Boa with pied markings

Bryan,
If your boa is pied, breed him back to his offspring, BUT what I hear, boa gene's are not that good when bred back to parents. But I could be wrong. If you do breed the boa back to offspring, maybe you MAY have something going on.
I have a female boa who has strang pink blotches on her head, I didn't call her anything. She's just a boa with weird marks on her head. With some offspring, will come out with neat markings. If your boa didn't proven out pied, then it's just a normal with neat markings.
Good luck if it proves out. To my understanding, I have never heard of a pied-bald boa.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I have seen this animal (the one pictured on page one) before... A very strong suspicion.

So I've got to ask... where did it come from?

I ask because I was in Las Vegas visiting a friend late last year when there was a call from an elderly gentleman who had a snake in his front yard that he wanted removed... Someone went out, picked it up... and it was this female boa with three white marks on her, each one surrounded by orange areas, two on one side of the body, the third on the other. She was cleaned up (although she was in good condition), checked a few times for parasites, fed a couple meals and then sold as a perfectly normal BCImutt adult animal (I *think* it was a hundred fifty bucks plus shipping when it was sold). IF it's the same animal... and it really does look like it, then the areas are NOT scars, noway nohow- the white areas had perfectly formed 100% normal scales. My suggestion was to try and keep her and see if it could be proven out as genetic (If it is a genetic trait and can be proven, with the potential for greater white areas, it's a high money morph), but the owner didn't want to get into boa breeding, having other profitable concerns and knowing the likelyhood (very low) of this having a genetic cause.

However... IF it's the same animal, then it's origins are totally unknown prior to the day it was found crawling through an elderly gentleman's lawn in Las Vegas. The genetics, if there is anything unusual in the genome and it's not just a deformity that arose as the animal developed, are completely unknown. Not every trait with a genetic cause is a simple recessive and not every phenotypical anamoly is genetic. Calling it het for anything shows an astoundingly poor understanding of mendelian genetics to start. If you're going to advertise it as het for something, you really should understand what the term means.

If it's the same animal though, I'll happily confirm that the white areas are not scars, burns or injuries. There's a definite pigment anomaly going on there. No claims can be made about the genetics, but if someone wanted to devote the time towards proving it out, it has the potential to be a big dollar morph. The likelyhood of the trait being genetic is pretty low, but that's the nature of gambling on unproven phenotypes.

I had a Boa shed out with some odd white spots which I suspect were from rubbing on a rock hide in his cage a while back. These pictures are from when they just happened, but when they healed they were almost identical to the white spots on this "Pied Boa". After about 5 sheds the spots were pretty much gone, and the Boa was back to normal color.





-Jesse Jelinek

My male red-tail got a fungal infection from the sudden high increase of the humidity from NC to here in Jax. I took him to the vet (Dr. John Rossi D.V.M) and he said the wounds would sluff off the snake when he sheds. The woulnds revealed deep wounds from where the snake had the infection, they are slowly going away but they are leaving white markinga also, like in the pic above, he is a perfectly health snake right now along with his
"PIED MARKINGS" where the wounds were, there are perfect scales bright white with orange, i have kept snakes since i was real little, and i will probly never see or hear of a pied boa for the rest of my life. so this pied crap is all an annoying thing, someone has to think they have something, right, i have a million dollars

These pictures are from when they just happened, but when they healed they were almost identical to the white spots on this "Pied Boa". After about 5 sheds the spots were pretty much gone, and the Boa was back to normal color.

If it's the same animal I think it is, then the size, shape and clarity of the white spots hasn't changed in ten, maybe eleven months. I've contacted the person who sold the one which this reminds me of, I'm going to see if I can get some photos, if they still have any, from when the animal was advertised. I'm about 90% sure it's the same animal, so the photos should show an eleven month time difference with no change to the white areas... They were the same size and shape that I remember anyway.

Agaian, there's nothing that can be said about the genetics IF it's the animal I believe it is, because they are totally unknown, but the spots themselves IF it's the animal I believe it to be, are not scars, nor burns, not screwed up rubbed off scale patches. Give me a few days and I should know one way or the other if photos of the animal I saw in Vegas are still avaliable, if they are, I'll post them.

Sorry I did not reply sooner, I have been helping to clean up after Hurricane Charley in Port Charlotte. Most places are still without power and clean water.

Because of Hurricane Charley, I was unable to go to Daytona. Rick did bring my snake to show to the Vet. The Vet said the markings on both boas are not scar tissue. Rick is having the Vet write up a statement for each boa claiming the markings are not scars, but are natural. The papers the Vet are writing are not claiming them to be pied or het for pied, just that the markings are natural. Rick nor I are claiming them to be pied or het for pied.

giraffe_gal Wrote:

Central Florida Reptile Breeders are selling a pair of(boas with light spots) They say they are siblings, and offspring to parents with the exact same markings.

According to Central Florida Reptile Breeders they have boas with similar markings that proved to be genetic.

Yes, It was the breeder Joe Terry of Miami. Rick is good friends with Joe.

Seamus Haley,
This very well may be the snake you saw in vagas. I bought this snake from Robert Harmon about three months ago. I believe he lives out west somewhere. He said he got her in a pet shop only because she is a circle back.

I will try to get pics of Rick's Boa. When I get the papers from the Vet I will post them. (not that I have anything to prove)

Agreed. Scars!

The vet met us at joe tarries table and said that there is no scaring not on the white spots or any where else that it is pied but he did not no if it would be genitic with the first offsping
but we now that all ready he agead with us that if we breed a female from the offspring back to the father we would get pied boas.And he is printing up documention (paperwork)on both of the pied boas he is joe tarries personal vets.
thank you
and booya
bryan beadling

Eamonn, what you are telling us is very different than what Bryan told us. I think someone should provide some confirmation from the vet.

Rick nor I are claiming them to be pied or het for pied.

Initially, you did make a similar claim, and Bryan has made a definite claim about Rick's boa.

Eamonn and Rick may want to stop Bryan from speaking for them, as he has done repeatedly in this thread by signing their names to the posts as well as his own.

To the reptile community here on Fauna, This is Rick Leverock. After being contacted by a close friend of all the statements filed here, I would lik to set the record straight. Bryan B has not been approved by me to have been making statements on here, and I am seeking any background available on the two boas at this time. If anyone has information like where she was purchased, who owned her at the time of the alleged rabbit bites or burns as well as contact information for that person, and how long ago did the alleged injury take place. Two reptile vets have inspected both boas and I am awaiting documentaion from both for their findings. I will be honored to provide this documentation to anyone regarding their concern based on their viewing with their opinions in a respectable manor and in deed most of you have. For those who were not respectable, you won't. Opinions in which are bad or good regarding the animal are in my opinion all o.k. and everyone has that right and I respect that. In regards to Brian, a war in here was started and Brian, you are not to bring Ammen's name or my name back into any subjects. People here are repectable and knowledgeable from what I read, and are only stating their views. Feel free, everone, to contact me at jrreptiles@myjoi. net, and I again apoligize about Brian's little war here.

Thanks for the clarification, Rick.

It's at the very least an intriguing project! I wish you the best of luck with both snakes, and hope you will keep us posted as to their breeding and offspring.