Hello folks - Rehoming a Common Boa - Any thoughts??

reteptseb · 04-17-12, 05:48 AM

Hi folks,

we already have a fully grown large corn snake (5ish feet) and are considering rehoming a 6.5 ft, 6 year old tame Common Boa.
Never had a Boa before, but pretty sure we can look after him well and give him a good place to live and make sure he's very well looked after.

My question is this...
I have a 5yr old and also a 5 month old baby, I wanted to seek peoples opinions on the safety aspect (in the unlikely, but not impossible event) should the boa ever escape? Bottom line number one priority are the kids.

I love snakes and am confident with them, however the most important thing is safety, and I am concious a Boa is a STRONG snake.

Do we have any other Boa owners in similar circumstances here that can give advice/thoughts on this prior to making my decision?

Thanks folks.

insignia100 · 04-17-12, 08:13 AM

The first place I would start is look into some quality caging. I would imagine an Animal Plastics cage with a sliding door would be plenty secure. Of course, you'll probably have to look for a UK builder, but check Animal Plastics' site out anyway to get an idea of what you should look for. The bad thing is, for that size snake, you should really be looking for a 72" long enclosure, which means more $$$ (or I guess I should say £££!).

Animal Plastics

KORBIN5895 · 04-17-12, 09:10 AM

Well I have a 5.5 common boa that is housed in a 77 gallon terrarium with sliding glass doors. I also have children aged 5, 3 and 2. I agree with insignia100 that a secure cage is top priority. A 4'x2'x2' will comfortably accommodate an 8' boa.

Lankyrob has a thread on here about recycled plastic vivs. Here is the link.

With a quality cage and a secure lock you should be a-okay.

As for saftey of the snake itself your 5' corn could pose almost as serious a risk as the boa.

Where you keep the boa in your home would also make a difference because you could always snake proof the room you keep him in.

SnakeyJay · 04-17-12, 09:32 AM

You should be fine with a bit of common sense... Accidents where people get hurt by these amazing snakes (and larger species) is usually the result of the owner making a stupid decision.. Where in the uk are u from?

USMCgunner11 · 04-17-12, 09:51 AM

I have an 8 year old who was taught early on how to handle reptiles and has a deep seeded respect for them. Even though I trust her enough not to pull them out without us supervising, all of my caging has a key lock on it. I would recommend the same if you are concerned about it.

Lankyrob · 04-17-12, 10:18 AM

We have a 5 yr old and 7 snakes including a SD retic, all cages are locked and the keys are out of reach.

It is a case of 50% education and 50% making sure that only you can open the cages

Norm66 · 04-17-12, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

It is a case of 50% education and 50% making sure that only you can open the cages

Nice post Rob.

SnakeyJay · 04-17-12, 12:34 PM

We don't have kids yet, still put locks on anyway... Last thing I need is an escapee

Terranaut · 04-17-12, 03:40 PM

Your fine. Just get lockable cages. Enjoy your new boa!!