Morphs that age the best (color and contrast wise)?

[artgecko]

Hello guys!
We've been really enjoying our little BCA guy. So much so that I'm already thinking about the possibility of adding a second boa. My husband likes him so much that I even caught him looking up boa constrictor anatomy on his own the other night (and he is not a snake person). We're planning on going to the Atlanta repticon (middle of April) and although we'd probably be looking for a young female BP at this show, a young male BCI (probably a 2013) isn't out of the question if we see a vendor with some nice animals for sale. Given that, I wanted to ask you guys your opinion on which morphs or hets of morphs tend to hold their colors and contrast the best and what I should look for in young animals that might point to them keeping their colors / contrast as they age.

Ideally, I'd like an animal with light background color with interesting hints of orange/pink/red and a clear pattern with varying shades. I have seen pics of pastels, hypos, jungles, and hets (albinos and vpi pink panthers) that matched these characteristics online, but am curious to hear what you think. We'd probably be looking at a price point of $250 or less, so that may factor into it as well.

Also, if any of the vendors that will be at the Atlanta show are known for boas, I'd love your feedback on them.

Thanks guys for your input!

[Evenstar]

In my humble opinion, Jungles are one of the best. They only improve as they age. The color deepens and they get more pink and caramel. The pattern can be anything from low-expression to the point that it's hard to tell if they are, in fact, a jungle to so crazy that they almost don't look real. Price varies widely depending on pattern (anywhere from 200-800$), but even low-expression Jungles are very pretty as adults. Here are two of my Jungles - Guinness is a low-expression 2011 male and Henna is a zig-zag full stripe Cherry Pastel 2013 female.





Henna is still a baby, but her pinks will deepen and her pattern will get richer as she grows.

[Gio]

Whoa,,, a morph that would survive in the wild and get compliments.

Me likes the jungle!! What a beauty!

[Marissa@MKmorphs]

I recently sent a down payment on a 2013 female "George line" jungle 50% poss het Kahl albino. Like Kali said, even low expression jungles look stellar as adults and are typically going to be in your price range. As a baby, lower expression animals can be a little harder to identify, so I would stick with a breeder that you trust.


Here is my new girl. Photos belong to Rachel Squier (rachelsboa.weebly.com)

This photo is her baby picture, and the next two are more recent pictures, of her at 10 months old. You can really see how much she is starting to lighten up!





Here is her dad, just for the thread's sake. He is a 2010 "George Line" jungle.

[artgecko]

Thanks guys!

I'm guessing since they can be hard to identify (the low expression ones which would be in my price range) that I might want to pass on getting one at the show and hold out for getting one via a good breeder who can provide parent / litter pics, etc. I don't think any of the sellers going to the expo specialize in boas, so I will likely see a lot of re-sold animals, etc.

Thanks for sharing your photos! Marissa- I will check out your jungle's breeder's website.. Thanks for the link.

[Evenstar]

You might be surprised at what you'll find and the quality that could be there. Repticon is usually a higher-end show. I don't recognize most of the vendors that will be there, but that's just thanks to geography. Tim from Special K Reptiles will be there though. I don't know if he'll have any Jungles, but I would trust Tim to tell you the truth about an animal and he'll know if something is a Jungle or not.

He doesn't have website, but Alex Burgos is planning a couple of super litters this year - Cherry Pastel Jungles and Summit Pastel Jungles. You can find him on Facebook. Not all the babies will look like my Henna! Alex was her breeder and he's repeating that pairing. He may well have some lower-expressions that won't be so much.

[Marissa@MKmorphs]

I might make a trip up to Atlanta. I need to pick up a few racks from Chris at CSerpents. Like Kali said, Tim at Special K knows his stuff and usually has a fantastic selection with him at shows.