Help with baby boa

[eddieg536]

Hi,
I just got a baby BCI from so. CA just a couple of days ago. I have him in a 75 gallon aquarium, with UTH and CHE. He has 2 hide spots, and a nice water bowl. Since I got him, all he does is stay in the corner (cool side) and doesn't even try to go into the hide spots I made him. The temps in his cage are: 95 hot side, and 75-77 on his cool side. Does he just need time to adjust to his new settings? Or should I be concerned about his inactivity? Thanks

[sclark]

Re:Help with baby boa

Hi Eddieg536,

Welcome to the forums..

Now you said 95 degrees. that is aboit high for a BCI boa.. Have you checked the floor temp.. He could be hiding on the cool to escape the heat. Its important that you check the temp about an inch off the bedding on both sides.. Ideal is 78 on the cool side, 90 on the hot side with a floor temp that doesn't exceed 92 on the hot side.. And humdity of 60-70%. Your boa should be givin 2-3 weeks to fully settle in a de-stress. Avoid feeding the boa for atleast a week if not two.. But since its a baby one week should be fine. Don't want the baby to lose too much weight. Don't handle much at all during this adjustment peroid..

I would get the temps correct and just keep an eye on him.. I know someone here (LEE) who's two baby boas won't use the hidea.. Each boa is different...

Hope that helped, keep us posted how she/he is doing..

Steve

[stormyva]

Re:Help with baby boa

To add to what sclark said:
A 75 gallon aquarium can be a bit large for a baby boa.
What are you using for hides?
For a baby boa the best hide is one that the snakes body will touch on all sides when it is coiled in the hide. Otherwise several small hides situated in various spots in the cage will be better than two big ones.

Oh and welcome to Redtailboas.com!

[eddieg536]

Re:Help with baby boa

Thanks for the input Steve. I keep the floor temp about about 90. Because my CHE is 150 watt, I will get another rheostat for the light in addition to the one I have for the UTH. The hides are small so he can feels the sides and be secure. I hope the 75 gallon tank is not an issue because he is just a baby. I wanted to buy a bigger tank off the bat to save some money. I just wanna make sure everything is good for the little guy because I want everything to be right. Thanks for your concern and I will definately update in about a week or so. Thanks again.

[tatdaddy]

Re:Help with baby boa

Eddieg356 welcome to the fourm.
If you need any questions answered you can refer to the care pages on this site here is a link.
http://www.redtailboas.com/general_c...eral_care.html hope this helps.

TAT 8)

[ClayEnglish]

Re:Help with baby boa

An acclimation period is really important for a new boa in a new environment, so I would expect time for the boa to settle in. If the boa is healthy, you should see a lot of activity at night. Be sure that you are creating an environment that allows a dark "nighttime" period.

[redtailedmel]

Re:Help with baby boa

good point i just realized that may be why my little guy didnt want to eat because we are both on vacation and have had the lights and tv on in the living room at night!!! hmm i just might have solved my problem! woo hoo clay has all the answers!!!!!

[sclark]

Re:Help with baby boa

It can for sure stress a boa out if it gets no dark time.. I am a night owl myself, even as I type this its 3:30am ETS and I have lights, TV, etc on. Alot of my boas are very active during the day and evening, but to avoid extra stress I have been covering the front of their tank at midnight so they get some dark time..

Give it a shot and see if it works..

Good luck
Steve

[eddieg536]

Re:Help with baby boa

Last night I just successfully got the little baby to feed. I fed him 2 F/T pinkies at 9:00 pm. My python won't constrict dead prey but he sure did and was pretty aggressive to my surprise. I had a feeling he was hungry and wanted to see if he would even feed. Luckily enough, he ate both within minutes. Now, I'll let him settle in for about a week or so. Thanks.