Brazilian Rainbow Boa Care Sheet

 This Brazilian Rainbow Boa care sheet should be used for guidance only. If you have decided to keep a pet snake please gather as much information as possible from other reliable sources about the species you intend to keep.

              Brazilian Rainbow Boa

Epicrates cenchria cenchria

DESCRIPTION

Brazilian Rainbow Boas are one of the worlds most beautiful snakes. Living in the humid tropical forests of South America, this nocturnal snake feeds on small mammals and birds.

The Brazilian Rainbow Boa reaches an average length of about 5 feet and is a beautiful snake to keep as a pet. The Brazilian Rainbow Boa isn't really recommended for a complete novice to snake keeping, due to its high humidity requirements and more variable temperament.

HOUSING

An enclosure measuring 36”x15”x18” is the minimum suitable for housing an adult Brazilian Rainbow Boa. Your pets enclosure or vivarium can be a wooden vivarium with sliding glass doors or a glass aquarium with a well ventilated lid. Glass or plastic enclosures are usually better as they are better at retaining the humidity needed for this Boa. Whichever type of enclosure you choose you must ensure it is secure and escape proof.

Juvenile snakes of this species can be kept in an enclosure measuring 24”x12”x12” until they exceed about 3 feet in length. This helps them feel more safe and secure as they grow.

Humidity should be kept at 60 to 80%. This can be achieved by regular mist spraying or the use of a second water bowl placed in the warmest part of your Brazilian Rainbow Boas vivarium. Juvenile Brazilian Rainbow Boas seem to do better slightly higher humidity. (70 - 85%)

A layer of substrate should line the floor of your Brazilian Rainbow Boas enclosure. Orchid bark and coconut bark chips are both good choices of substrate as they help maintain humidity in your Boas enclosure..

1 or 2 hiding spots should be provided in your Brazilian Rainbow Boas enclosure. These hides can be bought or home-made (from margarine tubs, cereal boxes, cork bark, plastic piping etc.) and should be just large enough for your snake to squeeze in to. Cork bark makes an ideal hide that adds a more natural look to your Brazilian Rainbows' enclosure.

A sturdy water bowl should be available in the coolest part of the enclosure, and should be just large enough for your BRB to bathe in.

The vivarium can be decorated with a few plastic plants and climbing branches to make the vivarium more attractive and to give your snake areas to climb and explore. Brazilian Rainbow Boas are good climbers.

HEATING, LIGHTING AND TEMPERATURE

Brazilian Rainbow Boas should be kept at daytime temperatures varying from 30 to 33 degrees centigrade at one end of the enclosure and 24 to 27 degrees centigrade at the other. Overall temperatures can be allowed to drop 4 or 5 degrees at night

A thermal gradient for your snake can be achieved by placing a heat mat under only half of the enclosure, leaving the other half cool. Heat mats must be controlled by a thermostat to maintain the correct temperatures for your snake. Always follow the instructions that come with your heating equipment as these occasionally vary between manufacturers.

If you find that extra heating is necessary for your Brazilian Rainbow Boa, a low wattage bulb fitted to the ceiling of the enclosure can be used to increase the ambient temperature. Bulbs over 25 watts must be covered with a bulb guard to protect your snake from getting burned.

Lighting should be turned off at night. An inexpensive timer can be used to do the job for you. These can be purchased from the majority of hardware stores.

FEEDING

Brazilian Rainbow Boas should be fed roughly every 7-10 days or after defecation. 1 or 2 food items roughly the same diameter as the snake at mid body can be offered to your Boa with forceps or simply left on the floor in the warm end of the vivarium.

At feeding time, food items for the Brazilian Rainbow Boa can include appropriately sized rats, mice, gerbils or chicks. These nocturnal snakes are more likely to take food at dusk.

Mice, rats and chicks can be bought frozen from pet shops that deal in reptiles and can be thawed out for feeding when required.

SEX

To be sure of the sex of your Brazilian Rainbow Boa it will need to be 'popped' at a young age or 'probed' when it is older. If you are unfamiliar with these methods of sexing you should take your pet snake to a vet to be sexed rather than attempting it yourself. It could be worth asking your local vet if you could do it yourself under his/her guidance so that you are familiar with the technique and can do it yourself in the future.

There are only minor visible differences between male and female Brazilian Rainbow Boas. Males tend to have larger spurs at the base of their tail, although this isn't obvious until they are 2 or 3 years old.

HANDLING

Brazilian Rainbow Boas often grow in to tame and manageable pet snakes to handle, providing they are handled regularly and gently from a young age. Juveniles are often nippy at first. Adults are strong and should only be handled by small children under supervision. Handling for regular short intervals will help your Brazilian Rainbow Boa to gain trust. It is best not to handle your pet snake for at least 24 hours after feeding to avoid regurgitation.

GENERAL MAINTENANCE

Your Brazilian Rainbow Boas enclosure should be spot checked for faeces on a daily basis and cleaned out completely with a reptile-safe disinfectant fortnightly as mold grows quickly in a humid environment. All cage furniture should also be disinfected at this time and the substrate should be changed.

A good cheap disinfectant is a solution of household bleach and water at a ratio of 4% bleach and 96% water. This can be sprayed and then wiped off the vivarium and cage furniture. It is very important that everything is then rinsed thoroughly with water and then allowed to dry before returning your snake to its enclosure.

Your snake should be given fresh water at least twice weekly.

BREEDING

1. Make sure you have one healthy male and 1 healthy female Boa before you try breeding them. This may sound silly but you should never rely on what you've been told by a pet shop or the previous owner. Take your Brazilian Rainbow Boas to the vet to avoid disappointment.

2. Make sure both Boas selected for breeding are at least 3 years old. They are sometimes bred younger than this but results will be better if you wait.

3. In the winter you should cease feeding two weeks before reducing the temperatures of their enclosures to 27 to 30 degrees in the warmest part of the enclosure during the day and 20 to 22 degrees centigrade at night for about 2 months. Hours of daylight should also be decreased to about 8 or 9 hours and daytime temperatures should only be available during these hours. After the 1^st month introduce the female Brazilian Rainbow Boa into the males enclosure until copulation is achieved. Your snakes should not be fed during this time.

4. After the 2 months gradually increase cage temperatures to normal levels even if breeding hasn't occurred so that normal feeding can resume. You can keep the male and female together for a month or so after this time if you don't think they have bred and then separate them back into their own enclosures. If neither of your Brazilian Rainbow Boas seems interested in breeding during this time it can help to separate them for a few days then reintroduce them. If the male Boa is interested he will chase the female with quick jerky movements, flicking his tongue rapidly and caressing her back with his chin.

5. While your female Brazilian Rainbow Boa is gravid (pregnant) increase the overall temperature of the vivarium by a couple of degrees centigrade for the duration of the pregnancy. Your usually friendly pet may not be so friendly at this time so avoid handling unless absolutely necessary. She may not eat much during pregnancy In between 4-7 months you will hopefully look in your female Brazilian Rainbow Boas enclosure and see her along with up to 30 baby snakes. These should be removed from the females enclosure and given housing of their own. A shoebox size enclosure with a small water bowl and hide will suffice. After their first shed skin they should be willing to feed on pinkie mice or rat pups.

6. Your female Brazilian Rainbow Boa should be returned to normal temperatures after birth and she may be quite weak. Normal feeding should resume but start with a few smaller food items rather than one large one and work your way up.

This is not a guaranteed method of breeding your snakes (nor is any other) and success has been achieved using a variation of methods but all are basically similar to this.