I just got myself a Rosy Boa a couple days ago. His/her name is Buddy. Buddy is about 18 inches long, 1 1/2 years old. I just have a couple of questions. I know heat is a must, I have a heat lamp. But my problem is that my room gets kinda cold at night. Not horribly cold, it drops to about 60-70 degrees. Is this too cold for Buddy? I have an under the tank heater but I don't like using those cause they can burn the snake. My sister suggested leaving the light on over night but I dunno if that would be a bad or good thing. As for substrate, I have what the previous owner had in there which is pine, she had it in there for a year. Is pine bad for them? I've looked around on the internet and some places says it is bad but then others say it isn't. What substrate would be better for Buddy, he/she likes to burrow. As for water, again I looked around the internet and found that most care sheets say Rosy Boas only need water every couple of days and that not to put too much in, as the temp shock is bad for them. I've had other snakes and pythons and my sister has Red-Tails and with all them we always had water in a big enough container for them to submerge themselves so I'm out of my depth in that area. How much water should Buddy have?
Congrats on the new snake. I have Rosy, as well as some other snakes, and it has taught me some things I thought I'd never learn from such a small easy to care for snake. First of all, get rid of the pine bedding. It is not good for any animals I know of. It has oils that are bad for the respiratory system. I use aspen bedding. It is a little more expensive than pine, for a reason. It won't make your snake sick. That is especially important for digging snakes, as they get it all over their snouts. Next, under tank heating should not hurt the snake. I have used it exclusively for our Rosy for years now. If he digs directly over it and it is too hot, he'll move. Remember, they are desert snakes. They are used to handling the heat. Just make sure you use a thermostat or at least a rheostat. I use a rheostat to manage the temps, and it works just fine. Also, around 65-70 at night should not hurt it. It is a desert snake, for the most part. It gets pretty cold in the desert at night. Although they can find warmer places to hide if the want, that should be OK. Also, make sure the heater does not sit inside the tank, or directly on top of furniture. it can burn the snake if in direct contact, and will damage furniture. I prop the tank up on some scraps of wood so there is a gap between it and the table it's on. Now for the part that amazed me about this thing. Each winter for the last 2 it has stopped eating on it's own. In Sept '08 it stopped until Jan '09. I eventually brought the temps down to room temp, about 65-68 full time, just to reduce it's metabolism for fear it would die. I did give it water every couple of weeks. I brought the temperature back up in Jan and it ate. Before feeding, I weighed it and it had gained 10 grams over that time. This past Sept. it's last meal was within 2 days of the same time in '08, and it stopped again. This year it didn't eat again until last night. Literally. It lost a little weight, but less than 10 grams. That's amazing for a snake that only weighed 180 grams to start with. The only difference this year is it is sexually mature now. I tell you this so if it stops eating in the fall you don't worry. It's not how much food it takes, but what happens to it's weight. Anyway, good luck with it. They make great pets. Jeff
