2018 0.1 Boa Constrictor Occidentalis, Argentine Boa, Progression

Looking great as always.


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I am just so blown away every time I see a pic of Mira Belle I just don’t have the words to describe her beauty. You have a special one there for sure JM.

She really is outstanding, that colour is just amazing

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Been stalking the floor with pupils the size of a nickel for a week. Sorry gal, kitchen is closed for the winter...
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You’re doing a GREAT job with your critters Crook. They all look AMAZING!! I haven’t totally shut the kitchen down but everybody’s getting reduced rations for the next few months. Smaller meals and fewer of them.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

You’re doing a GREAT job with your critters Crook. They all look AMAZING!! I haven’t totally shut the kitchen down but everybody’s getting reduced rations for the next few months. Smaller meals and fewer of them.

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Thanks, Ziggy! This is my first time intentionally fasting them through the winter and seeing them clearly looking for food makes me want to cave in. Suppose I could take your approach too, smaller and fewer meals with slightly lower temps. If anyone starts looking thin I’ll adjust my plans but ambient temps are scheduled to start dropping in a couple weeks and hot spots will be lower and not offered at night. Gotta get the Brisbanes accustomed to some fairly cool temps for breeding trials eventually, and maybe the Argentine someday as well.


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Thanks, Ziggy! This is my first time intentionally fasting them through the winter and seeing them clearly looking for food makes me want to cave in. Suppose I could take your approach too, smaller and fewer meals with slightly lower temps. If anyone starts looking thin I’ll adjust my plans but ambient temps are scheduled to start dropping in a couple weeks and hot spots will be lower and not offered at night. Gotta get the Brisbanes accustomed to some fairly cool temps for breeding trials eventually, and maybe the Argentine someday as well.


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Most of my critters get super active about 10 days after eating because they’re usually fed roughly every 2 weeks. I just moved them to every 3 weeks. Then it’ll be every 4-6 weeks until March. No more jumbo rats for anybody. They’ll get one more large and then it’s all medium and small rats. I’ve gotta start dialing my temps back too. That’s where I get a little off track, especially in the cages with RHPs. Those guys are still basking at 86-88 F with ambient temps of 80F. So you drop your daytime temps and totally kill the heat at night. Where do you keep your daytime temps? My house gets down to 68-70 at night. It doesn’t seem to bother them and I know the Argie and Bredli can withstand even colder temps.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Most of my critters get super active about 10 days after eating because they’re usually fed roughly every 2 weeks. I just moved them to every 3 weeks. Then it’ll be every 4-6 weeks until March. No more jumbo rats for anybody. They’ll get one more large and then it’s all medium and small rats. I’ve gotta start dialing my temps back too. That’s where I get a little off track, especially in the cages with RHPs. Those guys are still basking at 86-88 F with ambient temps of 80F. So you drop your daytime temps and totally kill the heat at night. Where do you keep your daytime temps? My house gets down to 68-70 at night. It doesn’t seem to bother them and I know the Argie and Bredli can withstand even colder temps.

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Good to know. It’s possible I’ll offer a small meal a month or so in but we’ll see.

Daytime ambient and hot spots are 77-80° and 86-88° or so. I have the snake room heated with an oil radiator so I’m only using RHP in one enclosure currently with heat tape for everything else.

Probably only drop the room ambient to low 70 give or take this winter. At that point I’ll have the RHPs as a safety net to ensure certain enclosures don’t dip below a certain temp. Brisbanes and the Argentine will be able to handle some pretty low temps but I don’t want the rockhampton below 70° and probably keep the Suriname mid-low 70s at the lowest. Royal Python will likely be kept at his year round temps and fed through the winter if he goes for it again this year.

Everything is on herpstats that can be programmed to kick on and off at set times over a ramping period. Need a higher quality stat for the room heater, may spring for a VE hi power stat though it requires a separate module for doing night drops and is out of stock. I only use the low setting on my heater which is 600watts. Could technically use a herpstat 1 for that (handles up to 700watts) and have day and night ambient temps set for the room to ramp up and down around sunrise and sunset.

I’m bit ocd/need control over these kinds of things and I think it will be an interesting learning experience to go through.


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“Sonuva... something’s gotta walk past this game trail eventually, right?!?” - Mirabelle

Hasn’t left her shelf or perch in nearly 3 weeks. Haven’t interacted with her at all in that time out of curiosity as to how long she’ll stay up there.

Sorry, kid. Kitchen is still closed til early next year...
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LOL

She's determined for sure!

She's stunning that's for sure

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Such a lovely -- and determined! -- lady. Ah, if only Argentine boas didn't grow so large. There'd be one in this house in a heartbeat.

Another thing I'm envious of? People whose boas sit and stalk patiently for their meals. You have some very well-behaved boas in your house. :)

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Originally Posted by WrongPython

Such a lovely -- and determined! -- lady. Ah, if only Argentine boas didn't grow so large. There'd be one in this house in a heartbeat.

Another thing I'm envious of? People whose boas sit and stalk patiently for their meals. You have some very well-behaved boas in your house. :)

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Thank you, so much, WrongPython! While I haven’t experienced the full lifecycle of an Argentine Boa, they don’t necessarily ~need~ to achieve monster sizes. Bob Guerriere has breeding adults under 7’, over 6-7yrs from what I can gather in texts with him.
I certainly wouldn’t let the genetic size maximum of an Argentine deter you from the wonderful joy that is caring for an Argentine. Granted, she’s probably going to be a beast in several years... but it will be a gradual acclimation to her being that size.


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[QUOTE=.Another thing I'm envious of? People whose boas sit and stalk patiently for their meals. You have some very well-behaved boas in your house. :)[/QUOTE]


It’s worth noting, my Surinam male is far less content to sit still. He’ll jam his head in the door track gap for what seems like forever. No abrasions though but I keep a close eye in things.

More than happy to geek out on boas with you anytime. Just shoot me a message


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Hah! She finally came down from her perch by her own choice tonight after like three weeks to the day. I also dropped the room temp 2° today, could be related but who knows.


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First interaction with this animal in a month. Really squirrely on a scale but I think she’s over 700grams now. Hard to think she was 130ish when she got here almost 2yrs ago.
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WOW, looking large!

Beautiful as always.

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Originally Posted by Gio

WOW, looking large!

Beautiful as always.

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Yep! She’s a sturdy 3’+ now. She’s a big framed animal too and will certainly be a marvelous critter to behold at 7-8’. Built like a boat anchor hah!


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She doesn’t look so big in her enclosure, but she is. Thank you for sharing.


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Originally Posted by Kam

She doesn’t look so big in her enclosure, but she is. Thank you for sharing.


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No kidding, in the enclosure she looks small and has a ton of space. But in hand she blows me away with how much she’s grown, albeit slowly over two years.


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She's looking fantastic.
Her colour and markings really are outstanding mate

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She’s only come down from this spot once in close to 7 weeks. Cooler temps seem not to phase her or impact her hunting/stalking tendencies at all.
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She's just stunning

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This girl has been looking absolutely bonkers recently and had to share a bunch of pictures. Will start feeding her again probably this week or next. She’s gone 8 full weeks without food and with lower temps and she’s honestly been even more active. Surely somewhat due to hunger but I can’t help but wonder if getting down to 68-69° at night for a week triggered something in her brain as well. Love observing behaviors and learning things from these animals.
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2/2019 above,
12/2020 below
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She’s gorgeous.


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She’s pretty incredible J. I love the beauty of the Maxx Pinks and the classic BCOs so it’s exciting to watch our critters grow together. My girl was born 6/16/18 so they’re practically the same age. Your girl looks a tad bigger than my girl. I haven’t weighed her in forever but she’s eating mostly small, and occasionally medium rats, so she’s probably close to 1kg.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

She’s pretty incredible J. I love the beauty of the Maxx Pinks and the classic BCOs so it’s exciting to watching our critters grow together. My girl was born 6/16/18 so they’re practically the same age. Your girl looks a tad bigger than my girl. I haven’t weighed her in forever but she’s eating mostly small, and occasionally medium rats, so she’s probably close to 1kg.

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Thanks brother! Yeah, Mira is 8/17/2018 so practically the same age. Last I tried to weigh her she wouldn’t sit still but is at least 700g. Eating small rats but next feeder order I make will have mediums added. Smalls don’t leave any bump in her or the Surinam boy anymore.

I love the color on her but the classic black and white Argentine is hard to beat. I wonder if she’s ever going to get darker? Certainly won’t be mad if she doesn’t but perhaps I’ll have to get her a boyfriend that’s a bit on the darker more high contrast end of the argie spectrum... or another screamin pink one... [emoji848]


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She's looking fantastic, the colour and markings on her is just outstanding
Can't believe how much she has grown

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[emoji869][emoji232][emoji88]Death From Above[emoji88][emoji232][emoji869]
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Fresh shed last night/this morning. As always very best and tidy about it. Rarely if ever even leaves her hide to do so and deposits a nice tight bundle of skin.
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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Fresh shed last night/this morning. As always very best and tidy about it. Rarely if ever even leaves her hide to do so and deposits a nice tight bundle of skin.
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Such amazing colour and markings jm
Shes just getting better with age, I look forward to progression pics of her[emoji7][emoji7]

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jmcrook. I agree with Rich. That is one stunning boa! Incredible how the pinks and her contrast are just getting better.

Going to be fun to watch her grow.

Keep us posted.

It’s so odd, I had expected her to gradually become darker with age and size, but she seems to get lighter and lighter. Certainly not mad about it because she’s absolutely stunning in my own very biased opinion. Her pinks have definitely gotten more pink and even a bit more red/orange on the last 1/3 of her length. Can’t wait to see what she looks like at 15-20lbs and 7’+


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

It’s so odd, I had expected her to gradually become darker with age and size, but she seems to get lighter and lighter. Certainly not mad about it because she’s absolutely stunning in my own very biased opinion. Her pinks have definitely gotten more pink and even a bit more red/orange on the last 1/3 of her length. Can’t wait to see what she looks like at 15-20lbs and 7’+


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She's totally stunning! What an interesting look she has- & those pinks! :bow:

I remember when she was wittle baby.


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Getting some size on her for real now. Just clocked in at 894grams. May see if she can handle a medium rat by her third bday in August. I swear she’s getting lighter with each shed. Was way darker two years ago as a baby.
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I think she's getting lighter too, looking fantastic mate

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Had to see them side by side. Obviously different lighting, but also obviously a dramatic change in color. Wow!! These pictures are 23 months apart. 5/2019-4/2021
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By far one of the most beautiful boas I've seen. So very unique.

That’s a really cool and unique color change with your girl Crook! She’s one sweet looking serpent! I’ve got to get some fresh pics of my Argie. She’ll be 3 in June. I think BCOs are very underrepresented in the hobby so it’s great watching our girls grow up together. I can’t wait til they’re both big beautiful 8’ beasties!!

She's so cool mate
I love her pink saddles against the light grey, absolutely stunning [emoji7][emoji7][emoji7]

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After a night of exploring her new digs it seems she approves of her sky hide and has retired there for the daylight hours. Love it
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Seems to be developing a rhythm of sorts post feeding in the larger enclosure. He’s been found on her shelf the last two days during the warmest part of the heating schedule I have programmed. RHP hits its peak basking spot temp (~88°) from 11am-6pm ramping up to and down from the highest temp over a period of 3hrs.
Has been found in both her floor hides and other floor are, but no higher than the shelf since feeding.
Only thing she hasn’t used yet is the sky hide under the shelf. May guide her into it so she’s aware of it and see if that influences anything.
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Right after I temp gunned her at 88°

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Cruising the floor under her partial cork bark tube


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She's so cool[emoji7][emoji7], just stunning jmcrook

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Fresh shed, natural light outside on the porch, weighing in at 927grams. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...87f8a74a2e.jpg


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Fresh shed, natural light outside on the porch, weighing in at 927grams. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...87f8a74a2e.jpg


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Wow! That pink is AMAZING! She looks fantastic in her new skin brother! You’re making me a little self conscious about my Argies weight now 😀. Our girls are right about the same age. My girl was born on 6/28/2018 so she’s almost 3. She weighed 1510g about 3 weeks ago. I’m feeding her a medium rat every 2-3 weeks. She doesn’t seem overweight at all. She is more round than BI but the BI is the heavier critter. He’s a year older and about 1800g. Are you feeding mostly smalls or mediums?

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Wow! That pink is AMAZING! She looks fantastic in her new skin brother! You’re making me a little self conscious about my Argies weight now ��. Our girls are right about the same age. My girl was born on 6/28/2018 so she’s almost 3. She weighed 1510g about 3 weeks ago. I’m feeding her a medium rat every 2-3 weeks. She doesn’t seem overweight at all. She is more round than BI but the BI is the heavier critter. He’s a year older and about 1800g. Are you feeding mostly smalls or mediums?

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Thank you, Ziggy! If anything I'm a bit self conscious about my girl's weight. I feed pretty sparingly and small meals. She's never had a medium rat in her life and has been taking smalls every 10-14-? days. That will change this summer, maybe sooner than planned. I don't really have a schedule per se. I set a frequency of 12 days in my SnakeKeeper app and use that as a rough guideline. Sometimes I add a week and sometimes I'll feed a couple days earlier.

They can definitely handle a bigger meal than they'd let you think and grow faster than other Boa species from what I can find on that subject. This is even mentioned in The MORE Complete Boa Constrictor about them growing large and more quickly than others.

She's most definitely rounder than my Pokigron Suriname boy. Your girl doesn't look overweight at all to me either, Zig. Like I've mentioned before, I think I'm just a bit gun shy about feeding frequency and size after feeding the holy bejeezus out of my retics a few years ago to combat their pushing issues. Feeling a bit more comfortable about letting the current critters feast through the summer and then dial it back and fast them through the winter.

Well, @El-Ziggy, safe to say I underestimated this girl. Just pounded a medium rat and while hard to tell from this angle, it doesn’t seem like an outrageous lump by any measure. [emoji41]
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That’s cool JMC. I didn’t think she’d have any problems with those mediums. You probably won’t see a bump at all in a couple of days.

Yeah, looked big until it was in her belly. The bump, and it’s hard to even call it that, is just before the last 1/3 of her that is coiled up.
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