New to the boa game

Alright guys, so currently I have a ball python and have had several corn snakes in the passed but I am seriously thinking about getting a red tail. I was just wondering about their attitude, are the nippy at all or are they just calm and what not. I have held a couple and have visited some reptile shops and shows and handled a couple and they seemed pretty cool but I just want to know what they're like when you get them home.

Any info is good info so self experiences and everything else is welcome

Thanks,
Alec

I've only been bitten once my one of my boas and that was because I was being stupid. Some boas can be nippy when they are little, but most grow out of it. Some can also be a little nippy when you are taking them out of their cages. I haven't had a problem with that and I feed all of them in their enclosures, but it's something to consider.

Boas are a little different than BPs, but I love the differences. My little girl Candy (my first boa) is one of my favorites in my collection. She's in my bedroom and I will just chill with her for an hour or more every night. She's super spoiled, none of my other snakes get handled as much as she does. One thing I have noticed that is boas can be a pain to get back into their cages. :P

I absolutely adore my boa. They are definitely much different from the balls though. I've been bitten by him when I first got him, and he has a little bit of an attitude even now, but once he's out he's so awesome. Always on the go and curious, just wants to explore. They can be more nippy as babies, but they grow out of it quickly. Just like anything else, it takes time to get them used to their new homes and enclosures. Just be patient and it'll be well worth it :)

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Originally Posted by LGray23

I absolutely adore my boa. They are definitely much different from the balls though. I've been bitten by him when I first got him, and he has a little bit of an attitude even now, but once he's out he's so awesome. Always on the go and curious, just wants to explore. They can be more nippy as babies, but they grow out of it quickly. Just like anything else, it takes time to get them used to their new homes and enclosures. Just be patient and it'll be well worth it :)

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My boas really aren't that different from my BPs. I get crazy feeding responses from most of my BPs and a lot of my BPs are curious like my boas. The biggest differences between mine are: my boas are a lot stronger and hate going back in their cages.

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Originally Posted by Kinra

My boas really aren't that different from my BPs. I get crazy feeding responses from most of my BPs and a lot of my BPs are curious like my boas. The biggest differences between mine are: my boas are a lot stronger and hate going back in their cages.

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That's crazy, mine is like day and night to my balls. Just the movement and curiosity, everything pretty much. I guess they're all different too :)

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Originally Posted by LGray23

That's crazy, mine is like day and night to my balls. Just the movement and curiosity, everything pretty much. I guess they're all different too :)

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Lol, I think I have a bunch of confused snakes. My first boa likes to pretend she is a KSB from time to time and will hide herself in the cypress mulch. :P

That's all my boa does is burrow....AND he uses his hides religiously! I think it's funny, that's the ONLY thing he has in common with my balls :rolleyes:

I have never been bitten or struck at by my boa. She is still a small girl. I love holding her she will just wrap around my hand and chill. I will lay on the bed and watch tv and she will slither under the covers and lay beside me. She doesn't like going back into her enclosure. Probably not gonna be to much fun getting her in there when she gets bigger :)

Ok well I just want to make it official that I will be getting a rtb guy so that a ton

Will post pics when I do

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Originally Posted by HostilePB11

Ok well I just want to make it official that I will be getting a rtb guy so that a ton

Will post pics when I do

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Yaay, another boa person! :D
I would actually suggest looking into a Colombian boa (frequently mislabeled as red tails) or some other Bci, not an actual red tail Bcc. Bcc are less forgiving when it comes to husbandry and feeding and can develop health issues much more quickly than Bci. But it's your call.

I'm with LGray here, my boas are very different than my bps in terms of behavior, feeding, handling, and especially personality. Don't worry about temperament; hatchlings can be unpredictable and there's a chance you'll get bit (don't worry, a bite from a baby boa is nothing to worry about, doesn't hurt at all), but they grow out of it, and a well-raised boa is an absolute joy to have around. My Colombian would bite every now and then when she was young, but now she's a big hunk of sweetness, and my Bcl has never so much as struck at me. They are wonderful pets, as long as you're prepared to meet the needs of a rather large animal (xl rats aren't so cheap!).

I am fairly new to the boa game as well but I have a Nicaraguan, 2 baby Columbians and 2 huge Columbians. I also have balls. Love all my snakes but the boas are by far the more curious ones and like others have said, hate going back into the cages. Good luck!

2 Hogs and Nicaraguan, very different from balls, more intelligent and sometimes feisty. The Hogs are a joy, the Nic is pure evil.

Can't wait to see pictures of your new boa.

I have a lot of boa's. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. I have more boa's than balls. While my ball collection is moving up in numbers, that doesn't mean my boa collection numbers have stayed the same...lol

I have never been bit by a baby boa or struck at (not to say this will never happen though). However, I have a friend who had a litter of CA boa's and I will say, I had never heard a boa hiss until I visited them. I don't know much about the CA boa's as I don't have any but I have heard they can be very temperamental and have attitudes (obviously this isn't true of them all). People have stated that BCC's can be more temperamental than BCI's but I haven't really seen that either. I have one BCC that had an attitude (the rest don't have attitudes) but I truly believe it was a result from the shipping and he was an older snake. My largest boa is a BCC and she is the sweetest thing ever. Even when they are large.

Boa's are really a lot of fun. My BP's are curious but it takes them longer to start exploring. Some of my BP's will jump back into a ball when their heads touch anything and others jump a little. My boa's never really jump when their head touches something. I always fight my boa's to go back in their cages like other people have stated. Sometimes, this can be a hassle. Word of advice, get their head to touch the ground of the cage. Once their heads touch the ground, they will move forward instead of backwards to get out of the cage.

I have some boa's that will strike at the cage when you have food and some that will wait for you to leave the food on the newspaper and grab it when you leave the room. Each boa has a different personality just like BP's.

If you want a boa that doesn't get as large, stick to BCI and get a male. My older males are relatively large but they still don't eat XL rats. I only have one snake right now that eats XL rats and it really took her a long time to get to that point and she is my BCC. While the BCI's have the capability to get quite large also, the males usually stay smaller and you can feed them medium to large rats for most of their adult lives.

Good luck with purchasing your new boa. :D

Star

The only thing I've noticed with my adult boa is that she's veeeery eager when it comes to food, put something rodent-smelling near her and anything that has a heat signature is yummy. She even tried to eat my tongs last night because they smelled like rat.

I've never had a young boa, but I've heard that (like most baby snakes) they're very nippy and/or defensive, but they usually grow out of it. I've also heard of boas being cage-aggressive, but fine when they're out. I've never had any of these problems luckily, and I LOVE my boa; I highly recommend one if you find that you're ready for a pretty big, powerful snake. :)

Other advice: buy prey in bulk from a show. It'll save you a lot of money!

Out of the almost 20 boa's I have had as babies, not one was ever nippy, ever. I haven't heard they were nippy nor have I seen it before. I don't think it is the norm.

Star

I got my baby boa at 3 months old. She has only ever struck at me once and that was when she thought I had food. She could smell it - it was out waiting for her and I stupidly thought, oh I'll change her water first. Haha! Feed your boa first THEN do other stuff - or even wait til the next day before doing other stuff....

But seriously, Peaches is the sweeting thing ever. Great personality and no baby nippiness whatsoever. I think maybe baby boas get that reputation cause they're always hungry. If they even suspect you might have food, they'll try to find it.

On that note, one additional piece of advice - do NOT overfeed your boa! They must be grown slowly for good health. Adults should usually only eat once every 2-3 weeks. Babies shouldn't ever eat more than once a week and some recommend only every 10 days. I feed my baby 1 hopper every week and she's doing marvelously on that. We're moving up to a small mouse next week. ;)

Good luck! Can't wait for pics! :gj:

Yeah, I don't think baby boas should be labeled as nippy. Every now and then you'll come across a nasty one, but all the babies I've raised and also the ones I've held have all been incredibly sweet, and the only bites I've received have been my fault. Don't be surprised if you get bit once or twice, but most hatchlings are docile.

Its funny, my ball acts like a boa apparently. She hates going back in her tank and she LOVES exploring. In fact I've never seen her stationary when shes out of her tank. And she feeds like a boa too ;)

Loving these comments guys, I was just out at a reptile show in dupage county illinois looking at what was available as far as cages and snakes go and I saw several columbians that I liked but a little hypo rtb kind of stuck out to me so I think that might be the route I take

and quick question but what is bcc and bci? I've seen it around but I just dont know what it is.

Thanks,

Alec

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Originally Posted by HostilePB11

Loving these comments guys, I was just out at a reptile show in dupage county illinois looking at what was available as far as cages and snakes go and I saw several columbians that I liked but a little hypo rtb kind of stuck out to me so I think that might be the route I take

and quick question but what is bcc and bci? I've seen it around but I just dont know what it is.

Thanks,

Alec

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Hypos are Colombians. I've always been a big fan of hypos, I think that would be a great choice.

They're the Latin names, Boa constrictor imperator and Boa constrictor constrictor. There are a number of other B.c. subspecies as well but these two are the most common. Then there are locales within the subspecies. For example, there are Bci that originate from Colombia, Hogg Island, Central America, etc, and the most common Bcc are from Suriname, Peru, Venezuela, and many other places.

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Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

Hypos are Colombians. I've always been a big fan of hypos, I think that would be a great choice.

They're the Latin names, Boa constrictor imperator and Boa constrictor constrictor. There are a number of other B.c. subspecies as well but these two are the most common. Then there are locales within the subspecies. For example, there are Bci that originate from Colombia, Hogg Island, Central America, etc, and the most common Bcc are from Suriname, Peru, Venezuela, and many other places.

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To elaborate on that a bit, the BCC is the TRUE Red Tail Boa. Once you see one in person, there is no mistaking it. BCI is the common central american boa constrictor and it is among this species where the sub-species locals and various morphs are found. A few "morphs" (including hypos) can crop up in the BCCs but usually this means it isn't "pure" BCC and has been cross-bred with a BCI somewhere along the way. BCCs usually get bigger than the BCIs and a fully grown female Surinam BCC is truly a wonder to behold! They may be impressive in appearance, but they do have a reputation to be a bit more tempermental, so caution is advised when working with the BCCs.

Here are a couple examples to illustrate. All photos used with permission! The first pic is my friend's marvelous female Surinam BCC, Freya. Check out that tail!! You can see how the saddle markings are also like this: } { } { } {
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/...elyredtail.jpg

And this is Barney, a normal Columbian BCI. See how the tail, while kind of rusty, isn't nearly as RED as Freya's? And the saddle markings are: ) ( ) ( ) (
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/.../normalboa.jpg

And since you mentioned Hypos, here is Peaches, my baby Hypo dh Ivory Ghost Columbian BCI. Her saddle markings are bowties typical of Hypos: X X X
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/.../newboa009.jpg

Hope this helps clear up any confusion! :gj:

Man that BCC is gorgeous but ya I would like a snake thats more of a medium size with a smaller attitude lol, thanks a ton