3 motley questions (considering buying this weekend)

[artgecko]

Hi guys,
I know I said I only wanted 1 boa... Then I said I only wanted 1 BCA and 1 BCI... Well, I was smitten by a few motleys at my local pet shop (I was impressed with how great they looked in person) and now I'm considering buying one. He had both hypos and normals, and I will probably end up with a normal.

I have to go back and talk to the manager who breeds some boas (and also resells) and get the motleys in question sexed and ask for more info, but before I return, I have a few questions for those of you that know about motleys.

1. What characteristics do you look for in a good motley other than pattern?

2. Is there any way to tell how dark a motley will get / how much pattern contrast they will retain other than looking at the parents?

3. What is the average going price for a normal motely and a hypo motley?

Thanks guys for your time and help!

[Daybreaker]

I'm assuming we're talking about Colombian motleys vs Central American motleys? I think this gene looks fantastic in both baby - adult form, it's easily one of my favorite BCI morphs as well.

1. I have a Colomian and CA motley who each are top notch examples of their morph IMO (exactly why I chose them). I love perfect square saddles, lots of lateral striping, and COLOR: bright chocolates with contrast. Note that the patterns of the CA differ from that of a Colombian.





CA:



2. I would look for an already contrasted and non-muddy-colored baby.

To compare here's the same Colombian girl as above as a tiny little thing:



3. I would personally expect to pay ~$200+ for a nice quality Colombian motley (non-hypo, this figure possibly on the high end)

[artgecko]

Thanks so much for your time and the great info / pics! Your motleys look just about perfect to me.. a great blend of color and contrast.

I'm assuming these are Colombian... I did not get to talk to the manager, just an employee (who didn't know anything except that they were motleys and around $200 each). I will be asking the manager for more info on them. I'm hoping he bred them himself (he also buys and resells) so that he can give me more info and pics of the parents.

The two they had left were both good, but very different. One had almost perfect pattern down to the tail (individual spots, fully enclosed, etc.) but it was a dark charcoalish brown with lighter "cool" tan spots and not much color variation. The second one had a slightly imperfect pattern (a few merged spots but still fully enclosed) but seemed to have more chocolates and slight orange tones. If only I could combine the color of #2 with the pattern of #1... both had good contrast. Of course, I don't know the gender of either, so I will have to find that out too. I want a male, so I'm hoping my luck isn't bad and both end up being female. The worker said the manager might have more at his house, so I will enquire.

[artgecko]

Wanted to give you guys an update... The two motleys they had were females and the manager did not have any others off site. I think I'll be waiting a while and possibly order a CA motley when I can find a nice one for sale. I'm leaning more towards a CA due to their patterning and slightly smaller size.

Thanks for your help!