Who Wants A Tree Boa?

[pridecity]

So, I'm going to be flipping an Amazon Tree Boa. Of course, I'll keep her for about a month to make sure she's all healthy and eat-y and generally mean like I hear they are.

I'll be posting updates here and having an auction about a week before she can be sold. I thought I'd get a taste of them to see if they might be something I wouldn't mind having around once in a while.

So, who is interested in tree boas, and for those who own them.... any advice?

 

[snakewispera snr]

Why not just keep it.... they are easy/interesting snakes that make great additions too..

 

[ZoologyGirl]

Who knows, I might contemplate it. I do love arboreals. I doubt I'll have money though.

 

[pridecity]

Well, I just picked her up. She's so tiny! I thought she was about six inches bigger. She's having a terrible shed, so unless I read otherwise, I'll throw her in a humid box. I took some really crappy webcam pictures while in a moving car. Almost got tagged. I'm sure by the end of this week I'll be pulling teeth from my hands.

So, here are some really crappy pictures of my new snake.

Oh, and Snakewhisperansr, pretty!!!!!!!

 

[Reptilekyle64]

They make better display snakes, rather alot of work when you have to do "Hands" on work with them but they can be pretty, urs is nice.

 

[kathylove]

Here is a pictorial on how I treat stuck sheds (scroll down to photos): http://amazon-alliance.com/forums/index.php?topic=15.15

I would suggest you keep the ATB for at least 6 months. It will take that long to really get to know the snake, and get a feel for this type of tree boa. If you only keep it a month, you might notice the down sides (might not be friendly), but not have time to fall in love with this amazing species.

 

[pridecity]

Almost tagged twice in an hour. I have to get my 29 gallon ready for her, but thought I'd leave her in the 28qt until the shedding thing is under control. I threw some moss in there that she'll hopefully use while I get lunch.

I'll get better pictures, but can anyone tell me the name of her morph? She's light orange.

And thanks Kathy. Do you keep them as well?

 

[kathylove]

Yes, they are one of my favorites. I seldom have more than a dozen or so, but I have been keeping and breeding them off and on since the late '80s. We (ATB breeders) have the 2nd ever registry - the first is for corns. Take a look here:
http://www.atbregistry.com/ This is a great time to get involved with them because they are still relatively unexplored genetically. There are hardly any morphs discovered yet, although I am sure there are lots of traits hidden in the genes of our domestically produced ATBs - just waiting to be found!

Several other people on CS also keep (and love) them. So give it long enough for you to love them, too!

 

[pridecity]

My major problem is the teeth. I still can't get over corn bites.

The only reason I got this ATB is because I'd been looking at ads for it for a month, watching the price drop. The original price was $175. I got her for $100 and that included a 25 pound of shredded aspen and all her vines/branches.

From the 10 minutes of scan-reading, I think I know why she's having shedding problems. She was on aspen bedding. From what I read, she should be on some moisture-holding substrate like moss or mulch. She should be fine in about a month. And, she's light colored, so I won't have to pin her down to find out if she has mites or not.

 

[kathylove]

I use only cypress mulch for my ATBs. It can take quite a bit of moisture without molding.

Just use a hook with your snake until you get used to it. They are not really made for handling, but for display. Use corns and ball pythons for handling. However, my c.b. Amazons are actually reasonably tame (unlike my older, w.c. adults - the "face eaters"). I often take them out just to show visitors that they CAN be handled. During the first year, I handle them fairly often to get them used to it. But I rarely handle adults unless a visitor wants to see them, or I need to move for cleaning, etc. That seems to be enough to keep them fairly tame. But still not as tame as most (but not all) of my corns. That is just part of their charm, haha!

 

[pridecity]

I pulled these off of the Craigslist ads. I'll have to double check on how true the colors are though. She's tiny, still eating fuzzies apparently. She'd easily fit in my hand. How would I use a hook for a tiny ATB?

I'll do my best to get better pictures in the next few days. I don't know anything about morphs, but I'm taking a stab and calling her a yellow/orange patternless. What do you think?

 

[kathylove]

We usually just call them "colored" or "garden phase" as far as color morphs. But you can be as descriptive as you want within the "colored" phase. The pattern tends to change a lot as they grow. Most with little or no pattern acquire quite a bit more black pattern as they age. So there is no good way to predict the adult pattern now, especially if you haven't seen the parents.

When they are so small, it is probably easier to use gloves than a hook if you are nervous. The little ones don't bite very hard. So I usually let them just bite me so that they can see it doesn't get any reaction, such as leaving them alone as they would prefer. Eventually, they give up. But it would probably work about the same way with light weight gloves.

Your snake is very pretty! I would not let it go to anyone else - it would be a great first arboreal pet for you, assuming it is eating well. Once they eat a few times, most babies continue to eat really well, so that PROBABLY won't be a problem.

 

[pridecity]

I was told she ate yesterday, so feeding shouldn't be a problem then? I assume I should treat her like a corn and leave her be for a week as far as feeding goes. I'm assuming she's just a regular ol' ATB and not a Cook's. When I first saw her color, I found pictures of a "banana" phase Cook's, but I also read that they are rare to find in the trade compared to the other species. Again, I just scan read and only numbers really stuck in my brain.

 

[kathylove]

Yes, Cook's are virtually non - existent these days.

If she just ate, I would leave her alone for a few days, and just give her a humid hide. If she isn't shedding properly in a few days, then do the treatment I gave you in the link. You can check out the rest of the "keeping and breeding" section of that forum for more posts on common problems and treatments, too.

 

[snakewispera snr]

Kathy has given out some excellent info, but to reiterate her better points IMO.
They are a great arboreal to own.
The colour change as they grow is unpredictable and awesome.
They still have the gene pool un played with..
These snakes are still waiting to have their day at the top IMO.

 

[pridecity]

Do you think there can be any relatively accurate guesses on what an ATB will look like as an adult? Better yet, are there patternless adults?

 

[snakewispera snr]

I've seen patternless, not sure how common they are though..

 

[tricksterpup]

Do you think there can be any relatively accurate guesses on what an ATB will look like as an adult? Better yet, are there patternless adults?

There can be but you gotta hunt them down.

Again they are an amazing species you just gotta be patient and slowly work with the animal. This is a small snake but you can be surprise what the get down that tiny throat.
Another think do not try to sex this animal until its way bigger. They are touchy and you can kink their tails. They are fragile small.

red phase: Lucifer
The older he gets he is getting lighter colored bars across his body.

Halloween phase: Demon

I personally do not keep my 2 in Aquariums. I keep them in sealed tubs which helps with the humidity. I went out and bought some of the really tall clip tubs. It has worked perfect for them. Do no spray on them directly. Just around them to get the humidify in the cage.

I use the plastic fencing that you can pick up at any hardware store. Its easy to cut with a pair of scissors and makes a great platform for them to lay on.
Once he is out of Quarantine, you could do some thing nicer.

I know Kim aka Zoology Major has hers in a nice exoterra cage with a home made fogger pumping a mist in its cage. Its really nice, she rigged a humidifier with a hose and keeping it at the base of her cage.

But trust me, dont try to hold this critter, just sit back and enjoy watching it. You will be fascinated by this animal. I found them to be much more intelligent than corns by far.

 

[tricksterpup]

Oh and in my eyes this is the next level snake for experienced keepers. This takes you from the easy snakes, RTB, Kings, Milks, ball pythons and Corns to a more difficult kept snake but more rewarding

 

[Hypancistrus]

Jim, WOWOWOW! Your halloween phase is STUNNING.

We got our first ATB ever from Meg early this year. She is a very pretty snake and is very tame, as Meg promised. I really enjoy her, but don't feel a compulsion to handle all of my snakes and so she usually does not get handled other than moving her to clean or photograph or what have you.