Vs. - Pros & Cons Please

I just got my first snake... FINALLY after begging for yrs i moved out persuaded my bf and got one :D ( and no i wasnt 30 living in mom's basement;) )

I got a male BP in Sept '10 he was born in jul/aug i cant remember which. But he is just awesome! Im already begging my bf to let me bring home another but we have too many pets already :( :D

I have done some thorough research on RTB's and BP's and I have more recently discovered the Dumiril (i know thats not spelled right.) and the Rainbow Boa.

I prefer to hear word of mouth about snakes than what someone can copy and paste to the internet if you know what i mean.
I know they all get roughly around the same length (RTB, RB, DB).And they are all equally awesome in looks.

But if you have owned one or more of these I would LOVE to see your replys as to which one is best for someone who takes her snake out every night and does chores with him around her neck? Or even just the Pros and Cons you have noticed from experience.

Thanks! :)

Dumerils get big, I've handled and seen a few adults and they get as big as the true red tails. They are also decently heavy bodied (maybe 18 inches around or so?) at least thats what I've seen in person. The few I have seen have been very tolerant of handling. They are an absolutely beautiful creature and I would love to have one one day if i have the room and the money.

Red tails are great, I haven't owned any true red tails (just central americans, nics and hog islands). my hogg island was one of the best snakes I've ever owned. Great feeding response, good with being handled, not too big. A friend of mine owns her now and I get updates every month. :3

BRBs, no experience there. Not my preferred species.

I have a male dumeril boa. Bought him about 5 months ago, and then he was 1 yr old. He was around 200-300 grams then. Now he is almost 1000g and he is an awesome snake!! He is a very good eater, very docile and loves to be in the open. We handle him often and he is soo calm when out of his enclosure, never acts skittish or frightened. Never struck at myself or my wife. Even she can get him out of his house with no problem! Id say go with a dumeril, you will love it He will get alot bigger, which i cant wait for, hes already growing at a nice pace. Also hes eating med rats,keep them on rats. If you want to know more, jut ask.

For the cons.. well there isnt any!

I love my female Dumeril's, her and my carpet python are my favorites.

However, since you JUST got a ball python I suggest you wait it out a little bit and get used to the responsibility of that animal. Dums and BRBs take a little more experience and both get a pretty decent size; 7-9ft, but Dums are thicker bodied than BRBs.

I would just wait a few months before diving into something that level. But get a baby, if you do, so you can understand it as it grows.

I just got a rainbow boa and I looove her! I have limited experience but have been researching for several years. BRBs need a bit of humidity, but in a proper enclosure it isn't that hard to keep up(if you must use an aquarium, cover the majority of the screen top with wood/aluminum or something), also be prepared these snakes are escape artists if there ever was one! They can be nippy, but so can all snake babies, but with time can be calmed down. Of course if you get bit when it's a baby it won't be that big of a deal, so don't let that scare you!

Just make sure you have the heat right and the humidity right. When the snake goes into shed, spray the cage a little more, put some wet paper towels in one of the hide, something like that. Just to get a little extra help during the shed.

I also have a BCI common boa(these are like RTBs but a little smaller, often confused for them) and I love her! She is easy and nice and calm. But she will get big.

Like stated earlier, have fun with your ball python for now, once you get more experience, then you can think about other snakes! The only other beginner snake I'd recommend right now is a corn snake, lol! They are just about as easy as balls.

But honestly the biggest thing that makes these snakes 'harder' is either humidity or sheer size. If you were to get a baby you could get used to the size as it grows, but you want to wait until you are prepared to have an enclosure to fit the snake when it is full grown!

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

I love my female Dumeril's, her and my carpet python are my favorites.

However, since you JUST got a ball python I suggest you wait it out a little bit and get used to the responsibility of that animal. Dums and BRBs take a little more experience and both get a pretty decent size; 7-9ft, but Dums are thicker bodied than BRBs.

I would just wait a few months before diving into something that level. But get a baby, if you do, so you can understand it as it grows.

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I agree with that.

I can't speak for BRB's but since I have the other three on your list I can pretty much compare them side by side and I can only speak for mine in particular. My Dumerils, Costa Rican, and BP are close enough in size that the differences are readily apparent. Boas seem to be more curious about what's going on when you are in and around their enclosure. When you first get boas out of their enclosures, they tend to be more flighty, but they settle down after a few minutes. If you do decide to go with a Dumerils, there are some things you need to be ready for. Dumerils pack alot of strength. They may be relaxed and docile while being handled, but you can feel the difference between them and the other two. While all three may be normally docile, that all changes at feeding time. Dums can have a super aggressive feeding response, they have a longer striking distance and IMO a faster strike. When I feed the RTB's and BP they kind of creep up on the rat, get in close, size up the rat, and then strike. You can pretty much judge when they are going to do it. With the Dum, as soon as he smells rat, he goes on the hunt around the enclosure. Once I get the rat in the tub and he zeroes in on it, he strikes hard and fast. It doesn't matter if the rat is 6 inches away or 18 inches away. I've even got a longer set of feed tongs just for feeding him. I'm not trying to discourage you away from Dumerils, I'm just saying that despite all of their docility, they have some surprising traits. If you know for a fact that you are going to get a boa, I would suggest getting a snake hook and start practicing with your BP. That way, when you do get a boa, you will already have your hooking technique down and you can start hook training the boa while it's young...

I own quite a few boas. I have Central American boas and Colombian boas. I do not own Dumerils or Rainbow boas, so can not comment on those. Central American boas stay very small. Males average around 3.5 feet and females 5 feet. Colombians, on the other hand, are quite a bit larger. Males average around 6 feet and females 8. If you were to get a Colombian red-tail, which is the most common red-tail, I suggest going with a male. Females can get rather large, and although they are usually very docile they could be tough for one person to handle. There are also many different colors and patters to choose from. Check out kingsnake.com classifieds for pics of different morphs. Good luck on whatever you decide.

I've owned my BRB for well over a year now. He's a great guy, very personable and quite calm {except when he's hungry}. As Purplemuffin states, humidity is important with them and it must be kept a bit high.
As for hanging a BRB around your neck to do chores. It might depend upon the boa, but whenever I take my little guy out to hold and check him over, he's very active. Always moving about and exploring. So unless you can find a relatively inactive BRB you might have troubles doing chores with one.

You can't judge a snake's true "size" on its length.

A 5-6 foot BRB may weigh exactly the same as a 3 foot RTB or a 9 foot blue beauty ratsnake. BRBs stay MUCH smaller in both weight and length (particularly in length) than RTBs and dumerils.

We have a pair of brazilian rainbow boas, and they were a great first snake species for my girlfriend. They're a little more demanding so not quite as boring as your typical corn snake or ball python, and SUPER beautiful!

The experience you get from BRBs is completely different than heavy bodied red tailed boas or dumerils. If you want a big, heavy snake, go with the RTB or dumerils. If you don't, a BRB is a good choice.

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Dums and BRBs take a little more experience and both get a pretty decent size; 7-9ft, but Dums are thicker bodied than BRBs.

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7 feet is HUGE for a BRB, they in no way shape or form get anywhere close to 9 feet. Many MANY adults stay well under 7 feet.

Just as a FYI - I am not getting it any time here soon it would be at least another year or 2 before i even start getting the stuff together for another but i wanted to learn more about each now than just say oh i like that and jump on a poorly made decision (if that makes any sense)

But i do want to thank all of you for being so great on the info for these types of snakes I have loved reading all the feedback i have gotten so far :D

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

7 feet is HUGE for a BRB, they in no way shape or form get anywhere close to 9 feet. Many MANY adults stay well under 7 feet.

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Was just going to say this; my brother had a pair (male died last summer, unknown cause :(), and neither of them were over 6 feet. I haven't handled the female, but the male was a beautiful, docile animal who never showed any aggression. He was pretty active during handling, though, so I'd agree with the poster who suggested that a BRB wouldn't work very well as a put on your shoulders while you do chores snake. :)

Sorry heres a dumb ?

Are certain types of RTB better than others? Ive seen a lot of different Redtail types being listed and just wanted to see what the real difference was in them other than their locale. Are some bigger than others or more docile than others?

All I really know is some localities are bigger than others. TRUE red tail boas will be bigger. Colombian "red tail" boas(common boas) are slightly smaller. Central American are even smaller than that. There are a bunch of localities, and I'm sure more people can help you out. All I have is my baby colombian female :D

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Originally Posted by Bp_Lee_2011

Sorry heres a dumb ?

Are certain types of RTB better than others? Ive seen a lot of different Redtail types being listed and just wanted to see what the real difference was in them other than their locale. Are some bigger than others or more docile than others?

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Red Tail Boas are classified as follows:

Boa Constrictor Constrictor (BCC)- These are the "true red tails." These are generally the largest in size and maintain their red tails into adulthood. They come from:
Peru
Brazil
Venezuela
Suriname
Guyana

Boa Constrictor Imperator (BCI)- This is the largest group of boa constrictors. They include the boas from Central America:
Colombia
Panama
Costa Rica
Nicaraqua
Mexico: Tamaulipas, Tarahumara
and the insular islands:
Hogg Island
Caulker Cay
Crawl Cay
Corn Island
Pearl Island

Boa Constrictor Amarali (BCA)- Bolivian boa constrictors

Boa Constrictor Longicauda (BCL)- These come from the Tumbes region of Peru. They are also known as the Peruvian Long-tail Boa, as they have a higher scale count from their vent to tail tip, than the Peruvian BCC.

Boa Constrictor Occidentalis (BCO)- Argentine boa constrictors.

It is best to research each of these, as they have different sizes, colorings, and growth rates. Here are a couple of websites to help you get started:

http://www.cuttingedgeherp.com/contactinformation/

http://www.riobravoreptiles.com/index.htm

If you wanna go for natural beauty, Suriname RTB's look amazing. Their saddling is amazing as well as their deep red markings that can go up 1/3 of their body. You can get them for like $150, maybe even cheaper. Guyanas look great as well and I believe they don't get quite as big, but double check that. These are BCC.

I believe most of the designer morphs are BCI or BCI/BCC hybrids. The average RTB you will see is more than likely a BCI. They do not get quite as big as most of the BCC, however they can still get quite large. The morphs obviously are more expensive than the norms.

I think the general consensus is that most BCC top out around 10-12 and BCI top out around 8-10. There are always exceptions however, and typically it is the females that get to those sizes.

Have you looked into superdwarf reticulated pythons? They max out well under 10 feet and are much thinner bodied than boas if size is a concern for you. They have very distinct patterns and some interesting morphs. Keep in mind you would probably only want a superdwarf, as dwarves and regulars top out at 14-20+ feet.

wow i didnt realize there were that many sub-species in Red Tails. Thanks! Ill def look at those sites you posted :)

I think i'd be pushing the boundaries with a 6-8 foot boa already LOL he was having a fit about my BP "Oh I was told they get huge...I thought it was a small snake" I told him to pipe down and I had never intended on getting a garter snake. Men sometimes. But you said superdwarf retics are they a hybrid cross? or just from breeding from smaller sized stock?

Also-- sorry ive searched and cant really find an answer on this I keep getting lengths not weights and I cant really guess weight based on just length-

What is the general weight on BRB, RTB (BCI), and Dumerils? sorry I know im being a pain but with so many knowledgable people here i figured i'd see if anyone had the answer. :D

This is really just a guess for an average BRB weight but somewhere around 1400g to 1900g (3-4lbs) when full grown. Hopefully someone with a better idea can give a closer estimate.

So they weigh around the same as a BP then Ok I dont know why But any pics i have ever seen of BRB always look like the snake is tiny and around the size of a cornsnake.