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General Care of Boa Constrictor
The Boa constrictor genus carries several known species. Of which, Boa constrictor constrictor (B.c.c.) and Boa constrictor imperator (B.c.i.) are the most widely kept species, or subspecies. They are a large snake in the boidae family, reaching lengths from 6-10 feet respectively, depending on species and locality. They get there name from the way they kill prey, which is buy constriction. They do not crush, but rather expel the air out of the preys lungs, and not allowing any in. The animals die from affixation. They are not venomous. Most have a good temperament, and make good pets. Due to there potential size, one should be prepared to offer enough room for them as adults. The following is basic care and husbandry needs for these gentle giants.
Housing
Housing for boas will be eventually be large. For starters, small and growing boas can be raised in 20 gallon long tanks. Cages should be large enough for the snake to stretch out in. Large boas should be kept in cages with a long dimension at least two thirds of the snake's length. Floor area is more important, as height is not so much. Larger boas need a good deal of room, which should equal to 2/3 of the snakes length. Glass is preferred over screen a for tops and doors. A boa rubbing while looking fort a way out or just being curious on screen can cause abrasions, and thus glass will help to avoid this problem. Glass also allows more heat and humidity to remain in the caging and saves on power as well as cheaper for your wallet. A good material to build cages with is melamine. It is heat and moisture resistant and tolerates good use. Manufacturers also make great cages, but this comes with a higher cost for what you get. Moonstruck cages for one are great cages that include heat and lockable doors. A good cage should supply desent ventilation as well.
Being able to keep the snake within it's cage is important as well. You do not want your snake getting out to get lost or hurt. They are strong animals that will find a weak spot if one is available in order to get out.
A hide area is recommended to keep your boa as stress free as possible. Boas tend to be "shy" during shedding, also known as ecdysis. At times they feel the need to hide at their desire and should have the opportunity to do so.
Feeding
One advantage to snakes over many other animals is there need to be fed less frequently. Thus this leaves less room for starvation or a constant need to feed every day.
Boas are capable of eating large meals. They eat whole prey items. They get all their nutrients from the flesh and bone of the food item. They only thing passes undigested will be fur in most cases. This means the owner must be able to deal with the fact that these snakes live off of whole rodents as food. I recommend that prey be offered killed. The best prey to offer is appropriately sized meals that have been frozen thawed, aka F/T. This is by far the safest means to feed any rodent eating snake. They should be thawed at room temp or under a warm light to slowly bring to a warm temp. Never should food be offered hot, cooked or microwaved. It is common to bring food out from the freezer the night before feeding is to be done for large meals for the large adult boas.
The most important reason for offering pre-killed food is to prevent injury to the snake as a result of bites or scratches from live prey (Klingenberg 1998). Fry (1973), a veterinarian with extensive experience in reptile treatment, states that the most common traumatic lesions he deals with in snakes are rat bites in boa constrictors. This is something to take into consideration.
Boa constrictors readily will accept dead prey thus making it convenient to purchase several weeks of frozen food, and thaw suitable portions at the time of feeding. Small and growing boas should be feed once a week. Once about 3.5' long, they can be feed a couple rats every 10-14 days. Prey should be the same size as the girth of the snake at it's widest part.
Fresh water must be offered at all times as well. Any dirty or soiled water will need replacing as soon as it is noticed. The water should be changed at least once a week and the water bowl cleaned. Some boas are known to enjoy soaking at times, so allowing enough room for the boa to curl in is a good idea. Make note that spillovers may occur, so keep an eye out for this. Damp substrate and caging can cause mold and bacteria. Boas will deficate often as well intheir water bowl.
Substrate
You can use a few things when it comes to substrate. I currently use newspaper for the ease of cleaning and changing substrate. Other choices could be aspen, fir bark or any clean mulch. Cedar should never be used as it has toxic fumes that will bother your snake. I know folks that use pine shavings, but it still a debatable question that any problems arise from pine bedding or not. These products allow for spot cleaning, and an over-all bedding change should be done every 1 or two months.
When using the wood products, feeding should be done carefully so that the snake will not ingest the material. Feeding in another tank, cage or large plastic tub would be better to feed in. After words, simply replace the snake back into its enclosure.
Heating
Being that boas are typically wild to tropical areas of the new world, their cages must be heated. An ambient temp of 75-84° should be maintained while a hot spot of about 88-90° should be given. The hot spot should make up 1/4-1/3 of the length of the enclosure. The best way to heat boa constrictors is with belly heat, with the use of a heating pad or UTH. A night temp no less than 75° should be allowed. Boas are cold-blooded, thus they need the temperature differances to thermoregulate as they see fit. They are also prone to illness when the temps are allowed to dip to low.
Boas also prefer high relative humidity. This should range from 60-80% repectively. This may be helped with the aid of misting the cage or from the use of a humidifier. Avoid damp situations, as this can lead to problems. You just want the air to be humid,not an overall wet enclosure. Your water bowl will help keep the cage a bit humid as well.
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