Exotic Pets - Salmon Boa

Exotic Pets - Salmon Boa - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. This is a common boa contrictor. This, in the trade, is known as a hypomelanistic, or a salmon boa. This type of boa is genetically altered, and it is missing most of its black pigment. It is all the reds and the browns come out, quite a bit more. Boa constrictors are actually a staple of the pet trade. These are found in the wild, from Mexico, all the way through Central and South America. Also on some of the islands in the Caribbean, and also in the Pacific, off the coast of Honduras, and places like that. These snakes get between 6 and 10 feet long. The average length is usually between 6 and 8 feet. And they are carnivores and constrictors. And they feed on mammal prey in the wild. And usually, that is what we feed them in captivity. They will eat, this one is eating medium rats which are pre-killed. We do not offer our snakes live food. And they eat them just fine, pre-killed. This is the female, so she is going to grow to probably an average length of about 7 or 8 feet long by the time she is done. Very very powerful animals. And they are all muscle and rib cage and backbone. And they are very strong, very good constrictors. When they get larger, these snakes are best not handled alone, especially if you are a smaller person. They should not be left unattended with children. There are very few recorded deaths from this snake, but we always try to be on the safe side. Another rule of thumb is never drape a snake like this around your neck. Accidents do sometimes happen, and it is always better to error on the side of caution. They need a fairly good sized cage. Say 5 feet long by 2 feet wide by 2 feet high, with a very secure top. They need bedding. A heat pad that will get them to a temperature of about 85 to 90 degrees, and a large water bowl. And then you just feed them, and they grow, and they do very very well. They are very very tame animals, easy to care for, and they make great pets.