Use this guide as a starting point alongside the detailed sources below. Health concerns, unexplained changes in behavior, or feeding problems belong with a reptile veterinarian.
Adult enclosure recommendation
Our recommended minimum: 4′ × 2′ × 2′ (122 × 61 × 61 cm), length × depth × height.
Usable internal space for 1 adult animal. One identified Candoia paulsoni ground boa up to 4′ (122 cm) total length. Larger ground boas and Solomon tree boas, C. bibroni australis, use the separate profiles; Fiji C. bibroni bibroni is outside this plan.
Height is clear usable space above the substrate or water surface. Add their depth when planning the total internal enclosure height.
No common preferred size is supported across these different ground and tree boas. Expand covered ground for C. paulsoni or connected canopy for C. bibroni australis after applying the correct adult-size profile.
Our ground profiles allow full horizontal extension with depth and clear height at least 40% of total length. The tree profiles retain full horizontal and vertical extension for documented arboreal behavior. Adding substrate below the stated clear height is our editorial adaptation; the general spatial review does not validate these exact species boxes.
Length must be at least actual total length. Ground depth and clear height must be at least 40% of total length; tree height must equal total length. Examples: a 5′ (152 cm) ground boa uses 5′ × 2′ × 2′ (152.4 × 60.96 × 60.96 cm); a 5′ (152.4 cm) tree boa uses 5′ × 2′ × 5′ (152.4 × 60.96 × 152.4 cm). A measured 7′ (213 cm) tree boa uses 7′ × 3′ × 7′ (213.36 × 91.44 × 213.36 cm). Add substrate depth below each stated height.
C. paulsoni over 4′ (121.92 cm) up to 5′ (152.4 cm) total length
Our recommended minimum: 5′ × 2′ × 2′ (152.4 × 61 × 61 cm), length × depth × height. Full extension and 40% remaining axes.
Solomon C. bibroni australis up to 5′ (152.4 cm) total length
Our recommended minimum: 5′ × 2′ × 5′ (152.4 × 61 × 152.4 cm), length × depth × height. Full horizontal/vertical extension and connected branches.
Measured C. bibroni australis over 5′ (152.4 cm) and up to 7′ (213.36 cm) total length
Our recommended minimum: 7′ × 3′ × 7′ (213.4 × 91.5 × 213.4 cm), length × depth × height. A conditional example for a measured larger tree boa, not an adult maximum or a claim that the Fiji nominate form shares this plan.
- Floor space
- Provide separate covered warm and cool ground areas, including for tree boas.
- Climbing space
- Provide low stout branches for C. paulsoni and a connected network throughout the height for C. bibroni australis.
- Substrate
- Reserve about 4″ (10 cm) of loose cover below the stated clear height as our layout allowance; deepen where full-body concealment requires it. Use leaf litter and a drained surface. This yields about 28″ (71 cm) total internal height for the 2′ (60.96 cm) clear ground profile.
- Water
- Provide a stable full-body soaking vessel that can be removed for cleaning, with dry resting areas outside it.
- Security and ventilation
- House singly, close door and cable gaps and keep humid air moving through cover.
Evidence gaps requiring review:
- The practical genus-level hot spot is not clearly identified as air versus surface. Record both during commissioning; no species-specific experimental UVI (ultraviolet index) optimum is established. The exact nighttime and basking choice for an individual should be documented rather than inferred from a lamp setting.
Meeting these dimensions alone does not establish suitability. Check the usable layout, environmental conditions, equipment clearance and the individual animal’s requirements before occupation.
Separate ground and tree boas
Identify the ground boa C. paulsoni or the Solomon tree boa C. bibroni australis and preserve its origin records. The more terrestrial Fiji C. bibroni bibroni is outside this plan. For one ground boa up to 4′ (122 cm) total length, we recommend 4′ × 2′ × 2′ (122 × 61 × 61 cm). A 5′ (152 cm) ground boa needs 5′ × 2′ × 2′ (152 × 61 × 61 cm). A tree boa up to 5′ (152.4 cm) needs 5′ × 2′ × 5′ (152 × 61 × 152 cm); a measured 7′ (213 cm) individual needs 7′ × 3′ × 7′ (213 × 91 × 213 cm). These adult dimensions are usable internal length × depth × clear height above substrate for one animal. Measure the snake rather than choosing a smaller profile from sex alone.
Reserve about 4″ (10 cm) of loose cover below the stated clear height as our layout allowance; deepen where full-body concealment requires it. Use leaf litter and a drained surface. This yields about 28″ (71 cm) total internal height for the 2′ (60.96 cm) clear ground profile.
Why these are conditional recommendations
These are our editorial minima, applying full extension and useful climbing height to the specialist account's adult size and behavior. The review's remaining-axis guideline is 40% of total length; it is an author recommendation, not a species-specific experiment. We reject the historical small shared aquarium as a welfare standard. There is no separately supported preferred triplet. Enlarge covered floor and branch routes where possible, and replace juvenile housing before it limits movement.
Furnish for the identified animal
Ground boas still use low branches. Tree boas need connected supports and elevated shelter throughout the height. Both need ground refuges, loose cover sufficient to conceal the body and a stable soaking vessel. Keep substrate drained, with humid sheltered areas and drier resting surfaces. Measure space remaining after bowls and supports are installed. Dimensions alone do not establish suitability, and two animals cannot share the single-animal recommendation.
Climate and lighting are not interchangeable across Candoia
For C. paulsoni, start with Conway’s daytime air of 80–82 °F (27–28 °C) and 50–70% relative humidity, with cooler covered choices. Carille’s broader Candoia guidance is warmer, around 85 °F (29 °C) by day with a local 90 °F (32 °C) hot spot, nights no lower than the mid-70s (about 75.2 °F (24 °C)), and 50–80% humidity. These are experienced-keeper protocols without species-separated outcome comparisons. We retain the more specific cooler daytime reference for C. paulsoni and use Carille’s routine day/night framework provisionally for identified C. bibroni australis. Do not apply its separate breeding-cooling schedule to routine pet care.
Measure air near occupied branches or ground retreats with independent probes, and heated surfaces separately. The hot-spot reading’s exact measurement position is not defined, so do not treat it as a validated surface target or heat the whole enclosure to it. Maintain ventilated humid refuges and drier surfaces. Provide a regular day and dark night with shaded retreat. No species-specific UVI optimum is established by these sources; UVB (ultraviolet B) commissioning remains a measured, documented individual decision.
Confirm meals before choosing an animal
Obtain dated voluntary meals and the exact prey before acquisition. C. bibroni australis often accepts rodents or birds; some C. paulsoni require lizards or frogs. Choose an established feeder and a sustainable prey supply rather than assuming a promised conversion. Carille’s adult reference is about one meal every three weeks, adjusted to prey size and body condition, not a universal schedule for juveniles or every individual. Use suitable whole prey and avoid routine supplement powders without an identified need. Keep one animal’s weight and feeding records together.
Sources & further reading
Read the full recommendations and check details for your animal, equipment, and local conditions.
- Warwick et al.: Spatial considerations for captive snakes
- Jerry Conway: The Pacific Boas
- Jerry Conway: Island Gems
- The Reptile Database: Candoia paulsoni
- The Reptile Database: Candoia bibroni
- Christopher Carille: The Pacific Boas, natural history and husbandry of Candoia (2012)
Original Creature Corner guide. Editorial fact and citation checks are recorded; independent veterinary review has not been performed.
