Rosy boas (Charina trivirgata) are small snakes native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They like areas with hot, dry weather and lots of rock crevices and opportunities for burrowing. They make great pets due to their manageable size, docile temperament, ready feeding response, and relatively high handling tolerance.
In this video, I had the opportunity to collaborate with The Bio Dude on creating a bioactive rosy boa enclosure with a Exo Terra 24″x18″x18″ terrarium. Creating an enclosure with everything I could possibly want at my fingertips was so much fun — and let me tell you, The Bio Dude’s store in Houston is *very* well stocked.
Here’s what we used to create this enclosure:
- The Bio Dude Terra Sahara substrate, 36 qt
- The Bio Dude Bio Shot, 36 qt
- The Bio Dude AAA New Zealand Spag Moss
- The Bio Dude Large Oak Leaf Little Mix
- powder orange isopods
- temperate springtails
- large cork flat
- 6″ Tiger Tooth aloe, x1
- 3.5″ elephant feed plant, x1
- 3″ misc. aloe, x1
- 18″ ghostwood branch
- dragon stone, x5
- Fluker’s Natural Rock Water Dish, medium
All of the above is available for purchase at The Bio Dude’s store.
Aside from what was shown in the video, you will also need heat, UVB, and plant lights. Here’s what I recommend using for a bioactive rosy boa enclosure of this size:
- Fluker’s Clamp Lamp with Dimmable Switch, 5.5″
- 90w PAR38 Halogen Flood Bulb
- Arcadia ShadeDweller UVB kit, 12″
- White Python Daylight White LED kit, 22″
Although rosy boas are a desert species, they do benefit from occasional misting. This raises humidity a bit for shedding and provides some water droplets for drinking. It also re-hydrates the soil to keep the plants and clean-up crew alive. I recommend using the Exo Terra 2 quart Pressure Sprayer Mister.
(The above product recommendations contain some affiliate links.)
During my last visit to Bio Dude HQ, I heard that the rosy boa in question is still doing great! It’s a common misconception that rosy boas are “intolerant” of any form of moisture in their environment. This myth came about as a result of rack keeping practices, which are notoriously poorly-ventilated. In a naturalistic setup, it is safe and beneficial to provide humid microclimates for rosy boas to use as needed. For more information, I recommend reading through ReptiFiles’ quick Rosy Boa Care Sheet.
Hey, how is this going today? I’ve been researching bioactive for my Rosy boa and I’m so unsure about it because of the humidity requirements…
Western hognose snakes and rosy boas really aren’t all that similar. They come from different habitats and although there’s some overlap, they still have different tolerances for temperatures and humidity.
Hi mariah, is the rosy boa care to that a western hognose snake like temperature and humidity?