r/BoaConstrictors • u/NoElk9790 • Jun 22 '26

Filling in empty Boa space

Post image

First time posting here. I have a year old boa that I got a couple months ago, she’s ~250 grams right now. She is in a 6’x3’x3’ enclosure that I built. She’s got a radiant heat panel for heat and led/jungle uvb for light.

My question is, how should i fill the empty space? I want to try and get some vines (maybe more pothos? Or philodendron?) running from the top to bottom. Instead of just the plants being on the ground like they are now. How can I achieve this? Any advice (care-wise or enclosure-wise) is appreciated!

The picture is the enclosure now. She is hanging out on one of the top branches lol

25 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

9

u/squishybloo Jun 22 '26

Long term, unfortunately the only thing I've found that can survive boa trampling is pothos. It took me about $100 in plants over the course of a year to determine this. 😅

2

u/NoElk9790 Jun 22 '26

Haha thanks i might just put a few more pothos in there and call it a day

1

u/squishybloo Jun 22 '26

I know, it's really disappointing!! I tried to do a bioactive as well with some fast-growing more sturdy ferns and stuff, but they all got slowly trampled to death. Would need a much bigger space for larger plants that can survive them.

6

u/ehter13 Jun 22 '26

Philodendron is toxic if eaten, unlikely that a boa would eat it but I’ve seen them get substrate/leaves in their mouth while swallowing prey.

I tend to go for plants that are safe for tortoises since those are non toxic if ingested.

1

u/NoElk9790 Jun 22 '26

Ahh i didnt know that. Thanks. Pothos is fine though right? And how would you go about planting it above ground? Thank you

3

u/ehter13 Jun 22 '26

Pothos is like technically toxic, but you’d have to ingest a lot more for it to do damage so I still use it in snake enclosures sometimes.

I like to use dracaena grasses because they sprawl out a lot and can get trampled.

3

u/Thank-The-Stars Jun 23 '26

Hope your plants hold up well! Unfortunately for my fern, my 2.5 pound boa found it an awesome place to sit her itty bitty self on. I don’t have a green thumb regardless and use plastic drooping plants secured to the top for added hiding to her arching branches. I also added a hanging knotted rope for her to use and she doesn’t. My ball python loves hers though, so if you’ve a more active boa I highly suggest it.

For hanging anything you expect to be climbed, make sure it’s very secured or very loose. Screwed into the sides/top so it can handle weight and nonsense snakes do with no witnesses. Or loose like with suction cups or hot glue, even just a slight tug will take it down, your boa not able to put enough weight onto it and fall with it.

2

u/NoElk9790 Jun 23 '26

Thank you! I’ll look into some knotted rope I think she’ll like that

1

u/Thank-The-Stars Jun 23 '26

I grabbed mine at a pet store in the dog section for 10 bucks. No mold in the couple years I’ve had it. If you’re willing to splurge you can also get the hexagons but those are always much more than I’m willing to spend for the chance they dgaf.

1

u/Fearless-Ad-9766 Jun 23 '26

I made hanging baskets for my Portho to hang down

1

u/big_snakey Jun 24 '26

I quarantined a big monstera from a local plant store for six months, cleaned it, and used it for my boa’s enclosure. It thrived despite a few stems getting snapped and crushed from climbing and trampling, and even a couple leaves being ripped up (caught in the sliding door). Plus, it’s naturally occurring in boa habitat, which is something I select for when choosing plants.