Thank you for watching! What else would you like to know? We encourage folks to leave your thoughts and requests in the comments here, and don't forget: LIKE! SUBSCRIBE! GET NOTIFIED! 🔔 CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE ruclips.net/user/IntrepidExotics
Can you do some videos on your monitors. I’m huge fan of niles and wish I still had my Nile monitors I truly miss them back in 2006 NY changed there laws and had to give my monitors and rock pythons to friends out of state
@pumpkin&chow I definitely plan to get more out on the nile and the b&w tegu when she wakes up in a couple months. When summer gets here and I can start taking them all outdoors again I'll have a lot of that content as well. For now since his behavior is still a bit erratic I just get bits and pieces of video of him slipped into other videos, lol.
Great Video Topic !! Like that more people are making videos on proper size for giant snakes and what they feel comfortable in not what people think is right ! Good video love your content keep pushing forward !! Don’t stop lol 😆
I love your new Boa imperator enclosure! It must be one the most inspiring things I have seen for a long time - it is eco-friendly, good-looking and perfect for a snake. Linoleum on the bottom is a good idea, but how about the interior walls? Have you protected them with some special lacquer/varnish or do they stand the moisture as they are?
Thank you! That was a really easy build and so much better for the boa. Since the entire inside is finished would I didn't really have to do anything to it
Gotta say charlie's paper substrate Isn't nearly as elegant as his new habitat! Maybe make an exception and go for a lip and some Forest Floor, or possibly heat-absorbing slate tiles in there, especially since he's potty trained to his water bowl? 😁😉😀
This nile is just fanatical about food, that's our biggest challenge with him. I make a concerted effort of not overfeeding just to keep him calm because it's just not healthy but the trade off is that he ALWAYS wants to eat, lol...sometimes he still thinks I'm on the menu!
I have an 8ft male boa constrictor that is in dire need of an upgrade! This is a great build idea!! Great work!! Do you provide your snakes with UV lighting? I know there is much debate on this topic but I thought I’d at least get your thoughts on it. I have an indoor grow area for my vegetable garden and I have noticed that my boa gravitates towards that light when it’s on.
Thanks! It was a fun build...and I'm actually outdoors with the boa that lives in there now :-) UV is one of those things that can't hurt but it also isn't necessary for enclosures for snakes. That being said, I make a point of getting mine outdoors in actual sunlight and fresh air regularly as weather permits because it's just great for them all the way around. I suppose someone could make an argument for UV in enclosures but the proof is in the results and snakes will thrive their entire lives without UV in their enclosures.
Hi! I’m currently building my own right now,, but I’m unsure if the wood will rot, did you coat your wood with something or just have a humid hide? Thank you! Awesome video
Another point to consider is the species; my dumeril's boa pretty much just burrows under his leaves and substrate and doesn't move much at all. My corn and milk snake are always on the move- despite being smaller snakes, they use way more space than my boa. The boa is an ambush hunter and a corn goes looking for her meal; size determines minimal space requirements but natural species behaviour is a better indicator of what size enclosure they should have.
A lot of truth to that, definitely a goal of mine to upgrade my retics to semi-arboreal enclosures, my young female specifically is always all over the place and I need to take her out often...such a high energy level
@@IntrepidExotics and then there’s just the individual’s personality! My ball python likes to climb and explore at night while other bp’s really do just like to hang out in their hides. It’s nice to hear someone discuss the various ways to approach enclosure size- not so rigid and absolute! Thanks! Well done video! 🤓
@Stacey Weatherby thank you, I really appreciate the feedback. I work to stay as humble and openminded as I can on topics while emphasizing key-common facts, just really important to me that any interaction I start are all positive and constructive without any of the angst we see so much on social media.
Niles was sizing up the monitor on your t-shirt!🤓 I do have a question, what is your personal recommendation for the "best" first snake? We've had geckos and a bearded dragon, and have been researching snakes for years (literally). I'm asking as many hobbyists before making any decisions. Thank you kindly! You're DIY enclosure is genius. There are so many such furniture pieces available at antique malls, yard sales, Goodwill, etc.
Yes Niles is a trip, he has a monopoly on personality these days, lol. And best first snake is a tough question really. There are snakes so simple and harmless that they don't require any real handling so ya really don't learn any handling skills. If handling is the goal I think young burmese, dwarf retics and boas can all be good first snakes because you can learn and practice actual handling techniques. Even though butms get so big their disposition offsets the size really often. I may actually put out a video on this topic because I have a different take on first snakes that I haven't heard anyone go in to yet.
@@IntrepidExotics Yes, handling is absolutely the goal. I would love to hear more, as it sounds like your thoughts do differ, but are undeniably valuable. Thank you Sir! 🐍🤓💚
Curious to how you feed in the China hutch?? If you feed I’m enclosure, if so does It matter where in enclosure he is at feeding time? Have large China cabinet enclosure for my 5.5 ft Boa so just curious how you do feeding. Thanks for any advice or replies.
Hello! I never move any of my animals to feed, particularly snakes because I don't like interrupting their food response to handle or handling them right after a meal. Always discourage moving to feed.
I know there's people that use heat pads but I prefer radiant heat panels for all my big snakes, that way if there's a failure of something they aren't laying directly on it, ya will see some snakes literally cook themselves
I tend to reduce the ventilation on them, typically the space between the sliding doors provide enough air, especially with frequently opening the enclosure to clean and interact. I use paper bedding for em and one thing I will do to keep humidity up is to just open an entire saturated newspaper and put it under the radiant heat panel, that help
@@IntrepidExotics when you have an enclosure such as this one, do you worry about humidity in just in the area under the heat lamp or the entire enclosure?
@@summerjustice61210 humidity disperses unless you're talking about humid hides, ect. Plus I hive them a water receptacle large enough for the to get into :-)
Hey, I have my 1 male retic, and I need to build a bigger enclosure of which I want to have naturalistic elements and decent size what size would you recommend as I plan to keep him in it for at least 2-3 years..
I adopted min about a year ago and he was in pretty rough shape, that was the age they said he was but that's kinda like the telephone game...goes through a few owners and the chance that it's right goes way down.
@Treasure State Tarantulas he is one of the biggest babies I have, I honestly think he knows he would be dead now had I not taken him in and nursed him back to health because he's the closest I've seen to an "affectionate" snake :-)
I’ve recently got my black and white tegu that I’ve wanted for ever I’m feeding him every two days he loves chicken and strawberries sometimes I’ll give him a rat pup FT of cores I’m trying to gain his trust any tricks you might know you could share thank you and love your videos.
Awesome, tegus are great to keep! My female is brumating now so it's a shame I can't interact with her for a couple more months, but I do need to put out a video of her soon!
I have a question on how you prevent your snakes from getting a mite infestation from being in the yard and in the trees? I had a red tail boa that got mites way too many times from crawling in grass in many different locations. I now have a Burmese Python that I would lo e to let outside, but don't feel like dealing with an infestation.
I've never gotten mites from taking them outdoors, actually the only time I've had to deal with them was several years ago when I brought a new snake home that had them but he was quarantined and treated, never saw them again or on any of my other snakes. A couple reasons I don't deal with mites is that I rarely add more animals, rarely hit reptile expos and rarely in pet stores, pretty much any of the activities that are high risk for picking up mites. I've heard they can be contracted from outdoors but I would bet they come from a different source.
@@IntrepidExotics I've never done any of that either. Maybe it's my location. Where I live in KY, ticks, chiggers, fleas, mosquitoes are extremely bad. So I'm sure mites are too.
Nice video! I have a question about feeding my new burmese python. He's over a year old and about 1'10'' (he's a half dwarf and not fed very often, so smaller). Every time I offered an adult mouse (f/t), he would take it and wrap it up, for 30-60 min, then he dropped it. Occasionally, he engulfed the mouse, but most of the time, he dropped it and never looked at it again. What should I do? (there's nothing wrong with the rodent. I have been feeding my boa and retic the rodents from the same source and they're both fine.)
Thanks! Anytime we talk about feeding issues there's always the same questions to be asked; checking the habitat, parameters, ect. How often are ya offering food? Is it a relatively large or small meal for him? I have one ball python that will snub her nose at anything she doesn't deem large enough. Of course too large of a meal can get ignored too. Sometimes just leaving the prey item in there works, sometimes they ignore it entirely. Just so many variables to feeding that sometimes all we can do is spread out feeding schedules and monitor their weight. Every species of snake I have has had weird feeding situations before and they all have naturally come around. I would say just stick with offering once a week but be ready for a refusal and if he hasn't taken it down in an hour or so just give that prey item to another snake so as to not waste feeders and try again the following week just keeping an eye on weight and watching for any signs of illness that could impact his appetite.
@@IntrepidExotics I feed once a week. The mouse is smaller than the girth of the snake, so should be on the smaller side. Temp should be ok (27c ambient and 32c hot spot). You mentioned having to force feed your female burmese, was it a similar issue?
@@Sam-kb1lt It sounds like I would probably just keep trying weekly and see how it goes, could be any number of things and I probably wouldn't really worry on a younger snake until you start getting over 4 wks without eating...that's a bit much for a young snake as they typically eat more than older ones. When I was feeding my hatchling she was simply refusing to eat in any way, I got her before her first meal and first shed...took her 2 months before she would even open her own mouth, she never willingly opened for food or to strike, ever. Eventually she figured it out and has been a chowhound ever since.
@@IntrepidExotics Thank you for your advice. A follow up question: when you touch the side of your burm, are you supposed to feel its ribs? Cuz this is my first burm, I am not quite sure how it should look or feel normally, and when I handled my retic and boa, I felt their solid body mass, no bones. But when I handled my burm, pretty much all I felt was bones (like I can feel its individual rib bones). Is this normal? Or was he severely underfed?
Burms are pretty heavy bodied when at a healthy weight and ya don't really notice ribs unless you're really feeling for them typically. May want to send a pic to the intrepid facebook page in a dm and I can tell ya what I think, of course it's tough to say sight unseen.
🫖☕️🏺🍽🐍🥂🍴🍧 Along with "special occasion" china, pricy hardwood china cabinets have fallen precipitously out of fashion. The world is full of gorgeous hardwood cabinets eating up space in garages and storage units that are free or nearly so if you and a helper will just cart them away! 😁
Thank you for watching! What else would you like to know? We encourage folks to leave your thoughts and requests in the comments here, and don't forget: LIKE! SUBSCRIBE! GET NOTIFIED! 🔔 CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE ruclips.net/user/IntrepidExotics
Can you do some videos on your monitors. I’m huge fan of niles and wish I still had my Nile monitors I truly miss them back in 2006 NY changed there laws and had to give my monitors and rock pythons to friends out of state
@pumpkin&chow I definitely plan to get more out on the nile and the b&w tegu when she wakes up in a couple months. When summer gets here and I can start taking them all outdoors again I'll have a lot of that content as well. For now since his behavior is still a bit erratic I just get bits and pieces of video of him slipped into other videos, lol.
Great Video Topic !! Like that more people are making videos on proper size for giant snakes and what they feel comfortable in not what people think is right ! Good video love your content keep pushing forward !! Don’t stop lol 😆
🙋♂️I see you watch him as well 🙌 I also enjoy watching his videos this guy definitely has tons of knowledge and seems down to earth 🤘🏻
@@pumpkinchow yeah he’s my style seems like we have similar taste!
Wow. Your enclosure was drastically cheaper than the 5x3x6 I just bought for my snake 😮
Really cool build for your boa! Great details on how to make it secure!
0:32 what an intro. Pretty badass, i subbed
Awesome, welcome aboard!
My favorite snake channel
I'm building the same thing right now. Four door china cabinet. For a bci also. How cool!
Ya will have to drop some pics on the FB page!
I love your new Boa imperator enclosure! It must be one the most inspiring things I have seen for a long time - it is eco-friendly, good-looking and perfect for a snake. Linoleum on the bottom is a good idea, but how about the interior walls? Have you protected them with some special lacquer/varnish or do they stand the moisture as they are?
Thank you! That was a really easy build and so much better for the boa. Since the entire inside is finished would I didn't really have to do anything to it
Love your intro! I can feel the passion and care
Thank you!
Gotta say charlie's paper substrate Isn't nearly as elegant as his new habitat! Maybe make an exception and go for a lip and some Forest Floor, or possibly heat-absorbing slate tiles in there, especially since he's potty trained to his water bowl? 😁😉😀
One of my male monitor does that as well rite before he tries to eat what ever he’s smelling but great video definitely enjoyed watching 👏🏻
This nile is just fanatical about food, that's our biggest challenge with him. I make a concerted effort of not overfeeding just to keep him calm because it's just not healthy but the trade off is that he ALWAYS wants to eat, lol...sometimes he still thinks I'm on the menu!
Both my Boas poop in there water dish! I think that’s so easy to clean. 👍🏼 i’m building both my boa enclosures now, in something similar!👍🏼🔥🔥
It's super easy to clean, except they never want to leave the poop soup! Lol
This was cool to watch, its giving me some ideas, thanks!
Love your T-shirt 😂😂
I have an 8ft male boa constrictor that is in dire need of an upgrade! This is a great build idea!! Great work!! Do you provide your snakes with UV lighting? I know there is much debate on this topic but I thought I’d at least get your thoughts on it. I have an indoor grow area for my vegetable garden and I have noticed that my boa gravitates towards that light when it’s on.
Thanks! It was a fun build...and I'm actually outdoors with the boa that lives in there now :-) UV is one of those things that can't hurt but it also isn't necessary for enclosures for snakes. That being said, I make a point of getting mine outdoors in actual sunlight and fresh air regularly as weather permits because it's just great for them all the way around. I suppose someone could make an argument for UV in enclosures but the proof is in the results and snakes will thrive their entire lives without UV in their enclosures.
Love that enclosure!
Thank for the info. looks awesome
Ventilation? Do you do cross vents, high-low, what?
Cool video. Thanks for sharing
Hi!
I’m currently building my own right now,, but I’m unsure if the wood will rot, did you coat your wood with something or just have a humid hide? Thank you! Awesome video
I lined the bottom of it with sheet linoleum flooring, works great.
Another point to consider is the species; my dumeril's boa pretty much just burrows under his leaves and substrate and doesn't move much at all. My corn and milk snake are always on the move- despite being smaller snakes, they use way more space than my boa. The boa is an ambush hunter and a corn goes looking for her meal; size determines minimal space requirements but natural species behaviour is a better indicator of what size enclosure they should have.
A lot of truth to that, definitely a goal of mine to upgrade my retics to semi-arboreal enclosures, my young female specifically is always all over the place and I need to take her out often...such a high energy level
@@IntrepidExotics and then there’s just the individual’s personality! My ball python likes to climb and explore at night while other bp’s really do just like to hang out in their hides. It’s nice to hear someone discuss the various ways to approach enclosure size- not so rigid and absolute! Thanks! Well done video! 🤓
@Stacey Weatherby thank you, I really appreciate the feedback. I work to stay as humble and openminded as I can on topics while emphasizing key-common facts, just really important to me that any interaction I start are all positive and constructive without any of the angst we see so much on social media.
Niles was sizing up the monitor on your t-shirt!🤓
I do have a question, what is your personal recommendation for the "best" first snake? We've had geckos and a bearded dragon, and have been researching snakes for years (literally). I'm asking as many hobbyists before making any decisions. Thank you kindly!
You're DIY enclosure is genius. There are so many such furniture pieces available at antique malls, yard sales, Goodwill, etc.
Yes Niles is a trip, he has a monopoly on personality these days, lol. And best first snake is a tough question really. There are snakes so simple and harmless that they don't require any real handling so ya really don't learn any handling skills. If handling is the goal I think young burmese, dwarf retics and boas can all be good first snakes because you can learn and practice actual handling techniques. Even though butms get so big their disposition offsets the size really often. I may actually put out a video on this topic because I have a different take on first snakes that I haven't heard anyone go in to yet.
@@IntrepidExotics Yes, handling is absolutely the goal. I would love to hear more, as it sounds like your thoughts do differ, but are undeniably valuable. Thank you Sir! 🐍🤓💚
well done ,,,,,, i do appreciate you '
Curious to how you feed in the China hutch?? If you feed
I’m enclosure, if so does
It matter where in enclosure he is at feeding time? Have large
China cabinet enclosure for my 5.5 ft Boa so just curious how you do feeding. Thanks for any advice or replies.
Hello! I never move any of my animals to feed, particularly snakes because I don't like interrupting their food response to handle or handling them right after a meal. Always discourage moving to feed.
Awesome. What about a heat pad cause I have some idea
I know there's people that use heat pads but I prefer radiant heat panels for all my big snakes, that way if there's a failure of something they aren't laying directly on it, ya will see some snakes literally cook themselves
@@IntrepidExotics thank you I appreciate it
Just curious if there’s ventilation and how you keep the humidity up? My husband and I are looking at making a larger house for my bci.
I tend to reduce the ventilation on them, typically the space between the sliding doors provide enough air, especially with frequently opening the enclosure to clean and interact. I use paper bedding for em and one thing I will do to keep humidity up is to just open an entire saturated newspaper and put it under the radiant heat panel, that help
@@IntrepidExotics when you have an enclosure such as this one, do you worry about humidity in just in the area under the heat lamp or the entire enclosure?
@@summerjustice61210 humidity disperses unless you're talking about humid hides, ect. Plus I hive them a water receptacle large enough for the to get into :-)
Where do you get the heating source from sir? I’ve been looking and I can’t seem to find that one you have
Did * sorry
Here's the link where I order mine from, they can suggest which size for your enclosure. www.reptilebasics.com/rbi-radiant-heat-panels
What wattage of radiant thermal pad do you have that is warm enough through the wood?
The bask is below the rhp, atop the shelf is just a secondary warm spot
Oh okay it is below! Makes sense thank you so much!!
Hey, I have my 1 male retic, and I need to build a bigger enclosure of which I want to have naturalistic elements and decent size what size would you recommend as I plan to keep him in it for at least 2-3 years..
really depends on his size...the larger they are the less they tend to use the extra stuff in the enclosure
@IntrepidExotics he is 6 1/2 ish ft.. 2yr old..
Dang dude you must’ve power fed that boa, things huge for 5 yrs old!
I adopted min about a year ago and he was in pretty rough shape, that was the age they said he was but that's kinda like the telephone game...goes through a few owners and the chance that it's right goes way down.
@@IntrepidExotics got ya. Well he looked good and healthy in this video but dang he’s a big dude!
@Treasure State Tarantulas he is one of the biggest babies I have, I honestly think he knows he would be dead now had I not taken him in and nursed him back to health because he's the closest I've seen to an "affectionate" snake :-)
@@IntrepidExotics cool man. I have a miniature replica of your guy and hopefully mine shares those same qualities… I also hope he gets as big too!
I’ve recently got my black and white tegu that I’ve wanted for ever I’m feeding him every two days he loves chicken and strawberries sometimes I’ll give him a rat pup FT of cores I’m trying to gain his trust any tricks you might know you could share thank you and love your videos.
Awesome, tegus are great to keep! My female is brumating now so it's a shame I can't interact with her for a couple more months, but I do need to put out a video of her soon!
Amazing video friend
Thank you!
I have a question on how you prevent your snakes from getting a mite infestation from being in the yard and in the trees? I had a red tail boa that got mites way too many times from crawling in grass in many different locations. I now have a Burmese Python that I would lo e to let outside, but don't feel like dealing with an infestation.
I've never gotten mites from taking them outdoors, actually the only time I've had to deal with them was several years ago when I brought a new snake home that had them but he was quarantined and treated, never saw them again or on any of my other snakes. A couple reasons I don't deal with mites is that I rarely add more animals, rarely hit reptile expos and rarely in pet stores, pretty much any of the activities that are high risk for picking up mites. I've heard they can be contracted from outdoors but I would bet they come from a different source.
@@IntrepidExotics I've never done any of that either. Maybe it's my location. Where I live in KY, ticks, chiggers, fleas, mosquitoes are extremely bad. So I'm sure mites are too.
11:26 he seen the girl monitor on ur shirt n wanted to lift her tail😂😂
Think you're right, he wanted to mate with my shirt 🤣🤣🤣
What’s the best thing for a lock
All depends on the enclosure setup, some will work better than others
I’m about too take th cabinet out of a camper and turn it into an enclosure
Nice video! I have a question about feeding my new burmese python. He's over a year old and about 1'10'' (he's a half dwarf and not fed very often, so smaller). Every time I offered an adult mouse (f/t), he would take it and wrap it up, for 30-60 min, then he dropped it. Occasionally, he engulfed the mouse, but most of the time, he dropped it and never looked at it again. What should I do? (there's nothing wrong with the rodent. I have been feeding my boa and retic the rodents from the same source and they're both fine.)
Thanks! Anytime we talk about feeding issues there's always the same questions to be asked; checking the habitat, parameters, ect. How often are ya offering food? Is it a relatively large or small meal for him? I have one ball python that will snub her nose at anything she doesn't deem large enough. Of course too large of a meal can get ignored too. Sometimes just leaving the prey item in there works, sometimes they ignore it entirely. Just so many variables to feeding that sometimes all we can do is spread out feeding schedules and monitor their weight. Every species of snake I have has had weird feeding situations before and they all have naturally come around. I would say just stick with offering once a week but be ready for a refusal and if he hasn't taken it down in an hour or so just give that prey item to another snake so as to not waste feeders and try again the following week just keeping an eye on weight and watching for any signs of illness that could impact his appetite.
@@IntrepidExotics I feed once a week. The mouse is smaller than the girth of the snake, so should be on the smaller side. Temp should be ok (27c ambient and 32c hot spot). You mentioned having to force feed your female burmese, was it a similar issue?
@@Sam-kb1lt It sounds like I would probably just keep trying weekly and see how it goes, could be any number of things and I probably wouldn't really worry on a younger snake until you start getting over 4 wks without eating...that's a bit much for a young snake as they typically eat more than older ones. When I was feeding my hatchling she was simply refusing to eat in any way, I got her before her first meal and first shed...took her 2 months before she would even open her own mouth, she never willingly opened for food or to strike, ever. Eventually she figured it out and has been a chowhound ever since.
@@IntrepidExotics Thank you for your advice. A follow up question: when you touch the side of your burm, are you supposed to feel its ribs? Cuz this is my first burm, I am not quite sure how it should look or feel normally, and when I handled my retic and boa, I felt their solid body mass, no bones. But when I handled my burm, pretty much all I felt was bones (like I can feel its individual rib bones). Is this normal? Or was he severely underfed?
Burms are pretty heavy bodied when at a healthy weight and ya don't really notice ribs unless you're really feeling for them typically. May want to send a pic to the intrepid facebook page in a dm and I can tell ya what I think, of course it's tough to say sight unseen.
How old is that boa?
I'm not 100% sure since he was taken in from someone who took him in from someone that took him in, but he's believed to be about 5yrs old.
Is he a Central American boa?
Just a BCI
Did your monitor think your shirt had another monitor on it? 🤨
don't think so, lol
🫖☕️🏺🍽🐍🥂🍴🍧 Along with "special occasion" china, pricy hardwood china cabinets have fallen precipitously out of fashion. The world is full of gorgeous hardwood cabinets eating up space in garages and storage units that are free or nearly so if you and a helper will just cart them away! 😁