Olive Python vs Argentine Boa :o

[Paragonimus westerma]

Hello again everybody?

I've recently come down with an itch for some slightly bigger, meatier constrictor snakes. Just a year ago all I had were sand and rubber boas. Jumping to a Sumatran short-tail was... actually extremely intimidating, but that has now turned out extremely well and I think soon I might be ready for even bigger, more intimidating species
I won't be able to actually get anything new for a while until I have my own place, but there are two species that are really catching my interest.



I should start by saying that I'm a New York state resident, so Olive's and the Boa Constrictors are just about the largest snakes that I can legally obtain. As a [hopeful] future biology teacher, I *might* be able to obtain a "dangerous wildlife" license for larger species, but that's far from guaranteed and it won't happen anytime soon.

Anyway, as I'm debating which new snake to get in the future, two "big" snakes that I want are the Argentine Boa and the Olive Python. Both have vaguely similar size, have somewhat similar prices, though the olive pythons are generally easier to find for sale. Both seem to have "mixed" reviews as far as temperament goes on the internet, though I'm not sure how much of this is actually speaking from 1st hand experience or if its a telephone game.

There is good information online about olive pythons, but a lot of the info seems to be all over the place [in particular about temperament]. Same deal with Argentine boas, only there's even less readily available information. Most information seems to apply to boa constrictors in general, not specifically Argentine's. From what I gathered, the biggest difference between them is that Argentine's are more cold tolerant.

Does anyone have experience working with one or both of these species? Obviously they are much larger than Sumatran short-tails, but in terms of handling are these comparable in any way? [aside from the obvious problem of short-tails being exclusively ground-dwelling]

Cheers!

[Gearhead5225]

Ive worked with a couple olive pythons before, only one i currently own is a baby one. The temperment with them is usually pretty good but they have one hell of a feeding response even when they get to be full grown. So use of a hook is highly recommended. Mine have always been absolutely amazing outside of the cage. They are also very slow growing so if you decide to get one you have plenty of time to work with it. But as a comparison i cant tell you how the boas are. Ive only really worked with varius pythons.

[Reinz]

One of the mods, John1982 has a good looking big Olive. Maybe he'll stop by and help you out with some good info.

[enginee837]

Years back I had a pair of argentine boas who were about 4-5 feet in length. Their temperament was great. Easy to handle and required very little work to make them kid safe for educational classes.

I have never owned or worked with an olive python before but I was told by a guy that had one that it would bite but it's strikes were slower than most of his other snakes and easily avoidable. He never tried to tame it for handling as it was not what he was in to however I highly doubt it would be hard. Most non venomous snakes I have come across can be made agreeable with the proper attention.

[John1982]

I have a papuan olive(L. papuana), not to be mistaken with the the australian(L. olivaceus) that I think the OP is considering. I'll go ahead and do a writeup in case you're interested in these too and because I love talking about these neat snakes!

A lot of breeding attempts fail and/or end up with a very fat female and MIA Male. These snakes display pretty heavy ophiophagic tendencies and offering a snake to a WC animal that refuses to feed will often have positive results. They mature slow and shouldn't really be paired up until 5+ years of age, or even later. There's not really anybody captive producing papuana with most, if not all, animals in the states coming from WC and farmed babies via Bushmaster.

That said, they seem to acclimate very well; these are incredibly tolerant snakes as far as husbandry errors go. They seem to prefer cooler temps and I keep mine at ambient room temps of 60-80(yearly fluctuation) with a hotspot around 90 that's typically only utilized while digesting. You'll want to get a fecal done and purge any parasites but they're pretty much bullet proof and calm snakes. Even the larger, wild caught, animals come in fairly placid - just seem to be one of those species that's naturally chill. A lot of folks seem to report nippy youngsters but my hatchling never showed the slightest inclination to bite. Their feeding response is insane, their strength is unbelievable. You can't really appreciate it until you hold one, even younger animals will surprise you with their grip. They are also very intelligent(for snakes) so hook training is probably a good idea, at least until you get better acquainted with your animal.

Of the 2 I've owned, one was a WC subadult and the other a farm bred hatchling, neither were aggressive or defensive. Neither were the least bit head or tail shy. In my experience, they will talk to you when they don't want to be messed with by getting a bit vocal/hissy but will otherwise act completely normal - highly tolerant snakes and disinclined to bite. They can get a fair size with adults maxing out in the 12-17 foot range but do stay on the more slender side. Considering their strength though, care should be taken when handling even younger individuals.

Fun facts:
Dark flesh, so damaged/imperfect scales might look like mites at first glance. Also pretty neat when they eat cause they have the whole black mamba thing going on with that gaping, black, maw.

They can change color. The mechanics behind this hasn't been determined yet. Could be in relation to temperature, mood, both, or neither. Whatever it is, it's pretty cool when you don't know what shade/color your snake is going to be before walking into the room. They're also highly iridescent.

Obligatory picture dump, all from 2012 hatchling through present:












Black Maw:

Arboreal feeding trial:





Most recent shots. This boy grew pretty slow for the first 2 years but this last year he has more than doubled in length without any increase in feeding frequency or size(relative to snake).

[bcr229]

Great writeup! I had the opportunity to pick up a 12' female Papuan last year that was just as sweet as could be. Now I'm kicking myself for not getting her.

[Paragonimus westerma]

Aww poop, both snakes are getting great reviews and now I have no idea which one to get. I was kinda hoping this would have been an easier choice :x

Well, I got time to think about it. A recent faunaclassifieds ad for baby CBB L. olivaceus spurred me on to thinking about this.

[Reinz]

Thanks for pointing the two different "Olives" John.

Great info!

[Herpenthusiast3]

I have zero experience with olives but I love a nice BCO (Argentine). They have T+ Argentines on the market also which are beautiful.

[Gio]

Aww poop, both snakes are getting great reviews and now I have no idea which one to get. I was kinda hoping this would have been an easier choice :x

Well, I got time to think about it. A recent faunaclassifieds ad for baby CBB L. olivaceus spurred me on to thinking about this.

What did you decide?

If I was in your position, I'd go with the snake John1982 has.

Really a no brainer for me when it comes to the Papuan or Aussie olive, as they are possibly the KINGs of all snakes since they will eat anything including other snakes.

I think Argentine boas are pretty cool, but if you want a more active animal, I'd wager the Papuan or Olive are more exciting.

The BCO is a large boa constrictor, but if you are looking for the largest of boa constrictors, the Peruvians from the Iquitos local are not only huge, they are some of the most beautiful boas around.

I had to bring this thread back after seeing John's pictures.

That Papuan is just fantastic!