advice on boas

Hi everyone,
I dont have a boa yet but I am seriously looking into getting one. I have had my ball python for a while now and she is very sweet. Typical ball likes to spend most of her time in her hide intill she gets hungry then she starts looking for food. I would like my next snake to be a bit more active and something I could handle a bit more. I am looking into a amaral or a male pastal.
I am just wondering what you all like about your boas and if you keep boas and balls do you prefer one to the other and if so why?
Thanks
Christine

I have kept many ball pythons and boas. I prefer boas over balls because boas are much more active, and more fun to handle. They are also much better eaters, and are not as picky as balls. All of my boas eat f/t rodents without any issues. I keep a variety of boas. My favorites are my Sabogae "Pearl Islands" boas. Next are my Colombian BCIs.

I have only had my Dumerils boa a week or so now, but man do I love her. I also have my BP but the Dumerils is infact a lot more fun to handle, and not as skiddish. She's quite calm in my hand, and doesn't want to bite. Also, she is a veracious (sp?) eater. I had her for only 2 days in her new enclosure, and figured "What the heck, I'll try and feed her". Sure enough, I dropped the mouse in there and instantly BANG! Snapped and rolled, and had her food down in 5 mins.

I'd say go for it, I love mine.

I hear so much that the boas feeding response is so much better. My ball eats pretty good but she will skip a meal every now and then. I was also looking into the dumerils. I want a boa I can manage and wont get to large so I will be looking at males and the smaller species of boas.There is someone who just had some amarali born and am leaning towards them. But I just love the color of a pastal. LOL Its hard to decide.

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Originally Posted by Christine

I hear so much that the boas feeding response is so much better. My ball eats pretty good but she will skip a meal every now and then. I was also looking into the dumerils. I want a boa I can manage and wont get to large so I will be looking at males and the smaller species of boas.There is someone who just had some amarali born and am leaning towards them. But I just love the color of a pastal. LOL Its hard to decide.

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I hear ya. Her feeding response is HUGE. The only thing that worries me is that eventually she will be 7ft. However I should be able to handle her by then I hope.

okay i started out with 1 bp, 5 months later i got 3 bps, 3 BCIs, and 2 colubrids haha

i love my BPs but i love my BCI's more but dont tell my bps that ;) they just dont have as much character as my BCIs who love to go out and about town with me :D

plus my pastel and new salmon belly draw alot of attention especially to the reptile workers in the pet stores :D

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Originally Posted by smoffler

okay i started out with 1 bp, 5 months later i got 3 bps, 3 BCIs, and 2 colubrids haha

i love my BPs but i love my BCI's more but dont tell my bps that ;) they just dont have as much character as my BCIs who love to go out and about town with me :D

plus my pastel and new salmon belly draw alot of attention especially to the reptile workers in the pet stores :D

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Thanks. It seems a lot of people feel like you. Thats why I want to give a boa a try . I love my BP also she is sweet but just wants to hang in her house and I respect that. So I plan on going to the white plains show on sept 12 and see what catches my eye. The main thing is I want a boa that I will be able to manage. So looking at the smaller varieties. Temperament is the next thing. So many to choose from just makes it hard LOL. I think one minute a amarali or male pastel next minute I am looking at dumerils LOL Kid in a candy store LOL...

I'd give up all my other animals (cats included) before giving up my RTB.

I have 10 boas and 10 BP's. While the BP's are very nice looking they just can't match the personality of the boas. Everytime I open my boas cage they want to come out a greet me. THey seem to enjoy being out of the cage and are very active snakes. The BP's are great but they tend to want to hide and be left alone. I for one would prefer the boa but the size can be an issue if you are a small person (one of mine is nearing 8ft).

True size can be an issue, if your looking for a boa that won't get to big then check out the dumerils they have nice saddle markings and are attractive looking snakes, I homed two of them for about 2 weeks and ended up selling them to my tattoo artist's friends for a breeding pair price of 150 they were very loving snakes they like to explore and check out their surrondings just like my
RTBs

http://184.72.239.143/mu/470331e1-16cd-697b.jpg

This pic is when he picked up the dumerils he didn't even know the snake for 10 seconds when he handed me the money and said ill take him..

He originally came over for a bp but said they were boring and had no excitment lol

As for my RTBs I love them to death

And so does my wife she has a pastel and they are in seperable I'm sure if she could she'd replace me with the little guy ;)

http://184.72.239.143/mu/470331e1-178e-5d27.jpg

Lol hope that helped out a little bit ;)

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using Tapatalk

+1 for the Dumerils. I love their personality. They will let you know when they want to come out of their tank, and when they want to be left alone. Found that out last night. LOL

She was burrowed, and I had to clean out some stuff from the tank. I accidently disturbed her, and she wasn't too happy with me. No striking or anything, but obviously I was interrupting her nap. LOL

There are quite a few "dwarf boas" that stay under five feet. Males boas are smaller than females, and may only reach three or three-and-a-half feet in some localities. Central American "Nic" boas are pretty popular for their small size and many color variations. Males can breed at around 500 grams.

This is really great hearing the reasons why everyone loves their boas.
I cant wait! lol
I have been gathering the things I need for a new snake little by little every week. I am in the process of paying off a huge vet bill from my cat and dog they are both getting old and starting to fall apart on me... But I should totally have enough money in the next two weeks plus my B day is on the 18th so this will be a gift to myself.:D

GL with your BOA!!! I'm sure you'll love it....

:snake::snake::snake:

Alex

Between my Corns, Milk, Boas and Balls, I love my Boas the best. First in line would be my BRB, Marius. He is my absolute favorite. Next up would be my RTBs. They are just so much more personable and fun to handle. However...they don't usually just hang out around your shoulders like my BPs do. They like to explore and if I sit still for too long, they're looking for a way to get down and wander off. :D I think you'll love having a boa, though. They're fascinating.

I am hoping to find a very friendly one at the white plains show.I am really looking forward to this. I love the look of BRB too.

I work at a LPS as a second job to support my animal habit. I had always wanted a snake and my husband and I were probably going to get a BP. After two days of working there I fell in LOVE with this Hog Island Boa (BCI):

http://a.imageshack.us/img811/3734/i...0907165515.jpg

I ended up rescuing a badly mauled BP and the vet bill has forced me to put off buying this guy for a while.

Something about him always just makes me smile when I hold him. Relaxes me too! I'd definately go for a boa. Before I fell for the Hog, I was looking at the rough scaled sand boa...only 2' ish for males.

I really love the color of that boa looks air brushed :)

He's the same one in my avatar....his tail looks like mosaic tiles lol
http://a.imageshack.us/img824/729/img20100907213316.jpg

Just an update...I picked up that Hog Isle 9-10-10 and he is actually a she! Her name is Syke...love her to pieces. She is exactly what I wanted. Nice size, max 6' is HUGE for HIBs...not too big, but big enough to drape over your shoulders and stuff. I also wanted an active aboreal snake that takes to quite a bit of handling and being out of their enclosure. I can't wait to build her an exercise/display enclosure. Awesome, awesome snakies and I HIGHLY recommend. (Note: I have read that babies can be nippy and or hissy but come around quickly)

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Originally Posted by sisble50

I work at a LPS as a second job to support my animal habit. I had always wanted a snake and my husband and I were probably going to get a BP. After two days of working there I fell in LOVE with this Hog Island Boa (BCI):

http://a.imageshack.us/img811/3734/i...0907165515.jpg

I ended up rescuing a badly mauled BP and the vet bill has forced me to put off buying this guy for a while.

Something about him always just makes me smile when I hold him. Relaxes me too! I'd definately go for a boa. Before I fell for the Hog, I was looking at the rough scaled sand boa...only 2' ish for males.

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That HIB looks amazing!

Would like to point out that HIB and BCI boas are not the same thing, though.

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Originally Posted by Shenzi Sixaxis

Would like to point out that HIB and BCI boas are not the same thing, though.

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Hog Island boas are a locality boa in the BCI subspecies.

dumerils/BCI's are your best bet. Ive got a nice one currently. heres a few pictures of the girl, these are actually taken today.

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/5...ment4aspxq.jpg

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/9726/photo219w.jpg

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/5609/photo221h.jpg

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/9674/photo225.jpg

I don't own any snakes yet but was looking at BP's I'll definitely get one but now I'm not so sure it'll be my first snake

looking at RTB's and Dumerils what's the average size of a male RTB? would I eventually have to feed it small rabbits?

care differences between the two?

what would be better for a newbie?

maybe a female Dumeril vs a male RTB?

Chad

When I spoke to Jimi from jimisnakes he said that the little male rtb that I bought might get between 5 and 7 ft. He also said he just feeds rats to his adults

generally even as adults RTBs wont eat rabbits, not even small rabbits. I own two ball pythons, and while there good starter snakes. theyre also abit of a bore.. but for a first snake ball pythons are great. If your willing to take abit more of a challenge go for the RTB. there generally sweethearts. And in my opinion a very beautiful snake. ball pythons are pretty.. but to be honest theres just to many genetic traits to them.. I find it kind of wrong to breed balls for there genetic traits.. atleast to the extent that people breed them to. I guess you gotta make a living some how.. but RTBS are great. and I have a female she should get. 6-9 feet max :)

5-7 feet I can handle I just don't want a 10 foot female.

do they do well in tubs like BP's? and do the babies get stressed out in a bigger enclosure?

btw awesome pictures of your snake hat lol

I think I'd get bored with a BP as they aren't very active.

thanks to both of you.

Chad

I have my new little guy set up in a tub right now. I like the neodesha cages and will be getting one for him when he gets bigger.I just figures I would use tubs till he gets larger cheaper that way.