Hello with the humidity that’s required for rainbow boas.
I was wondering when it comes time to rehouse my Columbian rainbow boa from its current home which is a plastic box.
Could I move it to a wooden vivarium or would it be best to still keep it in a plastic box but in bigger size.
I feel like wood isn’t great for more tropical species. I’m not sure there’s any way to treat the wood in a reptile-safe way to prevent it from molding and rotting due to constant exposure to moisture…though hopefully someone will correct me if I’m wrong.
I’d recommend plastic, or if you wanted something that looks nicer for display purposes, a nice PVC enclosure. Glass can also work, though it can be hard to keep the humidity high unless you cover part of the screen top with foil.
When I kept CRB I kept them mainly in glass enclosures that were modified to hold the humidity in better. I did keep a rather large male I had in a melamine enclosure without any issues. If I get around to keeping them again today I’ll probably stick with plastic enclosures for the simplicity.
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I would agree that plastic would be the best way to ensure ideal humidify, but I was feeling crafty and so I built an enclosure for my BI out of 3/4” plywood (with hardwood and transparent plastic for the doors) and in order to address the humidity issue I treated the interior sides of the plywood with two coats of water based polyurethane prior to the enclosure being assembled. I gave ample time for the polyurethane to cure… and then even more time just to be safe. I don’t remember the brand off the time of my head, but rest assured I made absolutely sure that there would be no chemical issues for my snake once the enclosure was assembled. I have permanent (but removable) non-transparent plastic that lays on top of the heat tape, and there are rows of holes drilled into the bottom of the floor underneath the heat tape to allow for the air to circulate below. CHE and UVB installed in the enclosure’s ceiling.
I expect the enclosure to last a long time and I don’t anticipate the humidity to be an issue.
I have four ~1.5” vents at each corner to allow airflow, and through a little bit of trial and error I figured out the perfect mix of cocoa bark or cypress mulch mixed with aspen fiber to maintain the right humidity range. I do have to manually mist the substrate every couple of days, but I would be checking on him anyway.
It’s all about the amount of work (up front and consistently) that you’re willing to do in order to accomplish your goal and fit your lifestyle!
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