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Questions about my Nicaraguan

O

Onetruesikorsky

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Hello all,

I bought a Nicaraguan Dwarf Boa from Becky's Vivarium last May, and he's an amazing snake. He's got the most laid back temperament ever. He's not head shy, he's never struck me, he doesn't go into an aggressive position ever, and he's overall an amazing snake, which I've heard from Nicaraguans is rare? I'm not sure, I've never had a problem with him (he's moseying around my bed in my lap as I type this).

My question was about the differing locales in the Nicaraguans. I know nothing about them and wanted to know more, since the genetics of snakes in general confuses me. He was sold as just a Nicaraguan Dwarf, so I'm not sure if there are other genes going on as well, if he's a pure locale (is that what you'd even call it?), or even if there ARE different morphs for this species of snake.

Can someone help identify him if he is a specific morph/locale/whatever? I would like to know SOMETHING about him and what he might be before I think about getting him a gal, but that's a long way down the road.

Here are some pictures:
P1150561JPG.jpg

IMG_2848.jpg

His tail:
IMG_2854.jpg

P1150562JPG.jpg


These are all from when he was really young, only a month and two months old. If you need updated pictures for better identification I can get some.

Any insight is appreciated!
 
I'm not sure if there are 'locality' nics specified anywhere, they are just nics, not to be confused with central americans. True nics are all considered dwarfs.

As far as morphs of the nicaraguans are concerned, there are normals (which are beautiful in their own right), hypomelanistics, type 1 and type 2 anerythristics, hypermelanistics, T+ albinos, motleys, and ghosts.

Check out Vin Russo's The Complete Boa Constrictor, it's a fantastic resource.
 
There are locality Nicaraguans, but that snake isn't one of them. Isle de Maize and Bluefield are both in Nicaragua. You have yourself a very nice little Nicaraguan, enjoy him.

Chris
 
JCCS said:
There are locality Nicaraguans, but that snake isn't one of them. Isle de Maize and Bluefield are both in Nicaragua. You have yourself a very nice little Nicaraguan, enjoy him.

Chris
Click to expand...

I stand corrected, thanks Chris.
 
Looks like a standard Nic to me too. A nice one too.

BTW, "dwarf" is used to mean they won't reach the size of their South American cousins, but Nics can still get 7-8 ft as adults, but they won't get near as thick as others. The two locality Nicaraguans, Bluefields, and Corn Island Boas, will remain even smaller then a normal Nic.
 
Thank you everyone for the input!

I was told when I purchased him that male Nicaraguans remain smaller than females, and that he'd remain between 3.5 - 4 feet. Is this true or will he get to be six or seven feet? The reason I got him in the first places was because of this 'dwarf' sizing and the idea that he'd remain relatively small for a boa, since I love the look of him but wouldn't wish for him to get too big like a Columbian Red Tail.

And when you say 'nice' Nicaraguan... what makes a particular specimen more 'nice' than another? Is it the darkness of the background color, or the intricacy/consistency of the patterning? Possibly that black stripe along the tail? Or maybe you just meant nice in the actual nice way, that he doesn't bite or strike or anything.

Sorry if these are juvenile questions - I just want to know more about him so I can properly assess what kind of female to get him down the road.
 
Justine, with boas, and animals in generals, there are no defined rules about size. Having said that, I think around 4' is a realistic expectation for a male Nicaraguan. 6-7' would be fairly unheard of for them. This being said, I can tell you that a male child should grow up to be between 5'8" and 6'2", but sometimes a 7'3" kid shows up, so the length estimation is an educated guess, at best.

Honestly, the size of all boas is usually overestimated. There are lots of places that say that boas regularly hit lengths of 12-14', which is just ludicrous. My largest female Colombian is just about 8', while the average is probably right at 7', my largest male Colombian might be a smidge over 5'.

To make things simple, you should probably stick to getting a Nicaraguan female for him, there are a good assortment of pure Nicaraguan morphs and most are very reasonably priced, if you wanted to go that way. A lot of people frown upon interbreeding the localities, which makes crosses harder to sell than pure animals. Also an adult Nicaraguan female should stay under or around 6', making them easy to manage for any adult.

Chris
 
I didn't mean to alarm you. What I am saying is, there is no guarantee they will max at 4 ft. In fact, I haven't had Nics for yrs, but I don't recall any of my males staying that small. Usually between 5-6 ft. My females, although they have reached 7-8 ft as mature adults, they were not thick and intimidating snakes, and by no means as large as other Boas I've had and still have.

By nice, in this case, I mean classic Nic pattern and color. But that's how I like them to be. Although I've seen really nice Hypo Nics, I just like the normals more.

Maybe he will stay small. I wish you luck. I have a so called "dwarf" pair of Honduran fire belly boas, and the male is certainly small. 6 yrs old and he's MAYBE 4 ft and a couple lbs. The female on the other hand is 5 yrs old. I'd bet a $100 she's 7 ft. But she's only going to weight 9-10 lbs.

So how old is your largest 8' Colombian Chris? You think she'll still be 8 ft in 5 yrs? Or 10? Usually when someone, I'll say when I give an opinion of how big something will get, I'm thinking 20 yrs down the line, assuming it will live that long.

Anyway, I certainly didn't mean to give the impression your Nic will get large, I'm just trying to say you never know. It's the genetic make up, and the food intake that will determine things in the long run, including how long they live.
 
Hrm, I'm not sure which to go by here, you're both giving me different estimates! Haha, that's okay. I'll still keep him even if he does get larger than I anticipated, but I'd prefer he stay a little smaller. We shall see!

Right now he's grown a considerable amount in the last year - well over twice his original size as a hatchling. He's easily over 2', though I haven't actually bothered to get an exact length. He might be over 2.5 by now, and he's decently thick, too.

I'll be sure to find another pure Nic for him to breed with, I don't want to mess with locality mixing - just like I don't want to mix localities with my Panther Chameleons - nor do I want to mess with morph mixing either. I love his pattern just how it is, I'd want his kids to look just as stunning as he does.

Also, I should ask another question here. He doesn't do this as often as he used to, but when he was a few months old he would regularly change tones. He would go from a slate/steel grey to a lighter tan, even in a matter of 24 hours or so. Do... all boas do this? I mean I have crested geckos so I'm aware of a 'fired up' state, but I didn't know boas changed scale color on a daily basis. I miss his steel grey coloration, since I named him Megatron, but now he's starting to get more peachy/pink along the lighter tones. It's really fun watching him shift colors.
 
Many Boa change tones with mood, and from night to day. It's not uncommon at all.

Chris is likely more up to date on things then I am. It's possible that through yrs of selective breeding, they managed to get them to stay on the small side. It has been 10-12 yrs since I had my Nics. And since my career interferes with my hobby, I'm probably a bit behind on modern info. So my input is my personal experience.
 
Rick, the majority of Nics are still imported, so no real selective breeding has taken place. I don't really consider them dwarfs, but they are smaller than Colombians on average.

Chris
 
JCCS said:
Rick, the majority of Nics are still imported, so no real selective breeding has taken place. I don't really consider them dwarfs, but they are smaller than Colombians on average.

Chris
Click to expand...

Interesting! I will say the ad I found these babies on was the first ad I'd ever even heard of a 'Dwarf' boa, or any sort of Nicaraguan, and they were selling for only $50, so I jumped on the opportunity and nabbed Megs. Mine wasn't imported, but I have no idea on if the parents were.

He's by far my best snake purchase - I wouldn't trade him for anything temperament wise, and I was expecting him to be a nasty thing when I got him, but even out of the container he was shipped in he has been the biggest sweetie. I don't know what it is, no matter what all my Decepticon-named animals are the biggest sweethearts.
 
IMPO,the feeding of Central American strains from birth has alot to do
with how "big" they get.Most folks refuse to wrap their minds around
"conservative" which is where all snakes are formated from the beginning
 
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