Madagascar Tree Boa — Fact Sheet

Sanzinia madagascariensis · Madagascar Tree Boa · Madagaskar-Hundskopfboa

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Indoor, locked enclosure for one adult; minimum 150 × 75 × 120 cm.
• Increase for a large female; seal cable routes and anchor every support.
• Substrate: 8-12 cm soil/coir and orchid or cypress bark with leaf litter; paper in quarantine.
• Avoid cedar, aromatic wood, sharp bark and unstable heavy decor.

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Thick horizontal and diagonal branches, elevated shelves and cork tubes.
• Covered ground retreats plus enough open floor to rest without climbing.
• Local humid hide, dense visual cover and a stable water bowl.
• Test branches and plant anchors above the snake’s full weight.

💡 Lighting

• Low-level UVB recommended in a Ferguson Zone 1-style gradient.
• Bright visible light with deep shade; do not illuminate the whole enclosure uniformly.
• Guard every internal lamp.
• Photoperiod: 11-13 hours; replace UVB by measured output/manufacturer schedule.

🌡️ Temperature

• Basking spot: 29-31 °C

• Warm zone: 24-28 °C

• Cool zone: 22-25 °C

• Night: 20-24 °C

• Thermostat heaters and measure at ground and perch level.

• The species does not need constant extreme heat; inability to cool is dangerous.

• Seasonal breeding cooling is not routine pet care.

💧 Humidity & water

• General daily cycle: 60-80%; local shed humidity 75-85%.
• Mist in the evening, maintain strong cross-ventilation and allow partial drying by day.
• Stable clean bowl; change whenever contaminated.
• Avoid constant condensation, stagnant air and waterlogged substrate.

🐁 Diet

Feed freely:

• Frozen-thawed mice or rats; juveniles every 7-10 days, adults every 14-21 days.

In moderation:

• Captive-bred chicks; adjust breeding females by body condition, not a fixed surplus.

Avoid:

• Live rodents, oversized/frequent prey and routine power-feeding.

Supplements:

• Whole prey requires no routine dusting; record weight monthly.

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Wheezing, mucus or open-mouth breathing → respiratory infection, poor airflow or temperature.
• Patchy shed or retained spectacles → dehydration or inadequate local humidity.
• Blisters and ventral discolouration → saturated dirty substrate.
• Burns → accessible heat source or thermostat failure.
• Obesity → prey too large or frequent.
• Prolonged fasting with weight loss → stress, reproductive state or disease.
• Dystocia, stillbirths or retained material → reproductive emergency.
• Document mismatch → stop the transaction and contact the CITES authority.

Use a reptile-experienced veterinarian for breathing, weight, shedding or reproductive signs; preserve original legal documents for life.