Back after 5 years and need some advice!

Hi ya'll! I haven't posted here in quite some time. Hubby and I had two babies and the reptiles had to be put on hold. Hubby and I are in the process of opening a full scale pet shop in 2010 and have recently been reading back up on boas. Hubby loves snakes, I prefer monitors. Anyways, I'm looking to surprise hubby for Father's Day with something, not sure what. What I'm looking for is a relatively inexpensive(less than 4 figures), attractive, relatively "easy" to breed and has the ability to be tamed(handled). The larger the better.

We're heading up to the White Plains show on the 12th but I haven't quite decided if I want to wait until then or purchase something online.

So, after all that does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks!

If you want large boas then you could go with Colombian BCI(aka Normal Colombian Boa) or with the true redtails such as those from Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, and Peru. The true redtails get a bit larger than the Colombians and from what I have heard, are a little less forgiving in terms of husbandry and breeding. You can also go with Argentines, which also get pretty big. I find the Central American(CA) boas to be fantastic with a lot of variety, but they stay small, anywhere from 4 to 6 feet or so, not a good choice for you if you must have large boas. I myself, am partial to Blood Boas and Blood Boa morphs which are very colorful, stay small, and for me, have been very easy to breed. My adult female Hets for Blood Boa seem to be topping out at between 4 and 5 feet long and are very happy in 3ft Vision cages. I feel that boas over 6 feet and up are more comfortable in 4ft or 6ft cages, which are more costly and take up more floor space. Hope this helps you out in your search.

Don't forget durmeril boas! Some sites list that they stay small but I've seen some 7-9'. They have amazing patterns and while common, still don't see them all the time. Good luck!

Originally Posted by April Yohn

Don't forget durmeril boas! Some sites list that they stay small but I've seen some 7-9'. They have amazing patterns and while common, still don't see them all the time. Good luck!

You are so right April, I totally forgot about the Dumerils, very beautiful heavy bodied snake and I have heard of them going in the 7 to 9ft range before.

I've had older lineage Colombians up to 11-12 ft long and well over 50 lbs. My mom had an Old Colombian that was over 13 ft and more like 70 lbs plus. But these were older lines from Lemke stock. Not so sure the Colombians these days reach those proportions, but they still obtain a respectable size. My largest girl at the moment is about 8 ft plus and over 30 lbs. She's about an '02 model.

Your true red tails, BCC, will most likely be your largest models, some getting bigger then others. I recall Pucalpa Peru Boas getting to be real good size. I think Gus Rentfro at Rio Bravo Reptiles has an exceptional, and large female in his collection from Pucalpa. My first Surinam Boa passed on back in 1983 and she was an 11 footer, and really heavy at 75 lbs. But I admittedly over fed that girl. She should have lived much longer then she did, and shouldn't have been quite that heavy either.

Good luck in your choice!

Thanks everyone! The only animal(well except for a skunk and a psychotic ferret!) I've ever been bitten by was a Columbian and I'm still a tad nervous of them. I do love the Dumerils though and had forgotten about them. I appreciate the advice!!!

I wouldn't rule out the Colombians because of a bite, any snake can bite you. Even some of my more docile boas can cop an attitude from time to time, the trick is to understand their personalities and learn to read their body language. Just as most normal people won't go trying to pet a dog that is growling and has the hair standing up on the back of its neck, you don't want to try and handle a snake that your reading to be in an agressive mode. You may run across some that are just plain mean all the time, but that can be with any species. You have to know a snake's personality.

Most bites happen under two general circumstances, either at feeding time or at the transition from at rest to being picked up and handled. It is at these times that you want to excercise extreme caution to minimize any accidents. Colombians are some of the most widely kept constrictors in captivity, partly because of their docile nature. I would hate to see you miss out on the Colombian experience just because of a bite.

I wouldn't rule out the Colombians because of a bite, any snake can bite you. Even some of my more docile boas can cop an attitude from time to time, the trick is to understand their personalities and learn to read their body language. Just as most normal people won't go trying to pet a dog that is growling and has the hair standing up on the back of its neck, you don't want to try and handle a snake that your reading to be in an agressive mode. You may run across some that are just plain mean all the time, but that can be with any species. You have to know a snake's personality.

Most bites happen under two general circumstances, either at feeding time or at the transition from at rest to being picked up and handled. It is at these times that you want to excercise extreme caution to minimize any accidents. Colombians are some of the most widely kept constrictors in captivity, partly because of their docile nature. I would hate to see you miss out on the Colombian experience just because of a bite.

I hope I didn't come off as being anti Colombian. I'm not. They are lovely snakes and quite beautiful. They just aren't my favorite since that bite. I don't blame the snake, it had a fabulous personality, the bite was completely my fault. I was working in a pet shop and someone wanted to see him. I could tell he was in no mood to be bothered by my boss would have all but skinned me alive if he lost a sale because I said an animal was cranky.

I brought him out and handed him to the lady and after about 30 seconds she spooked and darn near tossed the snake back at me. Of course already being in a bad mood and being flung around by an idiot resulted in the skin between my thumb and pointer finger becoming hamburger meat. All of this was before I fell for snakes and I was actually quite scared of them at the time so I think it may have scarred me for life if I hadn't of met hubby who loved snakes.

Anyways so super long story short, I'm not ruling them out just not actively seeking one at the moment.

Thanks for your advice!