Size of you boas enclosures

[Linds]

Originally posted by MouseKilla
Awesome cages Linds and Trevor! Love the door design on them, screw sliding glass I say. lol! Does an extra foot or two of cage space make any real difference? Who can say?

I hate sliding glass for larger animals. Not secure enough IMO. Right now I am having a dilemma with a melamine cage in which the track on one side has become ajar. I cannot silicone it back in place because I cannot move the snake out of it (she is believed to be gravid), so instead I have to massacre the front of the cage to secure a piece of wood so she doesnt realize she can push out As for the extra space in a cage, in my experiences with boas housed in larger cages (4 - 8 foot boas in 6x2x2 cages), they really didn't make any use of the additional space, which is why I feel housing them in "minimum" space is adequate.

It doesn't take a lot of tools or materials to make a box out of 5 pieces of wood, then all that's left is a door.

Exactly. You can also get everything pre-cut so all that needs to be done is assembly.

[Nicky]

I'm still in the research phase for my first boa so please don;t laugh if these meausrments are way off but when she or he is older ( i'm planning on getting a commen boa or a red tailed boa depends which gets bigger from what i;ve read red tailed's get generally bigger around 10 or 11 feet does anyone know which is bigger, sorry again only in the early phases of research) would a wooden cage with a pexi glass front and sides measuring 6 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet be big enough or will i need to go bigger when it eventually gets 8- 10 feet( does anyone know the average size a bought a few books but they all say different things like some say 8 feet some say 12 ). Aso what kind of wood works best and is and opening top cage the best way to go for larger boas or front sliding glass ones? thx alot
thx alot kayla

[Forever]

Well, from what i know, do not use cedar. Personally i wouldn't have any exposed wood at all. I would only use it as the frame.

[ChristinaM]

My BCI's tank:





on the right, which is the warm side, is a sliding piece of plexi. The other half is open. I have a screen lid that goes on ontop, coverring both, and is secured on.

The tank I believe is a 40g, I will measure then edit my post. I have it on its side.

It's not a permanent enclosure whatsoever. I will be custom making my own next year. If he needs something bigger before then, I have a nice 90g aquarium for him.

[Linds]

Nicky,
Colombian "Common" boas and "True Redtails" both attain the same sizes on average, males sometimes being a bit smaller. Usually 5.5-8.5 feet in length. I keep all my adults in cages measuring 4Lx2Wx1H. Some larger specimens may require a bit more space.

[Nicky]

Thx Linds,
But after taking my little cousin to the zoo today with my family my mom saw an 8 foot long boa and decided she didn;t want coming into the house so i'll have to put a pet boa on hold until i have my own place or can convince my mom other wise thx again though
Kayla

[ChunkyMunky]

The dimensions are 6Lx3DX2H, the decorations cost about twice as much as it did to build lol.



Pretty bad pic, just realized how bad the duct tape looks, haha.

[Linds]

Chunky,
I would stronlgy suggest finding an alternate method to secure things in your boas cage. Duct tape WILL end up on your snake eventually, may be sooner may be later but eventually it comes off. Snakes and tape never mix.

[ChunkyMunky]

Linds, yes, you are right about snakes and duct tape not mixing. I had the heat panels up with tacks but one of my snakes got behind the panel and ended up with a minor burn because of the heat being trapped. As for the wires i guess i could drill an individual hole for each plug. And for the heat panels, I am open to suggestions.

[MouseKilla]

Linds,

I had the same problem with the cage I built since it had sliding plexi at first. Once the cage's resident discovered that he could apply pressure to one panel then force his head out between them that cage was finished.He didn't forget the weakness in the design when I returned him to his cage.

He was working his way out for a third time in less than an hour and I decided it was time to fire up the circular saw for a bit of midnight carpentry.lol! Now it has a big drop down door which was far simpler to install than the bloody window tracks that I spent a whole day trying to find. Talk about Learn by Doing... damn. lol!

Chunky Munky,

I would suggest that you install the heat panels underneath the cage and skip drilling, taping and tacking anything. Don't worry, it'll heat the floor up (which is better for the snake and more efficient anyway), providing a good hotspot and getting all that stuff out of the cage.

[LINEBACKER 2]

Here's me digital cameraless, so you won't see an image of my cage. Perhaps in a couple of weeks.

My big boa is in a 4x2x2 cage. Hey, I'd like bigger, but I don't have the room and she seems fine.

Steve