Hog Island Boa, Red Tailed Boa, or Ball Python?

Hey everyone,

I'm planning on getting a second snake, and I've narrowed my search down to these three. Which one would be the best?

What do you have now? Boas are great. I have balls and a boa. I like my boa the best as far as holding.

Hard to make suggestions without knowing what qualities you are looking for and what you already have. For me personally- I would like a Hog Island. I like boas and already have BPs.

I currently own a Okeetee Corn, and I've read up on all of these and they all look like fair candidates.

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Originally Posted by Saxguy101

I currently own a Okeetee Corn, and I've read up on all of these and they all look like fair candidates.

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All three are good snakes. I lean a bit more towards boas than pythons but thats personal preference. A good question might be how much money do you want to spend and are you interested more in color possibilities or locality?

I have all three (well...technically I don't have my Hog yet as she's pending shipment for when it gets warmer) but like mentioned it really depends on what kind of snake you want.

Keep in mind boas will get a lot larger than balls, and will require a large enclosure. I plan on 6 feet cages for my boas: do you have the space and money for at least a 4' enclosure?

Balls are really manageable (in terms of handling and space requirements) but they can be picky eaters: so they can be unnerving if they don't eat, especially if you're used to a garbage disposal of a corn. Boas tend to not be so finicky when it comes to eating: mine have never skipped a meal.

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Originally Posted by Cendalla

All three are good snakes. I lean a bit more towards boas than pythons but thats personal preference. A good question might be how much money do you want to spend and are you interested more in color possibilities or locality?

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Money isn't an issue, (I'm not rich but I can afford to feed a Red Tail if that's what you're getting at) and morphs are cool, but not a necessity.

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Originally Posted by Saxguy101

Money isn't an issue, (I'm not rich but I can afford to feed a Red Tail if that's what you're getting at) and morphs are cool, but not a necessity.

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I ment more in terms of cost of the actual snake. With that list you can spend any where from $25-$1000+ (My Boa was $150. My two BPs were $175 and $750). You listed a hog and an RTB. What about them stood out to you? What about the BP? Bps can be little snots when it comes to eating. I suggest that no matter what rout you go that you make sure you trust your breeder and make sure that you don't land yourself a picky eater. Its very frustrating (grrrr).

Our Hog is great. Big boa personality with the always manageable size. She is 5ft now and will be comfortable in a 40gallon breeder her whole life.

I would love a Red Tail at some point, but it is not feasible right now with a number of long distance moves in our future.

Click on the frog to go to our facebook page to see more pictures of our Hog, Maddie.

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Originally Posted by Cendalla

I ment more in terms of cost of the actual snake. With that list you can spend any where from $25-$1000+ (My Boa was $150. My two BPs were $175 and $750). You listed a hog and an RTB. What about them stood out to you? What about the BP? Bps can be little snots when it comes to eating. I suggest that no matter what rout you go that you make sure you trust your breeder and make sure that you don't land yourself a picky eater. Its very frustrating (grrrr).

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I'm not looking to go too expensive as far as the snake goes. My budget is about $200-$225, though I could push it if it was really just a killer snake. As for what stood out, I liked the two boas because boas in general are just really cool, and between those two it was whether I should get a longer RTB or the smaller Hog Island. The Ball I was interested in because I know they're a really popular animal and are reliable, though I'm leaning a bit more towards the two boas.