BOA question

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Originally Posted by Marla

That sounds cruel but effective. It would be nice if they could develop a way to take a liver tissue sample or whatever through a minimally invasive procedure on live animals.

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Yea, it would make things more convienant. But it is my understanding that no invasive method exsists, and if it does, i'm assuming it's expensive which leads to what breeders normally do to make sure their boid stock stays clean. But personally, if i had several snakes worth large amounts of money in my breeding stock, i'd take every precautionary step possible to avoid something like IBD, it could wipe out an entire collection very quickly, and theres nothing the owners could do to stop it. So i guess it comes down to the simple equation of protecting the majority of the stock, by sacraficing 1 baby from first breeds with collection additions.

The breeder i'm referring to breeds alot of different BCI variations, and several semi-expensive genetic ball morphs as well.

I'm certainly not putting down his choice. It sounds like a very good way to keep IBD out of his stock, and that's something we all benefit from. I'd like to know which breeders do this if I decide to purchase a boa in the future.

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Originally Posted by Marla

I'm certainly not putting down his choice. It sounds like a very good way to keep IBD out of his stock, and that's something we all benefit from. I'd like to know which breeders do this if I decide to purchase a boa in the future.

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Yea, i'd always ask and see if their stock has ever been IBD tested, and just do the run of the mill questions to make sure the breeder is competent and knows what they are doing. And if you'd ever want the information for the breeder i purchased from, Chris Himstedt, i'd be more than happy to give his contact information. All in all he's an extremely knowledgible herp breeder, and always willing to answer any and all questions, and the thing i like most about him, he wants his normal's to get just as good of homes as his morphs. I've heard stories from other local people who said he's refused sales because he doesn't think the snake will be going to a proper home.

I appreciate all y'alls input on this matter. It has been very helpful and informative. I believe that I have come to a decision that if/when I am ready to get a BCI I would be better off buying one from a good breeder online than I would be buying one at a local pet shop where you don't know anything about them. At least with a well known breeder you can actually talk to the breeder and get some much needed information from them verses going getting one from a pet shop where they workers there don' t know their a** from a hole in the ground. I was already leaning toward ordering one from an online breeder, and I apreciate y'alls input on this and confirmed my assuptions. You guys rock.

Thanks for the info, Jase. I appreciate your input on making boa purchases safer. And Da Wolf, I think that's a good idea, particularly after Jase shared the lengths that some breeders will go to in order to keep their stock clean. I doubt there's more than a dozen pet stores in the country who'd care enough to make sure their sources are that clean.

In continuing with my research on my possible new addition of a BCI, I was wondering if y'all could tell me what would the most popular enclosure to keep him in when full grown. I know that most people would say to builder your own cage, but I neither have the tools, equipment, nor the place to build a custom cage. So, with that being said, I will need to purchase an enclosure for him. I know that I would not need one for at least 2 maybe more years, but I like to have a plan for something like this (have my ducks in a row) rather than just jumping head first in. So, where would you recommend me to get an enclosure for a full grown male BCI?

I know that Animal Plastics and Vision Herp both make big enough cages for a fully grown BCI. Check out our Web Links section on the left hand side for links to some pretty good custom cage makers.