Reptiles, Wolfchan.. maybe this is for you

[lbaker]

I am now the saviour of a 6 foot Boa girl, gorgeous lady.. she's here in a 12 1/2" wide by four foot long by 2 foot high aquarium. She just ate last Friday so she's fine with that. We used to have a Boa when my kids were younger. I think she needs a larger aquarium but that will come next pay check. She has a lamp and a heating pad and a cedar chip floor. I think she should have a covered hidey-hole to curl up in for security feelings.. like a half hollowed out log thing. BUT, I don't know about bringing in rocks, logs, sticks from outside that may not be sanitary.. should she have something like fake stuff? I just don't remember. Is there a WEB site I can go to to get hints?

[kingrattus]

I did a really quick search & I found this one.

boa (http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/snakes/a/boaconstrictors.htm)

I looked on my reptile site & found nothing on snakes.. lokks like I need to get busy getting info on snakes heeh

[CathyBogart]

www.kingsnake.com is my favorite source for reptile info, the people in their forums are REALLY nice and helpful.

You can bring stuff in from outside, but wash it thoroughly and freeze it overnight to kill off anything that might have made a home on it.

Also, I'd ditch the cedar for aspen or bed-a-beast. :)

Do you plan to feed frozen food, and do you have a separate feeding tank? Just a an aside, I do recommend feeding thawed food in a separate container (I use a sterilite bin that I got for $7 at a drugstore for my boa) so that they don't form any associations between being in their cage and eating. :)

Good luck with her!! Is she a Red-tail boa?

[lbaker]

She is a red tail boa and absolutely gorgeous. She has some irridesant blue on her in a certain light. Ken (son) took her out last night so she could wander around on his & Jennys (his wife) bed and I held her and she is magnificent. She is so calm and peaceful. The dogs came up to sniff her and she just sniffed back :D No problems there. There is a rule though that no cats in the room while she's out of the aquarium. Thanks for the input and the hits to the web sites. We will definately proceed with caution in any changes to her routine. She eats live rodents (wont get into details for fear of upsetting some of the rodent moms on the board). I never thought about a separate feeding tank. Interesting. Thanks you two! I'll keep you informed.
Laurie

[Karen]

Just wanted to say congratulations, Laurie! Sounds like a beautiful snakey, but Miss Hoppy doesn't want to visit with her, just in case! ;) How did you come to rescue her?

[lbaker]

Well Karen, seems she belonged to a friend of my eldest step-grandson (almost 20 yrs old) but when he (friend) moved back in with "mom" Mom had nightmares about her and he was talking about "letting her go" :eek: Like, outside??? So Travis (grandson) said "heck no, I'll take her". So here she is. Boy, do I have some re-construction to do with her setup. It makes me sooo angry when kids, well.. grown ups too.. get a so-called "pet" only to have the fun get old and off they go :mad: OH, let's get a baby chick or bunny for Easter. OH, let's get a cute fuzzy puppy to have under the tree for Christmas morning :mad::mad: Oh don't get me started:( Sorry, didn't mean to rant with this.

[lbaker]

Update and question. She's doing fine and now has a hollowed out log, correct bedding and proper water dish thanks to the snake people at PetSmart and web sites so thankfully sent. One question though, what is the best way to really clean her aquarium/cage? Glass and other parts? Will have to wait a bit longer for a larger home.. may have to send away for one or buy some sort of "Harry Homeowner Kit". (Hairy? Nahh :rolleyes: )On my windows in my own home I mostly just use newspapers and water, maybe a splash of vinager - but I certainly don't want to just jump in with something that might be toxic for Zena.. aka Little Gurl. Any help appreciated.
Lauri - my name should be spelled with an "E" at the end but my computer won't let me type an "e" at the end of my name:confused

[CathyBogart]

Awesome, glad to hear she's doing well!! I clean my reptiles' tanks with a vinegar/water solution. I used to use a commercial tank cleaner, but it was stinky and the label said it was dangerous to the animasl! :eek:

With the vinegar I can even clean the tank walls while they're in the tank! (Eve splashes water on the walls and it streaks so I clean it frequently)