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Advice on first boa

B

big b

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I have and have had all sorts of colubrids, mostly kingsnakes. I wan to get my first boa. I want something that stays smaller and is docile and pretty.

I really like the het berry blood boas that BHB reptile has for sale and I heard they only get to ~4' which is perfect, but how is the temperament?

Rainbows are also pretty, but I don't want something that is difficult to keep in regards to husbandry and from my research can get 7'

Anyone have any suggestions ??

Thanks
 
Most any captive bred boa can be docile with proper handling and proper conditions. Most any captive bred Colombian/BCI boa is usually sweet as a baby or can be quickly tamed. Through out my life I have kept a lot of the true red tail/BCC boas that get larger and are said to be more high strung and aggressive. I never encountered that and right now I have Surinames and Peruvians that I can just reach in the cage and pick up and they are very docile. So, I would say that barring the occasional defensive one, most any boa can be a good bet.

A male Colombian, moderately fed, won't get too large. I really like and have the jungle and hypo jungle boas. Also take a look at the Hog Island Boas. A pure Hog Island is very beautiful, usually very tame, and the males are smaller than a regular male Colombian. The Dumeral's Boa is another one to consider. Good luck with your boa search, take your time, and get the one you really want. Boas are wonderful and rewarding snakes to work with. Bill
 
A Caulker's Cay can get up to a decent size. If you want a truly smaller boa look at the CA localities like Sonoran, Tarahumara, etc. Just bear in mind that they tend to remain defensive for a much longer period of time than their larger cousins, which makes sense as their diminutive size means that they're considered predators rather than prey for a much longer period of their lives.

I have 1.2 Tarahumaras between 18 and 24 months old, and while they've passed the nippy baby stage they still hiss if everything isn't right with their world. So, they hiss when they're hungry, when their tub is wet, when you first pull them out... but fortunately it's all "talk".

Don't discount a Brazilian Rainbow either, I have several and my female gave me a litter last year. If you get them a proper reptile enclosure that is designed to retain humidity (NO TANKS) they're no more difficult to maintain than any other snake species. Like all babies they can be nippy but they outgrow it with patient and gentle handling. Mine are six months old now and have stopped nipping unless someone does something rude to them, like popping them. They stay more slender than BCI's so they're lighter and IMO easier to handle than a BCI of the same length, and while the rare individual can eventually reach seven feet, my two adults have topped out at six feet.
 
thesarge2014 said:
Most any captive bred boa can be docile with proper handling and proper conditions. Most any captive bred Colombian/BCI boa is usually sweet as a baby or can be quickly tamed. Through out my life I have kept a lot of the true red tail/BCC boas that get larger and are said to be more high strung and aggressive. I never encountered that and right now I have Surinames and Peruvians that I can just reach in the cage and pick up and they are very docile. So, I would say that barring the occasional defensive one, most any boa can be a good bet.

A male Colombian, moderately fed, won't get too large. I really like and have the jungle and hypo jungle boas. Also take a look at the Hog Island Boas. A pure Hog Island is very beautiful, usually very tame, and the males are smaller than a regular male Colombian. The Dumeral's Boa is another one to consider. Good luck with your boa search, take your time, and get the one you really want. Boas are wonderful and rewarding snakes to work with. Bill
Click to expand...

Funny, after my post I saw and like the Suriname Paz, Demeral and the hog island. Really like the blue Guyana bcc, but they get too big. My wife won't allow a snake in the house that can hurt our 2 year old baby and I support this.
 
bcr229 said:
A Caulker's Cay can get up to a decent size. If you want a truly smaller boa look at the CA localities like Sonoran, Tarahumara, etc. Just bear in mind that they tend to remain defensive for a much longer period of time than their larger cousins, which makes sense as their diminutive size means that they're considered predators rather than prey for a much longer period of their lives.

I have 1.2 Tarahumaras between 18 and 24 months old, and while they've passed the nippy baby stage they still hiss if everything isn't right with their world. So, they hiss when they're hungry, when their tub is wet, when you first pull them out... but fortunately it's all "talk".

Don't discount a Brazilian Rainbow either, I have several and my female gave me a litter last year. If you get them a proper reptile enclosure that is designed to retain humidity (NO TANKS) they're no more difficult to maintain than any
other snake species. Like all babies they can be nippy but they outgrow it with patient and gentle handling. Mine are six months old now and have stopped nipping unless someone does something rude to them, like popping them. They stay more slender than BCI's so they're lighter and IMO easier to handle than a BCI of the same length, and while the rare individual can eventually reach seven feet, my two adults have topped out at six feet.
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for the recommendation of the Sonoran and the tarahumara. In my brief research these seem perfect. I have seen pics of bluish tarahumara and want one. What is the husbandry like and where can I buy one. I can't find much on these two topics.
 
Since you're in the PNW I would contact Michael Beach in Oregon if you want Tarahumaras. I've never dealt with him but he has a great reputation.
 
I like the size and easy care of the Tarahumara, but they get dark and seem to lose the blueish coloration as adults. The adult color doesn't appeal to me much.
 
Just to give you a size reference - here's my adult BRB (this is an old photo! lol, I sold him in '05) they retain bright vivid colors as adults, they are very slender:
329brbanme6_05b.jpg


And an adult classic looking (high speckled) hog isle boa, photo from '09, he's 8yrs old in this photo, I still have him and he hasn't gotten much bigger:
EggHeld9_09a.jpg


both species tend to be nippy as young, both hog isles I have hissed a lot. Good luck!
 
AbsoluteApril said:
Just to give you a size reference - here's my adult BRB (this is an old photo! lol, I sold him in '05) they retain bright vivid colors as adults, they are very slender:
329brbanme6_05b.jpg


And an adult classic looking (high speckled) hog isle boa, photo from '09, he's 8yrs old in this photo, I still have him and he hasn't gotten much bigger:
EggHeld9_09a.jpg


both species tend to be nippy as young, both hog isles I have hissed a lot. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Those are both beautiful!
I figured out a solution......I need to get 3 different types of boa =)
 
big b said:
Those are both beautiful!
I figured out a solution......I need to get 3 different types of boa =)
Click to expand...
LOL yeah that's what I thought a few years ago, and then I learned about Brazilian Rainbow Boas, Dumeril's Boas, Dominican Red Mountain Boas, Savu Pythons...
 
Don't discount rainbows. Only the oldest, best fed females get up to seven feet -- usually they top out at six. Males stay even smaller at five feet. They also stay very slender, which means there is a limit to how much force they can apply. They're a great pet species. 'Course, I'm a bit biased. ;-)
 
AbsoluteApril said:
And an adult classic looking (high speckled) hog isle boa, photo from '09, he's 8yrs old in this photo, I still have him and he hasn't gotten much bigger:
EggHeld9_09a.jpg


both species tend to be nippy as young, both hog isles I have hissed a lot. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Oh man this is awesome. Sorry to hijack the thread but I have to ask - have the hog isles been nice as adults? Have they bitten?
 
:iagree: Rainbows were high on my list when I was researching snakes last year, but then I ran across the Dominican red mountain boas. Lower humidity requirements, max out around the same size, but simply never strike or bite. Only defensive behavior is to musk.
We currently have 2 pairs of those, a pair of mixed red tail boas, a carpet python, everglades rat snake, Okeetee corn snake, and just picked up a baby diamondback water snake at repticon yesterday. I got lucky with the carpet python, even as a baby it's never been defensive or troublesome (aside from holding out for several weeks before eating, then had to have a live hopper mouse, but now takes live or f/t.)
The only one of the lot that's bitten me was the corn snake, because I had handled a mouse immediately before picking up the (hungry, about to be fed) snake.
Ya, snakes are addictive... :thumbsup:
 
Just to correct one thing, Caulker Cays are a true dwarf. They are an insular boa from off of the coast of Belize which is in CA. They are among the 3-4 smallest localities. I had 1.2 and at 3.5 yrs old, one of the females was just over 3'. I wouldn't recommend them as a pet, though. They are defensive when younger but more importantly, true Caulkers are still rare and need to be in the hands of an experienced breeder.

Nicaraguans, Hog Islands, and any other mainland boa with the exception of the Tarahumara's are not dwarf boas. There are only a handful of those locales, but Caulkers most certainly qualify as one.
 
Here is my two cents worth .. I have a Hogg .. nice looking and good snake.. hisses 50% of time when first take out and then very tractable after perhaps a minute. I have a pair of Tarahumara which are now 2 years old and the female hisses more than male while in tub .. once out both are very easy to handle (Mike Beach is the man to go to for these). I do have BCI boas but range in size .. all are easy to deal with but have different personalities. Of the ones discussed here ... my recommendation would be a Dumerils .. I have a pair and both are amazing to deal with and very easy to handle ... both are 6 feet and have never hissed, struck, or been difficult to deal with ... they are my go to snake if someone wants to hold a bigger snake.

Hope this helps a little --- Ace/Alan
 
I have often heard that Hog Island Boas hiss a lot and may be nippy when young. I do not doubt this and do not doubt that other keeps have experienced that. None of my Hog Island Boas have ever hissed once or attempted to strike me. I got them as very young new borns in 2008 and raised them to adults To this day they remain very calm. My pair came from many generations of established, captive bred lines and the parents were very docile. I think that has a lot to do with inherited docile behavior. Bill
 
big b said:
I figured out a solution......I need to get 3 different types of boa =)
Click to expand...

There you go! haha
The BRB and Hog I posted photos of are both males, males will usually stay smaller.

trainedmermaid said:
Sorry to hijack the thread but I have to ask - have the hog isles been nice as adults? Have they bitten?
Click to expand...

Neither of my pair hisses anymore but the female has an insane feeding response and has struck at me, she will puff herself up sometimes as well in threat display. I'm rather cautious and do my best to not get bit by any of my snakes, the only ones that seem to get me anymore are the BPs by surprise and the Amazon Tree Boas simply cause that's what they do.
:D

Thanks James!

I'm surprised to see durms mentioned so often, I recall the ones I used to see at Prehistoric Pets back in the late 90s being massive, thick 8' monsters. But that could have been because of how they were being kept/fed.

edit to add - I have also seen some hog isles in the 6' range as well.
 
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