Description

Common boas originate from Central to Southern parts of America, They have a silvery grey to brown coloured body with the tail being more distinct, They have red to brown coloured saddles with a chunky beautiful triangular shaped head with the most intriguing eyes.They can asscertain an adult size of up to 9ft and have a lifespan of 20+ years.

These snakes should be kept in a forest style enclosure with some sturdy climbing branches, Eventhough these are heavily bodied snakes they are very good climbers and welcombe the opportunity. The best substrate we would suggest would be orchid bark, Provide plenty of hiding areas, and a large water bowl so the snake can emerse itself if it wishes. Be sure not to keep these snakes wet as this could lead to respiratory problems.Temprature at the hot end of the enclosure should be 88 - 95F.

Even though these snakes are docile care should be taken when handling and we advise these snakes should only be kept by the more experienced handlers due to thier size.

Housing

To house and adult common boa the minimum size requirement would be a 72" x 24" x 24" wooden vivarium.
For heating either using a 250w ceramic bulb covered with guard to eliminate any risk of you animal being burned used in conjunction with a suitable themostat we would recommend either a Micro climate 600 watt B1 dimming thermostat or a Micro climate DL2 Pulse proportional thermostat which can be used with any non light emmiting heat source, or a Micro climate AHS 250W heater which is a cermaic infra red heating element and pulse proprotional thermostat housed in an easy to fit metal structure,Which features and independant cut out for controlled initial warm up and extra safety.

Any heat source must be controlled by a thermostat which is one of the most important pieces of equipment you will need when housing any Reptile, This should be used in conjunction with 2 thermometers one at the warm end of the enclosure and one at the cool end  to ensure the tempratures are accurate.
For lighting of the enclosure us a 2% UVB tube, As uvb light is not essential for snakes but UVA has been found benificial in the wellbeing of Reptiles.
Lighting also helps produce a day and night time cycle. Provide 8 - 12 hours of lighting per day.
Substrate we would suggest would be a medium grade orchid bark.
Big sturdy pieces of cork branch for any climbing activity and plenty of cork bark which will provide good shady hiding areas for your snake to curl up and feel secure while it rests in the daytime.
These should be placed at both the warm and cool end of your enclosure to give the snake the choice of where it can hide, usually after feeding you may find your snake hiding under the warm end to help digest its meal, but if you only have one hide at the cool end then this gives the snake no choice as they will not just lay at the hot end exposed.
A large heavy bowl for water should also be placed in the enclosure large enough if possible for your snake to emerse itself if it wishes which in most cases is usually when they are in shed.

Feeding

The size of mouse / rat changes as they grow but eventually your Common boa depending on the largest part of the body will usually be feeding on Medium rats.
When your Boa is small feeding should be done every 7 days but an adult Common boa on a medium rat we would suggest to feed every 10 - 14 days. This gives your snake a chance to fully digest the larger meal.
Do not handle you snake on the day of feeding and 48-72 hours after feeding.
Ensure your mouse or rat is fully defrosted before feeding to your snake, the best way to defrost your food is to leave it at room temprature in a sealed box (to stop any flies) until fully defrosted.
Never feed your snake by hand always use a large pair of tweezers for babys and adults.

Your Common Boa may not feed when going into or in shed but do not worry just try again once it has sloughed its skin at this point you may find your Common Boa is hunting and ready for feeding.
If housing two Common boas together you must seperate them before feeding, We suggest placing each of them in seperate plastic boxes and feeding in these, This also eliminates any the risk of any substrate being swallowed.