Pictures of full grown male boas

I like dark grey boas with cream and red tails.


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Those are some cool looking morphs.


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First off, don't be put off by size. You grow with the snake, and usually once people feel confident they actually wish they had something a little larger. With boas, BCC or BCI the name of the game is feeding and husbandry when it comes to size. You can grow a nice long, lean, muscular boa by feeding properly. If you maintain temps on the higher end of the spectrum, you'll have a BC that digests faster and can eat another meal sooner. This is fine in the summer, but I use methods that mimmic seasonal changes now that my male is mature and drop the temps in the winter, and I provide a night drop as well year round. He is going close to 6 feet and will be 3 years old in 2 days.

As stated the Suriname and Guyana BCCs are some of the largest. Probably the biggest of all are the Iquitos, Peruvian BCC, really and of the Amazon Basin BCCs can get large. But the large, wild boa are far from fat. They can be 12 feet long and pure muscle.

Also note the largest boas are the ones that are the oldest. Keep a snake properly and it will thrive and live a long time. They don't stop growing, they just slow down a lot.

Gus Rentfro and Vincent Russo are excellent sources, and Vincent Russo wrote THE COMPLETE BOA CONSTRICTOR

This is a male, Barranquilla, Colombian boa.

This is technically a BCI, but it has qualities of BCC boas. It is said the particular locality if what a natural cross between BCC and BCI would look like.


You can see in the pictures that he is very lean.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2586.jpg

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2578.jpg

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2587.jpg


Just when you think 6 feet is huge, you see them curled up and they look small again.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/DSC01525.jpg



There is sexual size dimorphism in boa constrictors and it favors the females. However, a male BC without any female BCs in the house experiences no pheromonal cues from a female to breed, and if you are just raising you male BC as a non-breeding pet, it could attain a large size.

I suspect my BC will maybe get close 6.5 to 7 feet long.

This last picture was about a year ago to the day.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...DSC01297-1.jpg

So do you think he is topped out?


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Originally Posted by Billy29

So do you think he is topped out?


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Nope, not yet, I feel he will probably grow to 6.5 or 7 feet like I stated above. The size comes on very slowly after they hit maturity though.

I imagine this summer season he'll hit 6 feet or maybe a bit more. He is starting to thicken up more now.

The key is at this age you need to watch the lower, or tail portion of the snake. Boas carry fat down by the tail and if you are not in tune with the snake's body shape, age and feeding frequency you could end up over feeding.

The key is length, but keeping the leanness as the animal grows. That is if you want a decent sized, healthy BC.

A healthy boa should have a raised up, laterally compressed or "loaf shaped" body. Round BCs are headed down the wrong road.

Anyhow, I'm keeping an eye on my guy as I want him big, but not at the expense of health. I plan on seeing this snake for 25+ more years if I do things properly.

Here is another thing to think about. I have a coastal carpet python that is longer than that boa. It's about a year younger and the girth of a garden hose or just a tad more. The "big factor" is not all tied up in length. It's the combination of the two.

Prepare the best you can, like you are doing now. Ask questions, look at your long term situation and find some snakes you like.

I doubt many folks buy a BC when it's young and feel intimidated after raising it for a few years. You get so used to it, and honestly it is very exciting to see them grow.

Snakes don't do an awful lot. They eat, which is a very interesting, and to me, a fun interaction, and they shed and grow. Occasionally you will see them out and about, more-so if you feed them properly.

Get something that you really want and enjoy it.

You bring up some good points. I am in no means intimidated by a big snake. I just want to be a responsible pet owner and get something I won't have to rehome in ten years when I feel there may be a safety concern for my other pets. I feel my ball python won't get big enough to do much of anything but a boa is going to have a few feet on him.


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Originally Posted by Billy29

You bring up some good points. I am in no means intimidated by a big snake. I just want to be a responsible pet owner and get something I won't have to rehome in ten years when I feel there may be a safety concern for my other pets. I feel my ball python won't get big enough to do much of anything but a boa is going to have a few feet on him.


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You will be fine. the true giant boas are quite rare, and if you are responsible and feed properly in captivity, you probably will not see anything over 8 feet long. An 8 foot long female BC is plenty of snake without being something crazy like a retic that suddenly ends up 13+ feet long and busier than you expected.

You'll do well because you are concerned enough to care on the front end.

I'm going to look out for a nice imperator that has some good coloring.

Which subspecies has the nicest looking tails ?


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Billy29

I'm going to look out for a nice imperator that has some good coloring.

Which subspecies has the nicest looking tails ?


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Tails are a crapshoot with BCI, and even with some BCC. I was going to say the locality I have, (Barranquilla) for BCI but my fella didn't keep his tail.

Really, the Suriname boas that are bred selectively are going to have that trait, though there are others that do, Suris carry it more consistently.

You could look into some morphs and see if there are any that catch your eye, but if you prefer "mother nature colors" then look for something that you find attractive and go from there.

Yeah I'm looking. The Surinams are the prettiest to me but the males do get kind of big. I'm trying to stay in the 6 foot range full grown. I still haven't ruled out the rainbow boa either.


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