El Salvador Boas

Today's post is about El Salvador Boas. After holding one of these beautiful animals I thought I would research and write about them. The great thing about this type of boa is the fact that they do not grow too big as they are a type of dwarf boa and are quite active. El Salvador Boas would be perfect for keepers that don't want a sand boa as they hide all the time and also for those who don't want a large snake.

El Salvador Boas live between the evergreen rainforest and the savannah belt in Central America. The snakes thrives in subtropical climates with high temperatures of 30° C with nighttime temperatures of 16° C. As for length they can slightly exceed 4.9ft although this is not common. Humidity should be 55% although can be increased to 70% when the animal is in shed.

El Salvador Boa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Size

It is important to ensure that you buy El Salvador Boas from a reputable seller to ensure the bloodline is pure as these boas can be cross-bred and if that is the case a buyer can end up with a much larger animal than they expected. This type of snake makes a good animal to keep as a pet due to their small size and docile temperament. They also feed well which is always a good thing. I myself would love to add one of these snakes to my collection one day and I would recommend them for a first time snake keeper.

Housing

When it comes to housing, size is important as this can effect the health of your animal. Generally El Salvador boas would need a 3ft by 2ft enclosure. They also require a warm and cold hide, water dish at all times and substrate. Heating is also essential and this can be achieved using either a heat mat or ceramic bulb which should be set to 30° C with a thermostat. 

El Salvador Boa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeding

Feeding is a large part of keeping reptiles and this type of snake feeds on rats of appropriate size. When selecting prey items for your snake, ensure that it is no bigger than 1.5 times the width of the snake. Generally an adult snake would eat a frozen thawed rodent once every 7 to 10 days.

Shedding

Boas generally have few problems when shedding their skin. To help the shedding process (if your snake is having difficulty) you can increase the humidity in the tank to 70% by adding sphagnum moss and or spraying the snake with clean, fresh water. It is best to start increasing the humidity when your animal goes into the blue phase. You can also increase the size of the water bowl. Problem sheds can also be eased off by allowing the snake to soak in a luke warm bath for 10-15 minutes.

El Salvador Boa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morphs

The colours of this snake are not as varied as other snakes such as royal pythons. El Salvador's are greyish, brown in colour and have a considerable number of saddle patches that fuse together on it's body. Their tails are rusty brown and a similar patch is often found on the animals neck.

Further links of interest may include the Boidae family.

Records and Free Record Sheet

When keeping reptiles, I find that it is extremely important to keep records. This is a great way to see if your animal is healthy and gaining weight. The records I keep for my animals are date of feed, weight, date of shed, tank cleans, length and girth. 

To make this task simple and easy to do at home, I have created a table in jpg format. All you need to do is print it and start recording data. Originally I was going to update a PDF file but for some reason Blogger will not allow me.

To save this chart: click on the images and when they show, right click and save as. After saving you will be able to print these.

Useful Websites

With technology improving and growing constantly, using the Internet for research is a great way to learn and free too. There are many great websites about reptiles and more being added daily, so today's post is about how technology is helping reptile keepers worldwide and what sites I have found to be most helpful.

I personally use Facebook all the time and have joined some really good group pages to connect with other reptile keepers. Not only are the groups a great way to learn about all the different reptiles available but also allow keepers to share their experiences and tips.They are also a great way to meet new people and make new friends. Here are a few useful Facebook links to various groups:

We're Talking Balls
We're Talking Boas
We're Talking Lizards
Corn Snake Owners Worldwide 
Reptile Community 
Reptile Forums UK 
Ireland Reptile Auction

Facebook is not the only place to discuss reptiles, there are also many good online forums packed with users ready to help and give advice about these fantastic animals. I have found forums helpful in the past and here are a few good ones that I have found online.

Reptile Forums UK 

Captive Bred Reptile Forums UK 

Reptile Forums 

Reptile Forums Herp Center 

Alongside social networking and forums, there are many other great reptile sites that can be used for sourcing equipment to finding reptile breeders. I shall now list a few sites that I have found helpful. Don't forget to add your own links below and if I like your site I will add it to the list. As I am based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, some of the sites I will be listing are local to my area. 

Reptile Hunters Belfast 
Reptile World Ireland

Sci's Reptiles 

Land of Lizards
Calvert Reptiles 
Emerald Isle Reptiles 
Sea Pets UK 

City Reptiles Belfast  

BHB Reptiles 

World of Ball Pythons 

New England Reptile Distributors 
B.H. Reptiles 

Care sheets can also be very helpful when keeping a reptile, they can help you to care properly for you reptile and can include useful information on housing and feeding schedules. 

Corn Snake Care Sheet 

Ball Python Care Sheet 

Leopard Gecko Care Sheet 

Bearded Dragon Care Sheet 

Boa Care Sheet 

Burmese Python Care Sheet 

Tortoise Care Sheet 

 

Caiman

Another wonderful reptile is that of caiman and today's post is all about the river dwelling creatures. They are carnivorous and part of the alligatorid crocodylians family, found near Central and South America. They range from 3 ft in length to an large 13 ft long. Although some people consider caiman as crocodiles, they are actually related more closely to alligators.

Adult Caiman

Females can lay between 20-65 eggs on average per clutch. Like most crocodylians, caiman create a mound to lay their eggs in. The mother will guard the eggs even if it means going without food for several months. Mother caimans take care of their young even after they hatch. She will guard them and help them hatch if they are struggling to break through their shell. Furthermore, she will carry them from the nesting mound to the 'nursery' pool where she will care for not just her own, but other caiman young. Out of all of the reptile species, caiman share the most mothering characteristics when it comes to caring for their young. They are also very careful and gentle with their jaws when they need to be. 

Baby Caiman

As they are carnivorous, expect their prey to be large. In the wild, their diet is that of  fish and amphibians as juveniles, becoming larger amphibians, reptiles and mammals as they grow.

The topic of crocodylians as pets is quite controversial. As babies, they are deceptive as they are small and appear harmless. This makes them easy for someone to sell to unsuspecting buyers. After around a year, their behaviour will become more boisterous and usually leads to the owner releasing the animal into the wild or killing it. Those who  are serious about caring for one of these dangerous reptiles should think seriously about this decision. They are not naturally a tame animal and can bite and kill, although some can be 'trained' to be calmer than their more wild counterparts. The key with caiman and other alligators and crocodiles is to never ever drop your guard.

Caiman Require Amphibious Surroundings

Personally I would never think of keeping one. The risk outweighs the rewards for me but I respect anyone who can properly look after and care for these magnificent animals. As always, a DWA is required to keep one of these.

There are some websites that sell crocodylian species- some are well respected and ask for a copy of your DWA license before they sell you anything and others are irresponsible  and will sell them to anyone, which is an utter disgrace! If you do decide to get one, ensure you do a LOT of research and ensure that you are capable of keeping and caring for these animals. 

Q&A

Due to the popularity of my last Q&A post, I thought I would add a second one. Don't forget that if you have any questions about reptiles, comment below and I will answer them in an upcoming post. No question is a silly question, we all have to ask one at some point!

1. What evolved first snakes or lizards? Lizards evolved first. When amphibians came on to land, they needed legs in order to move with ease, snakes then evolved from lizards and the evidence of this can be found when looking at boas and pythons as they have anal spurs which are remnants of legs. 


2. Can snakes tie themselves in a knot? The answer to this question is yes, they can tie themselves in to a simple not that is relatively harmless to the snake. Although sometimes a sick snake that has contracted Inclusion Body Disease from a rodent virus can tie its self into a fatal knot. NEVER try tying a snake in a mad made knot as you may break the snakes back and kill it.





Snake in a knot















3. If two snakes attack the same mouse can one eat the other? The answer to this question is yes sometimes this can happen due to the snakes feeding response. This is why if you have two snakes living together it is vital to feed them in separate feeding boxes.



4. Why can’t a person roll a snake egg? Due to the way a snake embryo forms an air pocket sits on top and if rolled this will pop the air pocket which will suffocate the snake.
   

   

   Snake Hatch

















5. How do I lift a leopard gecko? The best method is scooping the gecko into the palm of your hand with a gentle nudge. Avoid touching the tail as a leopard gecko will drop its tail off as a defense mechanism if it feels threatened.  It’s very painful for the animal to re-grow back.  


6. How do I know when to feed my snake a bigger prey item? The day after feeding your animal and you can see a bulge then the meal is adequate, if there is no bulge then consider increasing their prey size. Snakes can generally eat; prey 1.5 times larger than their widest part of the body. It is also good to keep records of when your snake feeds and also its weight.  If you are doing this then using a snake feeding chart may be valuable.


7. What is the smallest snake and lizard in the world? The smallest snake in the world measures no more than four inches and is found in Barbados and is called Leptotyphlops carlae. The smallest lizard in the world is 16mm long also found in the Caribbean and is called Sphaerodactylus ariasae.


8. Can a leopard gecko only eat meal worms? The answer to this is no, there are many different insects that a gecko can eat. They range from crickets, silk worms, wax worms amongst others but crickets and meal worms are better for your animal as they contain the correct nutrients. 






Leopard Gecko Hunting




















9. Do all lizards need to feed on insects? There are some vegetarian lizards although be warned some do grow large such as desert iguanas. Crested geckos can also be fed on a powdered diet although it is better for them to eat crickets as they get exercise by chasing after them.


10.  Can a snake eat a person? This depends on the size of the snake and is also extremely rare; in fact more people are bitten and killed by dogs than that of snakes.  If you have a large snake, such as a reticulated python or Burmese python, ensure you always handle correctly using caution. Always lift a large snake using a snake hook and have more than one person in the room in case the snakes feeding response is triggered. Smaller snakes could not kill a person such as a corn snake and a ball python. They are relatively safe to keep as pets but can bite!






Albino Burmese Feeding

New Addition

Finally convinced my fiance Phil to get a leopard gecko. I can now announce that I am the proud owner of a female leopard gecko. I have wanted one now for ages and I am so glad and excited to finally have my first lizard. I hope to get more in the future.

Handling a leopard gecko is much different than handling a snake, although is a joy to do. They can be quite quick, agile and tend to try to leap out of your hand. My new one will certainly keep me on my toes.

To find out more information about leopard geckos, click here. This article is more in depth about housing, feeding, husbandry and of course my favourite topic: paint jobs aka morphs!

Violet

 

Sorry for the poor quality images, I shall be adding better ones in due course.

Finally got round to taking better photographs. My mobile phone camera is not the best for getting pictures of my reptiles. You may notice in the pictures that her colours are not as vivid as she is in shed.

Boas

Today's blog post is all about boas and the boidae family, the variations, size, colours and why they make great pets. I myself am a huge fan of sand boas as they do not grow overly large. Boas also are one of the only snakes that give birth to live young. They are closely related to pythons and are considered primitive. They are found living in Asia, America, Africa and Europe.

Boas are different from pythons because: 

1. Their heat pits are between the scales as opposed to on them.
2. They give birth to live young.
3. They do not have premaxillary teeth or postfrontal bones.

Boas are constrictors like most non-venomous snakes and kill their prey by asphyxiation, which means they coil around their prey and tighten their muscles to stop the heart working. Depending on the size of boa depends on it's prey item, some will feed on small rodents and others can eat prey the size of a house cat or tapirs. 

Green Anaconda

The largest boa in the world is an anaconda, averaging 17ft in length and weighing 200lbs. They currently have the record for being the largest living snake. The largest snake remains ever found was of Titanoboa, a type of boa that lived 60-58 million years ago, estimated to be 40-50ft and weighed up to 2500lbs. Smaller boas are available in pet shops and one of the most common is a Kenyan Sand Boa. Fully grown they normally max out a 3ft. There is a great variety of boas available to keep as pets. They include: red tail boa, common boa, amazon tree boa, rainbow boa, green anaconda and yellow anaconda to name just a few.

Housing

When keeping a reptile, housing is vital. There are many options available for housing a snake and depending on the size of the animal depends on the size of the housing. Larger snakes like anacondas may need a custom built viv due to their large size and this will need to be heated with a ceramic source. An amazon tree boa will need a branch in their enclosure due to them being tree dwellers and they too require a ceramic heat source. A kenyan sand boa, will only need 2ft x 1.5ft vivarium when they are adults and this can be heated with a heat mat. Due to sand boas mostly burying themselves, they will need extra bedding. Like all reptiles, hides may need to added and of course they will need fresh water daily.

Kenyan Sand Boa

Safety

Some breeds of boa are more placid than others, a few others can be more aggressive and are not recommended for beginners, for example, amazon tree boas. Larger breeds of snake should always be approached with caution. Like with Burmese and reticulated pythons, never handle alone in case the feeding response is triggered. If you are bitten, the snake may not let go and in this case, use tongue suppressors and pour a cold drink, preferably juice, into their mouths so they dislodge. Also use a hook when handling. Safety is vital.

Morphs

Like most captive bred snakes, boas are available with many colour options and mutations. Amazon tree boas come in many different variations that have been proven including tiger and orange phase. You can also get dwarf boas if you are concerned with their size but are still an impressive animal. Other boas have various morphs and I have listed a few below. 

Blood Boa

Orange Phase Tree Boa

Tiger Tree Boa

Sunglow Albino Jungle Boa