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 #928618


Dijana
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 New Boa

Hi Everyone, I just bought a Brazilian Rainbow Boa. Her name is Dijana . She is really beautiful. Right now she is in a 10 gallon tank with a heating pad ( I ordered a light dimmer thing to control the temp..its being shipped at the moment) and I also ordered a digital thermometer to keep track of temp/humidity. She hasnt eaten yet, im a little worried bout that. But for now im just letting her get used to the environment. Im using newspaper to cover the bottom, she has this little repti-cave thing which i filled with moist paper towels to hide in, along with a water bowl, and a small turtle shell to hide in at the cooler end of the tank.
Tonight i might put her in a small deli cup (with small holes in it , of course)with the pinky mouse to try to get her to eat.
I’ve owned a snake before but this is my first time owning a Boa . If anyone has any advice on keeping the humidity high,ect. I’d appreciate your help.




08/07/06  11:04pm

 #928956


Bella_831
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   Message To: Dijana   In reference to Message Id: 928618


 New Boa

awe, i remember when mine was that little!

cover the enclosure, about 75%, with plexi glass, use damp/moist moss in hides, mist daily and keep a water bowl on the warm side. each of these thing will increase humidity.

are you feeding live? if not (which is better/safer,) make her think its alive... to do so, use plasitc tongs to ’wiggle’ the meal in front of her.

good luck :)
08/08/06  03:31am

 #930975


Dave123
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   Message To: Bella_831   In reference to Message Id: 928956


 New Boa

10 gallon is kinda small even for a baby. I’d get a 20 if possible.

When larger though, you will need a 40 gallon breeder ot 75 gallon tank...Depends if it turns out to be a big BRB or a small one...Anything over or around 6 feet should be in a larger tank than a 40 gallon breeder.

Cover the top like 80-90% with plexiglass, 75% won’t hold anything at all...Anyone who says 75% has apparently never tried to plexi-glass method :P

Once in a while though remove the plexi-glass to let the tank really air out...And don’t cover it all for too long because it cuts off proper air circulation.

If it is not eating, try smaller food...Feed fuzzies if you haven’t already...Make sure they are f/t (frozen/thawed)

Put cypress mulch as bedding because it doesn’t and CAN NOT mold even if you soak it...This will be helpful considering that BRBs need humidity...YOu will need to clean the tank less and you can poor a little bit of water into the bedding to up humidity.
08/09/06  11:14am

 #931991


Dijana
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   Message To: Dave123   In reference to Message Id: 930975


 New Boa

Where can I buy plexi glass? And Dijana isn’t eating yet.. The pet store guy said she has eaten there before. He gave me a pinky mouse to feed her. But that didnt work out, she showed no interest at all. Even if i dangled the pinky a little bit infront of her. Its dead now, I didnt want it just laying there in the tank all day, so I threw the pinky away.
08/09/06  09:33pm

 #932153


TimOsborne
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   Message To: Dijana   In reference to Message Id: 931991


 New Boa

You can get plexiglass at lowes or home depot (or anything similar). You can also use sterilite plastic boxes until she gets a bit bigger. Most breeders keep them in the plastic boxes, a 6qt is a perfect size for her (walmart, lowes, meijers etc will have them, or something similiar) and drill a few small holes in it for air, not to many though (4-6 will be fine) and make sure they are small so the snake can’t escape (1/16 or 3/32 drill bits work well). Snakes, contrary to what our common since tells us, do not like big open containers, especially when they are small. But her in something small and secure, and leave her alone as much as possible for a week or so. Small BRB’s are typically somewhat nervous, so leaving them alone in a small dark and humid spot will her settle.

You can use cypress mulch or spaghnum moss, or even wet paper towels in the bottom of the tank, and make sure to keep fresh water for her.

Some other things that may keep her from eating beside the large tank, would be temp, humidity or she can possibly be getting ready to shed.

The people at the pet store say she ate, did they tell you when?

Give her a warm (about 75-78 degree) box, that is damp inside. Leave her alone for a few days, opening it only once or twice a day to let it air out a bit and check the water. It is better to do this during the day while she is sleeping.

In a few days.. say on Sat check on her, if she is a pale color with a blue tone she is shedding.. wait until after she sheds before you try to feed her again.

If she is not pale by then, and has not been since you got her.. she is more than likely not shedding.. so, if the temps and humidity are right.. you should be able to get her to eat..

Get another mouse, one with hair. Ask the pet store for a hopper mouse. It will be a small mouse that is weaned from the mother and is up and moving around on its own. (but don’t worry she can eat it). A pinkie mouse is to small for a rainbow, even for the first meal. If they don’t have hoppers, see if they have a fuzzy mouse, which will be furry, but still not weaned from the mother. Like I said, don’t worry about the size, I feed my rainbows adult mice or fuzzy rats for their first meal..

The next thing you want to do is a bit gross.. but it helps.. keep the mouse in the container for a bit, until it soils.. that smell will help.. and you shouldn’t have to wait long.

Make sure the room is distraction free.. open the box, and dangle the mouse by the tail in front of the snake with a pair of tongs or something. Tease her a bit, but keep the mouse an inch or so away.. she should show interest.. tongue flipping etc.. If she strikes, and starts to wrap around the mouse, let go of the tail and make sure she kills the mouse, then cover her up, turn out the lights and leave her be.. check in about 20 minutes or so and the mouse should be gone.

If she doesn’t take it after a minute or too, you can get a little more aggressive with teasing.. letting the mouse touch the snake a bit.. be careful that the mouse doesn’t bite her... sometimes that will instigate a strike.

All else fails, you will want to kill the mouse (firmly grasp the tail and smack its head, hard on a solid surface, be sure to hold the tail if you don’t kill it and let go, you will have a mouse loose in the house.. It is not really humane or nice.. but I would rather do that than have a mouse eat my snake) and place it in the cage/box and secure the lid. Turn out all of the lights and leave her alone until morning. If she has in fact ate in the past, she should take it during the night.

If none of this works, the temps are correct, good humidity and she is not shedding, you have a stubborn little girl.. and we can try a few other things.. A stubborn feeder can be very frustrating, especially if it is something that you haven’t experienced before. Keep in mind she can go a few weeks without eating without a problem at that age.. so be patient with her, you are going to need it.



08/09/06  11:03pm

 #932439


Bella_831
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   Message To: Dave123   In reference to Message Id: 930975


 New Boa

well, apparently someone has! i have my enclosure covered, about 75%, with plexiglass.... and it seems to be doing the job! but hey, i wont argue too much, because covering it a little more wont hurt :P
08/10/06  02:27am

 #933496


Dijana
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   Message To: TimOsborne   In reference to Message Id: 932153


 New Boa

The Pet store didnt tell me when they fed her. Im going to leave her alone for a while like you said. She spends most of her time in the hollow rock thing, that has moist paper towels in it. I also replaced the newspaper with moist paper towels like you said. And she has fresh water as well. Today I got the thermometer in the mail. I think i put it in the tank correctly.. the sensor is in the tank towards the bottom, the digital temperature reader thing is outside of the tank, It says the tanks temp is at 79/80 Farenheight. and the humidity is 48percent.I found plexi glass, in a 20 gallon fish tank in my garage. I had a australian tree frog a while back so its from his tank. I washed it before i put it on the snakes tank. It covers bout 80-90% of the top. I believe the rock/cave thing is humid enough for her. When i take the top off its somewhat drippy on the bottom of the lid. I read that BRB’s need around 80% humidity so its kinda frustrating that the tank is only 48%. I will go to the pet store soon and by some cypress mulch.
08/10/06  07:10pm

 #933813


Dijana
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   Message To: Dijana   In reference to Message Id: 933496


 New Boa

I put the digital thermometer inside the tank. and the humidity reading went up to 60/65 percent. The directions werent very detailed. It has this little wire attached to it so where you can keep the digital thing inside the house but put the wire on the outside of the window and it would give you the temp.



08/10/06  09:49pm

 #934012


TimOsborne
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   Message To: Dijana   In reference to Message Id: 933813


 New Boa

If you up to 65%, inside her hide should be plenty humid enough. Leave her be for a few days now.. she should settle in nicely, Try to keep the noise and movement around the tank to a minimum (don’t rearrange your lifestyle.. but don’t make special trips to look in the tank you know?).

Try feeding her again this weekend.. and best of luck with it. I would wait to switch to the mulch until after you feed her.. for no other reason than to switch her now.. it will stir things up again (I have had some of best eaters skip meals after cleaning out their tanks and putting new mulch in, it doesn’t happen all the time.. but it is just more disruption. The paper towel will work for a few days. Good luck with her!

Oh, btw, you don’t have to go to the petstore to get the mulch, lowes and home depot have large bags for like $5. With only one tank, a large bag will last you a year or more..



08/10/06  11:48pm

 #934015


TimOsborne
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   Message To: TimOsborne   In reference to Message Id: 934012


 New Boa

One last thing for ya.. Keep in mind, once she starts eating.. and gets a little size on her.. she will be much much easier to care for. After 6 or 8 months or so you won’t have to worry about humidity
08/10/06  11:50pm

 #934797


Dijana
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   Message To: TimOsborne   In reference to Message Id: 934015


 New Boa

The humidity is now 87percent and temp 79 ^_^ so she should be good. I just made a mistake with the thermometer lol the directions werent very clear. Thank you so much for your help.
Should I just try feeding her on Saturday? Or should I wait longer. Its been about a week since a got her. But durin the first few days I did handle her , let her explore a little bit in my room. But I didnt take her out of the tank for long periods of time.
08/11/06  02:55pm

 #934883


Dijana
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   Message To: Dijana   In reference to Message Id: 934797


 New Boa

I think she is shedding, thats prolly why she isnt eating. i took her out of the lil hiding rock so i could change the moist paper towels that are in it. She roamed around the tank a lot, occasionally going to the water bowl but not going into it or drinking ,and she would climb half way on the sides of the tank. she is back in her hiding rock now, she seems to enjoy her new environment :)
08/11/06  03:51pm

 #1680648


SphoOn Man
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   Message To: Dijana   In reference to Message Id: 934883


 New Boa

wow thats a wonderfull pattern
03/29/08  02:36pm

 #1681685


Dani3013
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   Message To: Dijana   In reference to Message Id: 928618


 New Boa

Hi she is pretty! I just got one too. My girls name is Gisele. Your lucky you got alot of positive advice on your forum question. Mine was not so nice. Good luck with her and enjoy!
03/30/08  01:33am

 #1695577


Jenn1234
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   Message To: Dijana   In reference to Message Id: 931991


 New Boa

this one of last resorts have you tryed braining the mouse?
04/08/08  11:52pm


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