Looking for Crawl Cay and Tarahumara Mountain Boas Owners

Hey gang,

As the title says, I'm interested in obtaining either a Tarahumara Mountain or Crawl Cay Boa and figured I would ask everyone here if they have any experience with them. I've been reading up on them to make an educated decision and looking at pictures and like what I've been seeing.

Thanks.

I believe that bcr has some T-Mountain Boas. Maybe she will stop by.

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I have 1.2 2013 Tarahumara boas. The biggest issue is ensuring you have pure stock if you want a boa that's guaranteed to stay small. There's been some outcross breeding done with morph BCI's, so make sure of what you're buying.

As babies they were all very defensive and stayed so much longer than their larger counterparts. I believe that this is because, being a dwarf species, they remain small and thus are prey for a longer period in their lives. Even now, as adults, if I startle them or touch them unexpectedly I can be met with at least a "nose bump" if not teeth, though once in-hand they are fine to handle.

Husbandry is just like any other boa, except they eat smaller feeders. It's hard to look at them and think they're not still growing. For instance, my morph/common adult BCI's get either an XL rat or 10-12 oz rabbit once a month, while the Tarahumaras get either a large-ish small rat or a small-ish medium rat or a 3-4 oz fuzzy rabbit.

My females are in 41-qt tubs in a rack, the male rattles around in a 34-qt tub. He's only 3.5' long, while the females are around 4.5'. Once these guys are past their baby nippiness they're great pets for people who live in apartments or condos, and who want to keep BCI, but who don't have the space available for 48" enclosures.

Eating: the females aren't picky and would eat themselves obese if I let them. The male went off food last winter and did again this winter, he obviously wants a girlfriend. He gets to wait until next season though.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I have 1.2 2013 Tarahumara boas. The biggest issue is ensuring you have pure stock if you want a boa that's guaranteed to stay small. There's been some outcross breeding done with morph BCI's, so make sure of what you're buying.

As babies they were all very defensive and stayed so much longer than their larger counterparts. I believe that this is because, being a dwarf species, they remain small and thus are prey for a longer period in their lives. Even now, as adults, if I startle them or touch them unexpectedly I can be met with at least a "nose bump" if not teeth, though once in-hand they are fine to handle.

Husbandry is just like any other boa, except they eat smaller feeders. It's hard to look at them and think they're not still growing. For instance, my morph/common adult BCI's get either an XL rat or 10-12 oz rabbit once a month, while the Tarahumaras get either a large-ish small rat or a small-ish medium rat or a 3-4 oz fuzzy rabbit.

My females are in 41-qt tubs in a rack, the male rattles around in a 34-qt tub. He's only 3.5' long, while the females are around 4.5'. Once these guys are past their baby nippiness they're great pets for people who live in apartments or condos, and who want to keep BCI, but who don't have the space available for 48" enclosures.

Eating: the females aren't picky and would eat themselves obese if I let them. The male went off food last winter and did again this winter, he obviously wants a girlfriend. He gets to wait until next season though.

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Thank you for responding - do you have pictures posted anywhere I could see them? (EDIT - I found them in your gallery - awesome lookers) I've read they can be nippy and understandably so, but with time and handling hopefully they'll get used to me and grow out of it. What specific question do I ask about the breeding? Simply have they been outcross bred or are they pure? Is Mexican Drawf another name for Tarahumara Mountain Boa?

Husbandry and feeding seem pretty straight forward and I didn't find any anomalies with what I read (ie. higher humidity like the BRBs). Although I did see feeding could go every other week but I'll figure that out.

I have AP T10's on order in anticipation of acquiring 2 boas so I wanted to stay in that 4-6" range to be fair to their housing needs.

When asking breeders about them I'll make sure to ask what they are eating and hopefully it's already FT.

Thanks again for the response, I really do appreciate it.

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Originally Posted by BR8080

Is Mexican Drawf another name for Tarahumara Mountain Boa?

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Maybe. Is there a specific ad you are looking at?

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Maybe. Is there a specific ad you are looking at?

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I noticed when I did a google search that also came up...I confirmed with a breeder, "No, these are Vera Cruz or Sinaloa locale and stay very small. Taramahura are from different region and even smaller."


I'm looking the Caulkers Cay now since seeing them - a lot less red/peach and more black/greys with a cool mark on the forehead. - VERY similar to the Crawl Cay.

I have to make a decision but want to make the best educated since this is a long term pet and not some throw away.

All three of the localities stay pretty small. From a pet standpoint there's not a lot of difference in husbandry and enclosure size with keeping a 5' versus a 6' boa; your selection will likely be based on looks and temperament.

OTOH if space is at a premium and you want a BCI that will never outgrow a 40-breeder-size enclosure because space is a consideration then look for a male pure Tarahumara.