new to the forum

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Originally Posted by Naom9Anne

Where they're from originally, boa's give birth to live young whereas pythons lay eggs, pythons have heat pits whereas boa's don't...etc

Also they look different like comparing a german shepherd to a staffordshire bull terrier I suppose, where both are dogs but different types of dogs. Both constrict around their prey and some boa's can stay around the same size as ball pythons. Some pretty boa's out there too, I like the rainbow boa's if I was ever to get one :)

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Corallus caninus possesses infared thermal sensors as well. Boas and Python differ primarily in reproduction, with pythons generally laying eggs and boas usually giving live birth. The theory is that the common ancestor of boas and pythons split when certain individuals became better suited to actively pursuing prey these populations eventually became the pythons whereas the others that preferred ambushing their prey became boas. Eventually natural selection and genetic drift favored pythons who could lay eggs and immediately begin hunting once again, whereas boas preferred live birth due to being an ambush predator. There are of course gray areas though, for example, burms and bloods are generally ambush predators yet are classified as pythons and, I forget the species, but I believe taxonomists still accept a species of sand boa as a boa even though the species lays eggs. There is much controversy and many gray areas.

It all depends on what you want. Corns are easy beginner snakes that move around a lot. Balls are easy beginner snakes that chill. If you want one that gets bigger than a ball then a blood. Corns are a bit easier in husbandry than Balls but I prefer balls. I want a snake that will relax and not be schitzoid energy. I get that enough from my dog lol. To me Ball Pythons are the perfect snake for me. You might want one with a bit more energy than I do. Also for starter snakes I would not go for one of the large constrictors. Ive heard of people getting rock pythons and burmese pythons as a starter snake then neglecting it when it got too big and scary to them to care for. Also feeding them is more expensive than one of the small constrictors. What ever you choose make sure you are ready for the care that goes into the snake. Good luck on what ever you choose.

As a beginner myself we considered a rosy boa as a good starter snake. We ended up with an adult femal normal ball and are very happy with her.

All I can advise is research, research, research! Go to shows/stores and have a look at what they have and get a feel for the different snakes. When you decide which one you want from viewing and handling (you don't have to buy from a pet store, find a good local breeder but pet stores will be good for getting a little bit of a feel) you can look into research for that particular animal.

Find a local breeder or rep show (rep shows aren't a huge option here in the UK, here it is a breeder or a reptile specific store) and find out prices to see if you can buy straight out or if you can pay in chunks. Before getting your BP get the enclosure and set it up to get you husbandry spot on. Depending on what you get may depend on your set up and also depending on if you want a good display depends on if you would go for a tub (storage box with secure handles jigged for ventilation etc) or a tank. Tubs work well for BP's as they don't need a lot of room and you just upgrade as needs be. You can get advice on sizes depending on age of the BP on here if you were to go for one for example. They make sure you get your heating equipment, THERMOSTAT I put this in capitals as it is vital!!!, hides (cold end and hot end), water bowl, you can use something as simple as paper towels or newspaper for substrate or aspen etc, a digital hygrometer/thermometer is essential for checking the humidity and temperatures in whatever enclosure you decide to go for. This is a basic set up. You need a lot of these things for all snakes regardless of what you go for. Difference may be in type of enclosure.

Read care sheets. I found a combination of these and this forum really helped me. Make sure you have the means to feed them and heat them, they're not too expensive to care for until you start getting into the bigger numbers.

Let us know what you decide on!! :D

I personally like ball pythons. They're very easy to take care of, very docile and they grow to 6 ft max. Some Boas could grow from 12-16 feet. That's a little bit too much snake for me ;)

I actually think there are other snakes that are easier to take care of,Bps require attention and to there homes as well???but for tempermement!from my knowledge there the best??they are def very sweet animals.

Would Colombian red tail boas be a good first pet? I'm only asking because I found a good deal on one that is full grown at 7 foot?

Sent from my HTCONE

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Originally Posted by kingkung

Would Colombian red tail boas be a good first pet? I'm only asking because I found a good deal on one that is full grown at 7 foot?

Sent from my HTCONE

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I know a lot of people that started with Colombians and are still doing great. How big is the specimen right now? There is no set length for any species, haveing maintained a small breeding colony of 30 boas at my old job I can tell you now that size varies considerable among BCIs (Colombians), I have a male that has maxed out at around 6.5ft and my female might just be flirting with the 9ft mark right now, I have not measured her in a awhile. Care is pretty straight forward. Handeling is a mix, some will sit with you, but most are quite active. Hope that helps, if you want more advice on husbandry just let me know.

Snakes never really stop growing. There are specimens of all species that get really big and some that stay small. It all depends on husbandry and feeding. I wish I could get on my comp and quote some sites but it decided to take a nasty dump on me and I need to get it into my comp guy. I know the largest ball off the top of my head was 6ft. Columbians can be great pets as long as they are properly cared for. You can not skimp on feeding them appropriately and expect them to still be sweethearts. I know of one columbian that honestly should have been put down because of her owner neglecting her. She was aggressive beyond belief. She would track me every time I visited her owner. I also know a burmese thats the same way and has attacked people because of neglect. Ball Pythons are a bit more forgiving. I know my poor girl wasn't fed for almost 6 months because the people who were watching her didn't have the money. She was also in a really disgusting cage, with no heat, or water. I picked her up and she was still sweet to me. I've gotten her fed 2x since I got her back and she is calm and loving to me. She is very head shy now but I am working on that. She hasn't even tried to strike at me or my son and he is fascinated with her and bangs on her enclosure.

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Originally Posted by Phantomtip

Snakes never really stop growing. There are specimens of all species that get really big and some that stay small. It all depends on husbandry and feeding. I wish I could get on my comp and quote some sites but it decided to take a nasty dump on me and I need to get it into my comp guy. I know the largest ball off the top of my head was 6ft. Columbians can be great pets as long as they are properly cared for. You can not skimp on feeding them appropriately and expect them to still be sweethearts. I know of one columbian that honestly should have been put down because of her owner neglecting her. She was aggressive beyond belief. She would track me every time I visited her owner. I also know a burmese thats the same way and has attacked people because of neglect. Ball Pythons are a bit more forgiving. I know my poor girl wasn't fed for almost 6 months because the people who were watching her didn't have the money. She was also in a really disgusting cage, with no heat, or water. I picked her up and she was still sweet to me. I've gotten her fed 2x since I got her back and she is calm and loving to me. She is very head shy now but I am working on that. She hasn't even tried to strike at me or my son and he is fascinated with her and bangs on her enclosure.

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Do not forget the most important part, GENETICS. Snakes, and reptiles in general, never stop growing; however, there is a "max out" point where growth is just too minuscule to be of any real significance. Nice to hear the BP is in a better home. :gj: