New to sSnakess - Rainbow Boa questions!

nicolerae · 02-28-13, 09:16 AM

Hi everyone!

I am new to the forum but not to snakes! I currently have a ball python, 2 Colombian boas, and the newest addition, the Brazilian Rainbow Boa.

We got her a little less than a week ago. I would say she is about 2 months old at the time. Humidity is kept up to ~70% and she has a humidity hut that lays in often, so that isn't an issue. She is a little nippy, with I attribute to the new house and probably lack of handling previously, but she is improving.

So my questions are basically if you have or have owned a Brazilian Rainbow Boa:
1) how did you find her behavior as a baby snake, and how much did that change into adulthood?
2) what did you do to keep the humidity up?
3) how well did they molt?
4) what food size did you start off with?

I'm just curious to see if my ways line up with a majority, I want nothing else but to have happy long lived animals. Thanks!

nicolerae · 02-28-13, 09:28 AM

Jeepers · 02-28-13, 11:22 AM

1.) Very docile and friendly but he was held on a daily basis.
2.) Had a screen lid, put a wet towel over top of it to boost the humidity, kept it up for a few days before it dried out. I let the humidity drop to about 55 - 60 before doing the process over, constant humidity is a very bad thing because it promotes the growth of bacteria and other harmful organisms that you don't want. Using Sphagnum Moss is also nice but not entirely necessary.
3.) Never had a problem with molting, especially with the humidity box that contained large chunks of sphagnum with a little water to keep them moist. If you have trouble, though, a pillow case with wet rags is fine, keep it in there for a little. You may need to assist it, even then, but otherwise the boa should rub up on the fabric to slide off the shed and the moisture from the rags will help. Another option is to soak the snake for a little while, 15 - 20 minutes at most, then assist it.
4.) At that age, pinkies. Don't feed it something that has a larger width that the width of its head.

Edit: When it gets a little larger, I'd recommend rat pinkies and then moving on up accordingly. Mice have a lot more fat than muscle, where as rats have more muscle than fat. It's a healthier food option for your snake considering that.

As far as BRBs, don't worry about them going underwater. They won't drown as easily as other snakes. They aren't aquatic, but it's not bad for them to go underwater, either. Provide them just a little amount to swim in, but not too much. At that age, maybe 2 - 3 inches of water.

As far as substrate goes, you can use your standard reptibark, ecoearth, etc.(be mindful of ingesting chunks of the reptibark depending on how you feed), but some people, for humidity, use paper towels. I later switched to this and it worked pretty much the same as other substrates, just easier to clean up. It's not as aesthetically pleasing, but it is an option.

infernalis · 02-28-13, 12:16 PM

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Trent · 03-01-13, 09:10 AM

hi and welcome!

nicolerae · 03-01-13, 09:16 AM

Jeepers,

Thanks for that info! She is currently eating fuzzy mice. But as soon as she is big enough she will get rats for sure. I'm glad to read you let the humidity flux a bit, that will make it a lot easier on me for sure.

She is quite nippy at the moment, but when we got her I'm sure she MIGHT be maybe 2 months old. We are currently in the process of getting her used to being handled....its just the getting her out of the cage thing that she seems to be terrified about. Our other boas are great so I'm sure its just the baby phase.

But thanks again. She is the first Brazilian Rainbow and there is quite a difference between Colombians so I really just wanted to collect as much experienced information as I could.

SnakeyJay · 03-01-13, 11:01 AM

When I had a baby brb it was an evil little sod, always ready to strike.. Now I have a calm and docile cb08 female and she's a great snake.. They're quite shy and Will hide a lot but they become very active after dark.

jarich · 03-01-13, 11:05 AM

Hi Nicole and welcome to the site. Where in Alberta are you at? Im from Rocky, if you know where that is (even most Albertans dont know it

)

As for your snake, its best to give it a couple weeks before handling. While you may want to handle it later to get it used to human interactions, its best to give them time to acclimate to a new home before doing this. You want them to feel secure in their new enclosure first before you start taking them out to handle them. If you handle right away you run the very real possibility of having a continuously stressed baby snake that doesnt feel secure anywhere. This can lead to poor eating, growth, etc. Its tough not to handle them at first since its a beautiful new snake, but its best for their health.

As Jeepers said, its fine to let the humidity fluctuate gradually during the day, especially if you are using a substrate like bark or wood chips. There is also the option of creating a bio active substrate that will keep your humidity up naturally and also help with the cleaning process on its own. You can also then have live plants, which helps with air quality and a number of other benefits. Plus they look great!

Donnie · 03-01-13, 01:48 PM

hello and welcome

marvelfreak · 03-01-13, 06:37 PM

images1.jpg
Nice to have you join us.

nicolerae · 03-01-13, 06:40 PM

Snakey-Jay - Thanks for letting me know! That gives me some comfort!

Quote:

Hi Nicole and welcome to the site. Where in Alberta are you at? Im from Rocky, if you know where that is (even most Albertans dont know it )

jarich - I'm out in Calgary, so not too far. I'm holding back on the handling for sure, especially since she is spending some good time in her humidity hut! When we got her, that was supposed to be her feeding day, so we tried to feed her and it was a SUCCESS! Overall she really is good...but I really do appreciate the info, she is a bit different from my other snakes so I'm going to approach her appropriately. THANKS

medicinhed · 03-07-13, 04:15 AM

You'll find they are ready feeders. More arboreal when young. You'll get tagged more when they are little.

My adult will be a bit nippy when in blue, and immediately after feeding. I use a dark feeding tub for him. After he has finished eating. I wait a bit and then put him back in his enclosure.

Your little bit of snake jewelry will become pretty stunning.

My high orange fella:

nicolerae · 03-07-13, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by medicinhed

My high orange fella:

Beautiful snake. How did you manage to keep your humidity up? I'm having some issues trying to keep it overall above 70% let alone 85%. She has a large bath and a humidity hide, as well as a smaller water dish in the back. Should I still be very concerned about the "ambient" humidity??

She is on cocohusk right now and I am considering mixing it with the jungle mix substrate.

She is also very very shy!!! Is this normal for BRB??

CK SandBoas · 03-07-13, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicolerae

Beautiful snake. How did you manage to keep your humidity up? I'm having some issues trying to keep it overall above 70% let alone 85%. She has a large bath and a humidity hide, as well as a smaller water dish in the back. Should I still be very concerned about the "ambient" humidity??

She is on cocohusk right now and I am considering mixing it with the jungle mix substrate.

She is also very very shy!!! Is this normal for BRB??

It is extremely normal for a BRB to be shy and secretive. My adult male spends pretty much all day in his hide, and will occasionally come out at night.

I use cypress mulch as a substrate, and it works wonders for keeping the humidity up. I also keep a hide filled with damp spaghnum moss, and i spray it when it starts to dry out.

nicolerae · 03-07-13, 10:50 AM

Great, thank you! My ball python (like most) is shy as well....I just got used to my BCI's being to outgoing!!!