Many questions about dumerils boa

[soad]

Hello everyone! so this is my first time on any forum so bare with me.
I will be getting my first Dumerils Boa in a couple of weeks here. I did own a Ball Python before which I must say was absolutely wonderful. So some questions I have:
First off I would like to build my own cage and I was going to do so with six pieces of glass, some 2x4 and some hinges. Does anyone have any suggestions or input on if That would be good material to use or if I should take another route.
Secondly, I would like to feed my snake live out of my own preference. The only things I was worried about was hearing about rats attacking the snakes once they've reached a bigger size. Are there precautions to take in this case? any input would be great.
I was considering making the tank 5' long 2' wide and 1.5' tall. I believe that should be a reasonable size but I was wondering the best way to heat that. Once again any input would be great and thanks for your time!

[metalcopper]

Glass does not hold heat well, I would suggest building the cage out of wood, and using a framed glass door or sliding glass for the front. The size sounds good, I wouldn't go any smaller than 5 feet. I'm not a fan of feeding live food, unless it's necessary. Frozen is a lot less trouble, and you only have to go to the pet store once in a while to stock up on frozens, rather than every week to buy live.

[soad]

Thank you for the response. I've seen videos of people putting air holes into the cage. Is that something that is a necessity then? Is that ventilation needed or is that a preference. And then when it comes to heating would a lamp and a heating pad do well or should I go another route

[metalcopper]

You want some air to be able to get in, but the more holes you have, the harder it is to keep humidity.
I suggest using a radiant heat panel, or install a light bulb fixture and use a ceramic heat emitter, either one needs to be controlled by a thermostat. For a larger cage like the one you want to build, the radiant heat panel will work better I think. Then use a florescent light strip for lighting.

[soad]

Once again thank you for the input!

[soad]

Once again thank you for the input! You've been much help

[Frisky]

Dumerils are awesome to keep.

Go with a wooden cage. Mine is made of wood with sliding glass fronts. A word of warning, the glass needs to be thick, mine are 2 sheets of glass each 6mm thick joined together, to make 1 sheet of 12mm thick. Adult Dumerils will easily break any glass thinner than about 8mm. My cage is 2,5meters in length and 2meters in height, and 1meter in width. This is overkill and I reckon that 2meters x 1meter x 1 meter would be sufficient for a single Dumeril. I keep my pair together permanently, hence the bigger cage.

As for food, rather go the Frozen / Thawed method, for the reasons as previously mentioned.

[soad]

Great thank you. And would it be fine to put a juvenile into the full size cage right off the bat? I've heard too big of a cage can stress a snake out but I'm not sure how true that is and how big is too big.

[SnoopySnake]

Originally Posted by soad

Great thank you. And would it be fine to put a juvenile into the full size cage right off the bat? I've heard too big of a cage can stress a snake out but I'm not sure how true that is and how big is too big.

As long as you have a nice substrate that your snake can burrow into, and fill the enclosure with plenty of hides, fake plants, branches, etc. then the snake should be fine in a larger enclosure. The large enclosure itself isn't a problem, not having enough cover is though.

[soad]

So change of plans while I was searching today I fell in love with this baby rainbow boa. I have a jungle mix substrate which is good for humidity but I have a screen top cage. Should I place something over top of it to keep in heat and humidity? I have a 60 watt bulb and a 30-40 gal heat pad on bottom. It's currently 80.3 degrees inside and humidity is at 80%. The temp I listed is on the warm side. Any suggestions or input is appreciated.

[soad]

Also should I leave him be for 24 hours before I handle him again?

[SnoopySnake]

Cover the top of the screen lid with foil or a piece of acrylic or something along those lines. It's very important that you put the heat mat on a thermostat, a good cheap one: Amazon.com : Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats : Plant Germination Heating Mats : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com : Hydrofarm Digital Temperature Controller for Heat Mat : Plant Germination Heating Mats : Patio, Lawn & Garden

A cheap infrared thermometer: Amazon.com: Nubee® Temperature Gun Non-contact Infrared Thermometer w/ Laser Sight: Kitchen & Dining

You'll want to get an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature that your heat mat is reaching, as I'm guessing 80 was your air temp? I would say ditch the heat lamp as they really dry out the air, and rainbow boas do fine at ambient room temperatures. Rainbow boas only need a basking spot at about 84 degrees, they like it much cooler than a lot of snakes. Temperatures above 90 can be fatal for a rainbow boa, which is another reason why its really important to get that thermostat. Also, what are you using to measure humidity? If its one of the little stick on dial hygrometers, I'd strongly suggest you switch to a digital thermometer/hygrometer as the analog ones tend to be inaccurate, and get stuck.

Pics of the set-up would be helpful so we don't have to make guesses

[soad]

Here's a picture of the zilla dual therm/hygro probe

[soad]

Here's the two lights. 50 watt red night light and 60 watt lye day light. Both on timers for 12/12 currently cool side is 76 and warm side is 80 humidity is currently 84 I have a damp towel on one half of the screen

[soad]

So how does the thermostat work? Without it the heating pad is at it's highest? And where would you put the probe on it?