How to Raise a California Coastal Rosy Boa

How to Raise a California Coastal Rosy Boa

A California Coastal Rosy Boa makes a wonderful pet. They are easy to care for and very gentle around children. They are also considered harmless to humans. Rosy Boas are about 10 inches long when born and can grow to a length of 44 inches but their girth is about the thickness of your thumb. It is a heavy-bodied snake with smooth shiny scales and a blunt, but tapered tail. The head is only a little wider than the neck. Pupils are vertical and they kill their food by squeezing it. If you are interested in having a snake, a Rosy Boa is a great first snake!

Things You Will Need...

A heat Lamp

A 10 gallon or larger aquarium with tight fitting screen lid

A bag of reptile bark or reptile calcium sand

Rocks and other things in the tank

Water dish

Rosy boas are often caught wild or can be ordered from the pet store. We found our snake in the neighbor’s garage. Before you place the snake in the glass aquarium, wash the container thoroughly with hot soap and water. Dry it completely and make sure no soap residue is on the glass. Snakes sense smells through their skin so make sure you use a non-fragrance soap.

Fill the glass aquarium about 2 or 3 inches deep with reptile bark. We used sand for three years but our snake seems to be much happier now that we changed to reptile bark (it is cheaper too). Purchase the sand or the bark at a quality pet supply store. A Costal Rosy Boa likes a long aquarium not a deep one. They are ground snakes and not really climbers, but they do like to explore so a typical 10 or 20 gallon aquarium works great.

Once you have the bark in the aquarium, add some rocks and snake friendly items for the snake to climb on. Our snake likes to crawl in and out of the colorful plastic tubes hamsters use and for decoration; she likes the stuff that goes in a typical fish aquarium. As long as she has places to hide while she is sleeping, she is happy.

Place a small container of water (we use a 5 oz Dixie cup) in the aquarium and surround it with bark or sand to keep the snake from knocking it over. When it is hot, our snake likes to wrap herself around the water cup to keep cool.

Plug in your heat lamp, available at pet stores and home improvement centers, and let the lamp warm the interior of the aquarium. Our lamp sits on top of the screen that is the top of the aquarium and it keeps her plenty warm. You may want to consider a heat rock or electric heat pad if your location of the aquarium is a bit chilly. As we found out snake in the wild, we try to keep the temperature in her aquarium the same as the temperature outside, which is about 65-80 degrees.

You are now ready to put your snake in the new home. Close the lid screen lid tightly and let the snake explore its new home. If you don’t know when the snake ate last, consider buying a feeder mouse from the pet store to feed your snake. The mouse must be warm and alive or the snake may ignore it. Our snake eats one feeder mouse once a week or two and she is healthy and growing.  If you don’t know what size mouse to feed your snake, take the snake to the pet store in a sealed container and show the snake to the clerk; they are usually very helpful and will even show you how to get a stubborn or shy snake to eat. In the wild, this snake eats rodents, small birds, lizards, small snakes, and amphibians but a small mouse from the pet store once a week works great.

Clean the tank at least once a week to remove any snake feces. You can just scoop it out with a spoon; no need to dump the whole aquarium. Replace the bark every six months or so.