Boa Constrictor Manual (Advanced Vivarium Systems) Vosjoli, Philippe De; Klingenberg, Roger and Ronne, Jeff

The perfect beginner's guide to keeping a boa constrictor!

• The most popular snake for young herpetoculturists, beginners, and reptile enthusiasts
• How to select your pet, whether captive-bred or imported, and what to look for to ensure your new snake is healthy
• Escape-proof enclosures and how to set them up in a way that's comfortable for your boa
• Feeding details, including size guidelines, choosing live or pre-killed, methods, and frequency
• Heating and lighting considerations including hot spots, sub-tank heating units, hot rocks, and more
• Breeding Columbian boa constrictors, including general care and snake husbandry, cycling, pairing, courtship, ovulation, parturition, and newborns
• Diseases and disorders and how to avoid, recognize, and treat them, from Inclusion Body Disease to respiratory disease and parasites
• Maintenance routines for daily, bi-weekly, bi-monthly, and monthly tasks to keep your boa healthy, happy, and well cared for

This fun and easy to understand guide to keeping boa constrictors is the perfect primer for the first-time snake owner!

Still the most popular large snake in the pet world, the boa constrictor of South America is a hardy, beautiful reptile that is relatively docile and considered safe when handled properly. The Boa Constrictor Manual was written by three herpetocultural experts—including world-renowned herp expert Philippe de Vosjoli—to be a concise and useful guide, well-illustrated with color photographs, that offers all the information a boa keeper needs to maintain a pet snake safely and in the best of health.

This must-have Advanced Vivarium Systems title includes information about selecting and purchasing a healthy boa constrictor, proper housing and maintenance needs, feeding, safe handling, and much more. Dr. Roger Klingenberg, DVM, a herp veterinary specialist, has written a special health chapter on diseases and disorders, with particular emphasis on the dreaded "boa AIDS" (Inclusion Body Disease or IBD, an epidemic viral disease in captive boas) as well as parasitism, respiratory disease, and other health conditions. The chapter concludes with a six-page chart on troubleshooting health concerns, which all boa constrictor keepers will find useful for general upkeep and recognizing and dealing with serious issues.

Beyond the husbandry and health of boa constrictors, this book offers an excellent chapter by Jeff Ronne on breeding Colombia boa constrictors, beginning with the size and health of breeding and animals and the female's cycling and ovulation to the birth and care of newborns. In addition, all subspecies and many of the currently bred pattern and color morphs can be found in this book, and a complete index is included for ease of use.

This 104-page snake-keeping handbook offers anyone looking to adopt a boa the right guidance for purchasing a healthy specimen and for creating a safe, comfortable home where your new pet can thrive—plus how to make sure they don't escape! The chapter "Snake Food" is a lesson in how and what to feed snakes, so you'll be sure to meet all the special needs of your new pet. Each chapter is illustrated with color photos of beautiful snakes, from the Argentine black-tailed boa to the wild Peruvian red-tailed boa to the beautiful "Blood" phase common boa, and the informative, well-organized text is explained in clear everyday language.

Explore the go-to reference for keeping boas, The Boa Constrictor Manual, from the experts at Advanced Vivarium Systems!

Philippe de Vosjoli is an expert on reptile husbandry who revolutionized herpetoculture with the Advanced Vivarium Systems series of books. He has written more than twenty books and one hundred articles on the care and breeding of reptiles and amphibians.

Roger Klingenberg, DVM, was inspired to pursue a veterinary degree due to his love of reptiles. His veterinary specialization in reptiles along with many years of experience keeping numerous types of reptiles has led to his being recognized at the forefront of the field of reptile veterinary medicine and surgery.