal , i rarley see mine at all. I only see him when i do a welfare check on him every 2 days or to feed/water him as baby/juvinile BRB's hide almost all the time except to eat and drink . Mine is buried in his moss box or hide almost all the time. they can be a bit nippy too as babies but thats not unusual for a baby snake . I dont know how they behave after the 1st year though , maybe dave can say . My hog island will happily sit on my shoulder for an hour while i work on the computer , and are much more social I would say. Again I can't say how social a older BRB can be yet. it can be tough to buy a nice tank and BRB , then almost never see him.

[DeesBalls]

Ok thanks. I will for sure get the tank from my friend hopefully soon. I am actually starting to lean toward the BRB because I really like it and plus my mom likes it which is a bonus.

they are awesome, and like tekpc says, they are nocturnal, wont see it much... and also i would suggest a UTH and not a bulb, they dont like bright light much.

[Tekpc007]

yes do not use a bulb for heat and you must have a thermostat to regulate tempature of the UTH as they like it cooler than most boa's. i only use a small red LED for a light for him and normal daylight.

this week i will post some photos of him and inside his tup setup and my snake room ,I wanted to show Dave this BRB anyway as he is a rescue and a bit small for his age but it will give you a good idea . tub setup was about 60$ .

[Snakesitter]

Rainbows make fantastic pets, Garter.

I use four by two vivs myself, which are a bit larger than the minimum, which is nice because it gives the snake more space.

If you use a tub -- and I'd use one only as a short-term "bridge" to a permanent home -- just start with minimal holes -- the idea being that it is always easy to add more, but hard to take them away once drilled.

The glass tank with screen lid you are considering is not ideal, but would work with modifications. Basically, aquariums are for fish. Glass holds heat poorly (solution, if needed: cover several sides with reflectix insulation), the screen top lets all the moisture out (solution: cover it with plexiglass), and the see-through sides provide little privacy for this secretive species (solution: cover several sides with background sheets). The biggest issue of the three though is that screen top. Humidity is quite easy, really, once you control the air exchange between the viv and outside room.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

[CDN_Blood]

You can find BRBs on Kijiji and I always recommend a private sale over dealing with most breeders anyway. Those breeders who are exceptions to that know who they are :)