enclosure question???

[dvs]

Trying to get a good idea about what Im going to be getting myself into before I actually do the do and actually buy the snake. Im looking into Suriname's and was wondering what a good size enclosure would be for an adult???? I've been doing quite a bit of reading but to be honest most care sheets I come accross are very breif and well.... SUCK!!! anyway... I'm not totally new to redtails, I've spent quite a bit of time with 2 that belonged to a cousin of mine (not sure of exact kind of redtail.. I think they were "common") but sadley they were both stollen tank and all right along with everything else worth anything in the house except for the bigscreen which I guess was to big to carry out... but anyway they were only about 4 and 5 feet at the time and that's were my experince with them ended.... So any help or good places to look would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah... I do plan on buying one as a baby so I'll be housing him/her in appropiate sized tanks untill it reaches adult hood but I would still like to know ahead of time how much room Im going to have to offer later on down the road. Thanks in advance.

[reverendsterlin]

a big female could fit a 6X2X2 pretty easily

[dvs]

what about height wise? do they like to climb??? or should I say, if I give him/her to room to climb, would it take advantage of it???? Or is floor space the main consern??? I was thinking maybe 6'L x 2'w x 4'h......... but if the extra height is going to go to waste then I can use it for another enclosure, but if it will be used then I would feel better about myself if I let him have it.

Anyone else have any input??? or websites to check out??? Thanks

[Zoe]

Floor space is the main concern. They aren't big climbers (but they should have a few strong branches). A 6 x 3 x 3 would be very good, but don't forget than suranims can get bigger than common red-tails. More floor space is better than more height and less floor space.

Zoe

[dvs]

Zoe: do you own any yourself??? and if so what size enclosure do you house yours in? If not are the measurements you gave me the size you would make your enclosure???

I think Im going to have to stick with an enclosure that's only 2 feet deep since I don't want to any problems when it comes to moving it around..... I know all doorways aren't the same width and I know quite a few won't fit something that's a whole 3 feet wide.

So if it was you building a cage from scatch and you didn't have a ton of animals to house so space wasn't to big of a concern would you give it the extra height?????

I guess this isn't a question just for Zoe (by the way thanks for answering)..... anyone else please feel free to answer.

[Zoe]

Hi,
I haven't got any adults yet, just youngsters.
And yes, that would be the minimum size of my tank (6 x 3 x 2). I wouldn't go any higher than 3 feet.

The general rule is the tank should be 3/4s the length of the snake, and width should be 2/3s it's length. That isn't always possible to have, but the closer to, the better.

[snakemann87]

for my BCI female, I have a 4x2x2, which I think is fine, my dads friends has two BCI's that are 12 and both 7' in same size cage, no health problems at all, and they readily breed.

[rethius]

I don't know about any one else, but I think two 7' boas together in a 4 foot long tank is re-god-damm-diculas!!!! it's just plain inhumain!

[Edwin]

dvs,

I keep mine in a 6x2x2, and I think that it would be more than enough for a BCI or BCC. From my experience, BCIs loves to climb, so I would definitely set aside some room for a branch or a shelf. If you are interested, I have some pictures of my boa enclosure in the enclosure showcase section.

Personally, I think 6x2x2 is ideal, but at a bare minimum, 4x2x2 is acceptable, as long as you dont clutter it up too much.

If you are looking for caresheets and information, here is an excellent site which covers almost all you need. Plus, it has lots of nifty pics of the different locality boas.

http://www.boa-constrictors.com/com/com.html

Hope this helps.

[ReptiZone]

ok lets see what we are dealing with a BCI at best is 8-10'
a cage needs to be comfertable but not a hassle to clean...right?
with that in mind this is what I sugest 48"wide or the lenght of your arm you don't want to have to climb into your cage to clean it. 2' high and half the lenght of your snake 4-5' would be ok but you can go longer if you feal like it but not shorter and with that do the best you can do with what you have.


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