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. 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

[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!

[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

[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.

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

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.

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? )

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

Good luck again

[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

[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 . Thanks again.

Rose

[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.

Rose