Visual differences

Will someone please help me get my mind around the visual difference between boas and pythons?

Namely, the head of the animals. I need to just BUY a boa so I can have a good look at the two side by side. I know the difference in the animals, but can't tell them apart at a glance (which I'm worried will be embarrassing at some point).

LOL really??

The easiest way is the pattern I suppose. You won't see a ball python with a boa pattern. Although Both Boas and Pythons have pattern morphs you generally wont find ones that look the same. The following two photos are examples of normal patterns with no mutations. Both are bad examples of pastels. The Boa is a Colombian Red Tail Boa Constrictor Imperator. There are many different boa species..
Boa
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...sis2_thumb.jpg
Ball Python
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...cash_thumb.jpg

Another good way is the head shape. Ball's have rounder heads, boas heads are more like "arrow heads."

Ball Python Head
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...40_o_thumb.jpg
Boa Head
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...sis3_thumb.jpg

It also gets tricky when you get into different boa and python species. Blood Pythons can often look similar in head shape to Boas but the patterns are very different. Was there a specific species of boa you wanted? I could find photo's for you.

Cheers

Yes.... Really....


Thank you for the information. I just remember earlier this year going to the herpetarium at the zoo, and staring at a ETB and a GTP and going "uhhhhh...." (they weren't labeled)

There are toooooooo many variations of boa/python pattern for me to EVER get them straight. People who can just look at one and call it immediately are beyond me. I was just wondering if there was a special trick I was not privy to.

SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS HARD FOR ME

ETB
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H2hr1f7RJU...52813%2529.jpg

GTP
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/..._470x352,0.jpg


If it weren't for that stripe on the boa, they'd be almost indistinguishable. And not all of them have such prominent striping.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FalconPunch

Yes.... Really....


Thank you for the information. I just remember earlier this year going to the herpetarium at the zoo, and staring at a ETB and a GTP and going "uhhhhh...." (they weren't labeled)

There are toooooooo many variations of boa/python pattern for me to EVER get them straight. People who can just look at one and call it immediately are beyond me. I was just wondering if there was a special trick I was not privy to.

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LOL not really, just lots of experience and research. I know the feeling. I used to never know the difference between a pastel and a spider, or any ball python morph in that case. It will all come together the more time you spend checking them out. I still can't tell the difference between a green tree python and an emerald tree boa.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FalconPunch

SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS HARD FOR ME

ETB
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H2hr1f7RJU...52813%2529.jpg

GTP
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/..._470x352,0.jpg


If it weren't for that stripe on the boa, they'd be almost indistinguishable. And not all of them have such prominent striping.

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LMAO! I posted my last post without seeing your response!! LOL Its 3am here (tired and @work) and I was trying to figure out how I conjured photo's without remembering!! hahahaha

yeah for sure if you put the two in front of me I would have no idea. LOL

Hahaha. Yeah I guess the solution here is obvious. I need to buy a lot more snakes. I'll go tell the wife.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FalconPunch

Hahaha. Yeah I guess the solution here is obvious. I need to buy a lot more snakes. I'll go tell the wife.

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good luck!

I walked into my apartment with a wine fridge. The conversation between me and my common law went a little like this:

"What is that?"
me: "A wine fridge."
"Why?"
me: "I'm going to turn it into an incubator."
"Why?"
me: "I wan't to breed my ball pythons..."
"No."
me: "I already bought the wine fridge.."
"I never told you it was okay."
me: "Ummm..."
"No."
me: "I'm going to anyways you might as well accept it."
"You might as well accept the fact that your about to be single."

And now the wine fridge is in the storage room. LOL

There isn't really a cookie cutter image for boidae or pythonidae. Your best bet would be to just look at pictures and more pictures and more pictures and try not to think along the lines of "all pythons look like this" or "so this is what a boas look like".. Not all pythons are going to look similar, same for boas.. Keep looking at pictures one species at a time while committing to memory which family they belong to. Pay close attention to head shape, pattern and body type to help keep them separated as you go.

I absolutely could not tell the difference between a GTP and and ETB, so don't feel bad. The only boa and python species I can identify are the obvious ones, balls, burms, retics, BRB, boa constrictors... (and actually, telling the difference between a burm and a retic is hard for me when they are young:O) when it gets to some of the less common ones, I have trouble too, and I think unless you own/ breed them, are a credentialed herpetologist, or have an outstanding memory, it's pretty hard to know EVERYTHING. :D I think knowing the scientific differences is impressive enough, and probably all you need to know to not be embarrassed.:)

The most glaring differences are reproduction and geography. Pythons: egg layers from Africa, Asia, and Australia. Boas: Life bearers from the Americas. Of course, nature has no absolutes, so there are exceptions to every rule. :P

wow those photos are ridiculous *lol* i had a lot of trouble a year ago too...totally the same thing. One clue i use, is a majority of boas have a "hitler mustache" kind of, on the end of their nose above their mouth.
Their heads are more arrow shaped.

Balls definitely have more ball shaped heads!

Okay, i am also still learning. Here's an okay one.

http://www.peteducation.com/article....+1831&aid=3289

One thing i have noticed, is that the BOAs have the tips of their tails that are different shades, whereas the pythons will have a solid color the same as whatever their body is (right guys? yeah? lol)

oh and gosh i don't think i've ever won an ultimatum with the hubby *lol* i am pretty easy going though so i think i've only ever put my foot down for like one thing, and i don't remember what it was. I tell him he's lucky to have me =P
Besides, i'm way more likely than him to be bringing home the snakes....i got a sand boa three days ago and a pixie frog today *lmao*

the easiest way for me to tell a GTP from an ETB is this:
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...difference.png

The main difference between boas and pythons is internal. With the exception of a very few species, boas give live birth to litters, babies are called neonates. Pythons lay clutches of eggs, babies are called hatchlings.

The head scale difference between the GTP and ETB is a good visual indicator. I didn't notice that. I always tell the difference by looking at the nostrils. The GTP has more prominent nostrils, high on their nose. ETB's have smaller nostrils, lower on the front. Here is the complex mathmatical formula that I use to remember them:

P = Python = Prominent nostrils.
B = Boa = little Booger holes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

B = Boa = little Booger holes.

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This cracked me up! :rofl: But very useful way of remembering!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FalconPunch

SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS HARD FOR ME

ETB
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H2hr1f7RJU...52813%2529.jpg

GTP
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/..._470x352,0.jpg


If it weren't for that stripe on the boa, they'd be almost indistinguishable. And not all of them have such prominent striping.

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I never noticed that! I always have problems distinguishing these two. Thanks! :gj:

Don't feel bad. I've been keeping snakes for years and can't tell the difference between the alot of the different colubrids....milks, kings, and corn mainly....nor the different garter snakes. I've never been much of a colubrid person, always loved pythons the most, but I've been learning how to distinguish them little by little. It's more of looking at the different ones constantly. I've had a couple of kingsnakes but never took enough interest in them to know the difference between a milk, king, or corn.

And there's so many ball python morphs, it boggles my mind how some people can look at them and know what it is at a glance, especially when it's two that are very similar in pattern and color. I'm slowly learning the morphs to most pythons now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cmack91

the easiest way for me to tell a GTP from an ETB is this:
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...difference.png

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Another great distinguishable trait shared! Thanks! :gj:

I was at a local reptile store today and went over to the arboreal snakes to test out the above comparison. It was awesome! Thanks for the link, I looked smart for once when I was chatting with other people in the store! LOL

The way I see it most of the time with boas vs. pythons is that boas tend to have much longer, more angular lines to them in terms of body shape and build, as well as face shape, where as pythons tend to be (not always, but very often) more rounded and compact.

For instance, an example of an angular boa head (BCI... I think?):
http://www.petcareland.com/wp-conten...ailed-boa1.jpg

A more rounded boa head (Dumeril's boa):
http://www.dumerilboa.com/images/dumeril_boa_head.jpg

An angular python head (Blood python):
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rongersmai.jpg

A rounded python head (GTP):
http://image.shutterstock.com/displa...hot-308607.jpg

While both groups have species with more angular and more rotund features, the boas always have that kind of pointy look to them while they pythons always seem to have that more blunted look to them... I don't know if you see what I'm talking about, I'm notoriously bad at explaining these kinds of things :P it makes sense in my head, but not necessarily in words.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alexandra V

The way I see it most of the time with boas vs. pythons is that boas tend to have much longer, more angular lines to them in terms of body shape and build, as well as face shape, where as pythons tend to be (not always, but very often) more rounded and compact.

For instance, an example of an angular boa head (BCI... I think?):
http://www.petcareland.com/wp-conten...ailed-boa1.jpg

A more rounded boa head (Dumeril's boa):
http://www.dumerilboa.com/images/dumeril_boa_head.jpg

An angular python head (Blood python):
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rongersmai.jpg

A rounded python head (GTP):
http://image.shutterstock.com/displa...hot-308607.jpg

While both groups have species with more angular and more rotund features, the boas always have that kind of pointy look to them while they pythons always seem to have that more blunted look to them... I don't know if you see what I'm talking about, I'm notoriously bad at explaining these kinds of things :P it makes sense in my head, but not necessarily in words.

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I understand if noone else did :D When I very first started distinguishing between pythons and boas, I always looked at the noses. Rounded type noses are pythons....squared noses are boas. :D However, there can exceptions to the rule ;)

start with the main ones: ball pythons, burmese pythons, carpet pytons, reticulated pythons, blood pythons, gtp's.... try to distinguish the difference between those.

then look at boas: red tails, rainbows, ETB's...you probably wont recognize the subtle differences in subspecies and localities of boa constrictors but they all kind of generally look the same in my opinion.

Also remember that boas are a new world species and pythons are an old world species. so if you have a large constrictor from south america, its a boa or an anaconda (you will be able to tell the difference between these two pretty easily). if you have a large constrictor from asia, africa, or australia, its a python.

Before you know it, you will be able to determine the difference quite easily, trust me.

Thanks to everyone for the great responses, helpful information, and reassuring comments.