Rainbow boa how to#
Rainbow boa full#

Humans are warm-blooded, which means that our body temperature is automatically regulated. To remain effective, UVB bulbs must be replaced every 12 months. For best results, use a Solarmeter 6.5 to determine the best placement to achieve a UVI of 2.0-3.0 in the basking area.) (These recommendations are approximations based on available data. Given distance is from the snake’s back to the UVB lamp. The basking branch should be placed as follows. This bulb should be housed in an Arcadia ProT5 or Vivarium Electronics reflective fixture (yes, this does make a difference). To provide appropriate UVB, you will need a Zoo Med T5 HO Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia Forest 6% bulb, long enough to span half of the enclosure and placed on the warm side of the enclosure. UVB lighting can be tricky, because in order to get the right strength of UVB (UV Index, or UVI), distance and potential mesh obstruction must be considered. Although rainbow boas can technically survive without UVB light, ReptiFiles strongly recommends providing it in order to promote optimum welfare! Aside from regulating their day/night cycle and associated hormonal rhythms, UVB lighting in particular gives the snake all of the vitamin D3 it needs, supports immune health, and encourages increased activity levels. For this reason it’s best to house only one Brazilian rainbow boa per enclosure.īrazilian rainbow boas are nocturnal, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t occasionally sleep in places where they are exposed to UVB wavelengths.

In fact, keeping multiple snakes together is stressful and causes competition for resources, preventing them from thriving.

Can multiple Brazilian rainbow boas be housed together?īrazilian rainbow boas are not social animals, which means that you don’t have to worry about them getting lonely.

Rainbow boa how to#

The DIY Reptile & Amphibian Enclosures group on Facebook is a good place to get tips on how to do this. This leads to a fitter and overall healthier snake.īecause you will need such a large enclosure, it’s most cost-effective to build your own enclosure rather than commission one custom-made if you’re up to the task. It’s important to provide an appropriately-sized enclosure that offers both terrestrial and arboreal space to facilitate natural behaviors such as thermoregulation, hydroregulation, photoregulation, hunting, climbing, and hiding. Bigger is always better! Although you may not see your pet climbing around all the time because it’s nocturnal, they’re still quite active when they’re awake. Using an enclosure larger than the minimum is strongly recommended. Given that most Brazilian rainbow boas grow to 6′ / 1.8m long or smaller, ReptiFiles recommends providing an enclosure no smaller than 6’L x 3’W x 6’H, or 1.8m x 0.9m x 1.8m.

Rainbow boa full#

Reptile hides/caves, x2 (small enough to provide a tight squeeze)*Ī good formula for estimating the minimum enclosure dimensions for a semi-arboreal snake is: Full snake length x half snake length x full snake length = length x width x height.72 quarts coconut fiber (~13 lbs compressed).Mistking Starter automatic misting system.Arcadia ProT5 fixture or Vivarium Electronics T5 HO Single Bulb Light Strip, 36″.Arcadia Forest 6% or Zoo Med T5 HO Reptisun 5.0, 34″.Zoo Med Digital Combo Thermometer Humidity Gauge, x2.Lutron Credenza Plug-In Lamp Dimmer, x4.Zoo Med Combo Deep Dome Dual Lamp Fixture, x2.6’L x 3’W x 6’H reptile enclosure (front-opening).Items marked with an * are recommended to be purchased in-person rather than online. Some of the links in this care sheet are paid links - if you’d like to know why ReptiFiles uses paid links, visit this page. These are products I personally recommend for setting up a functional Brazilian rainbow boa enclosure. When you pay careful attention to providing appropriate Brazilian rainbow boa care, they may live for up to 30 years. As a truly nocturnal species, they do most of their hunting in the middle of the night.īrazilian rainbow boas make fairly docile pets, but because they’re nocturnal, you may not see them out and about very often.

They prefer tropical forest habitats, where they can be found either on the ground or in the trees. However, they are best known for their intense oil slick-like iridescence.īrazilian rainbow boas inhabit the Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield areas of South America. The eyes are very dark and the belly is pale.

Base color is orange to red with a pattern of black rings along the back, black spots along the sides with pale crescents inside, and dark stripes on the head. They have vertical pupils, a long tapered head, blunt snout, and heat pits on the lips. Brazilian rainbow boas ( Epicrates cenchria cenchria) are slender but strong constrictor-type snakes that typically grow 5-6.5′ / 1.5-2m long.