Best Care for Rubber Boa

Looking for some advice on care for Rubber Boa. We rescued one recently and would love to have some advice. I am told they have a doormat period, just want to know how to best care for my new edition.

Thanks :slight_smile:

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I don’t have a rubber boa myself ( would like to) lol but I have read that they (just males maybe) can go off feed during the winter months, which can be frustrating for their owners.

Also, I don’t think they require as much heat as other boas or even other snakes. However I think they would be really neat snakes to have around. I have seen them in pictures literally wrapped around an arm like a bracelet!

Hopefully someone else will come along and provide more information about them than I have! Lol! :lizard::frog::snake::wink::blush:. Pictures please when you can! Would love to see him!

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I have been keeping Charina for about six years now

First, when you say “rescue”, what exactly do you mean? I ask because in many of the states they are native to they are protected so having one in captivity could get you in trouble.

For care, they are really pretty easy most of the year. They thrive at room temps and do not need any extra heat. I prefer naturalistic caging for them but I know many that keep them in tubs or simple setups without issue. They are crepuscular and fossorial so you will need to provide lots of hiding places for them and it is best to give them a god loose substrate to dig into.

They are nest-raiders so feeding should be multiple small feeders like pinkies or fuzzies. I tend to pile a half dozen or so in to a deli cup and hide the cup in the cage and let them discover them on their own. I do this maybe every two to three weeks but I will adjust based on the body composition of the animals

The “most of the year” caveat I put on their care is when it comes to winter. These animals absolutely require a dormant period for long-term survival. Typically, around August to November, they will stop feeding on their own. If your animal does not stop feeding on its own then I would absolutely stop feeding now. The animals should be placed somewhere dark that gets to at least 5C/40F and does not get above 10C/50F. I am lucky enough to have an uninsulated below-grade closet in my basement that suits this purpose, most people I know with them use wine fridges for this purpose. They need to stay down at least three months but seem to do better with four or even five months. I put mine down last week and they will not come back out until mid-May at the earliest

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Wow! I am going to file this away for future reference because 1 of these days…….

This is some great advice!

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