First boa! First bite!

I got my very first boa yesterday, and my very first bite but i'll get to that. I had her tank set up this morning before I went to school. I figure since she's just a two foot baby and she was in a 10 gal at Critter Barn I would keep her in that for the next week or two. She is so beautiful. I looked at the others he had in my price range and she is absolutely the most beautiful and one of the best examples of a nice Colombian Red Tail that I have seen. I figure she's about 4-5 months old being two feet. I love her already, she is so much more active than a ball python and I am a very happy and proud boa owner now. I know I shouldn't have but I was so excited, I made a quick stop at a friend's house to show her off. She has so much personality! I was holding her tail and moved my hand in front of her face and she cocked her head like a dog like she's thinking "What are you doing?" She did the same thing looking at his poof ball Pomeranian :P Now it was completely my fault that I got bit. She was stressed and scared after being in a bag for the trip home and I stupidly reached right in to grab her. Didn't even feel it really. I will post pictures of her beauty and the bite soon. Her name is Cleopatra.

Can't wait to see the pics of the snake and the bite! Cleopatra is a great name! I just named my new normal female bp Cleopatra!

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Originally Posted by ballpythonluvr

Can't wait to see the pics of the snake and the bite! Cleopatra is a great name! I just named my new normal female bp Cleopatra!

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Thank you. She is so pretty and has a very nice, clean pattern. And for $90 I can't complain about her price. Also I will be posting some pics of the pastel I bought in December since I never got around to that :)

Nice, congrats! After hearing so much about the python ban recently it got me worried that some of the bigger snakes id like to own eventually wouldnt be available anymore to get and got me seriously considering getting a boa... I wouldnt go for the larger true red tails but Im very fond of the hog islands boas. Who knows i still might get one lol? :)
One question: Ive heard almost everyone say how boas are different from balls and more active but what exactly do you mean? Like she doesnt hide at all? Or she sits on branch purches?

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Nice, congrats! After hearing so much about the python ban recently it got me worried that some of the bigger snakes id like to own eventually wouldnt be available anymore to get and got me seriously considering getting a boa... I wouldnt go for the larger true red tails but Im very fond of the hog islands boas. Who knows i still might get one lol? :)
One question: Ive heard almost everyone say how boas are different from balls and more active but what exactly do you mean? Like she doesnt hide at all? Or she sits on branch purches?

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Boas being more active is referring to handling. Balls are normally slower and don't move as much but boas are constantly moving. I had to put one hand in front of the other and keep switching every 3-8 seconds because she was moving so much. The only time she held still was when I had her around my neck. Even after she calmed down she was still on the move just not as fast.

Congrats! I don't have a boa and never really considered one, but your excitement in this post got me thinking a little more about them. Haha. Can't wait to see her!

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Let's see... In the beginning my boa would just take off. They are much faster than balls and very curious. Bps are the "lazy persons" snake. You can place them on your shoulders or around you arm and go about your business. You don't have to pay really close attention to what they are doing because there movements are slow. You dont need to handle them per say. My boa... You have to pay attention to him at all times. "ooohhh!!!! What's that?!?!?" And off they go. They are very determined, very curious boogers constantly on the go when they aren't feeling stressed. You have to redirect often. They need your full attention. Well... At least as babies they do. I can't really chime in when it comes to adults.

It's like the difference between handling a rat and a hamster. A rat is happily curled up next to your neck. He'll just sit there as you do your thing. A hampster wants to move and may jump off you to the nearest thing given the oppertunity. While you handle them you have to do that one hand in front of the other thing as they run around. Thu run up you arm and around your neck, back down your arm and into your pocket. "Oh, what can I see from atop your head. Hmm. I'll take a nap in your hood for a second." Now let's repeat the process.

I would like to add that over the past month my guy has calmed down. Now he only attempt to take off when my hubby holds him. With me he's just exploring. The other day i had a hat while I was getting his tank taken care of. He was checking out anything he could and would have jumped ship if I gave him the chance. Our ball will just drape over my shoulder as I do things.

Congrats! Can't wait to see. Boas are really awesome.

Ya I would definitely recommend a boa to any ball owner. I recently got one and it's a whole new experience. One thing that was weird at first was the way a boa looks at you. A ball python seems to look through you and when you move your hand the ball just moves along with your hand. Boas look right at you. Plus when you move your hand, their head stayed locked on to whatever they were looking at. Also they seem to be trying to figure you out when they look into your eyes. And for some reason they are a pain to put back in their house. For something without arms or legs they can really put up a fight to stay out. Lol. Enjoy your boa man.

Uploading pictures of Cleopatra and my first bite, not necessarily in that order. And please try to ignore the mess of paper and other misc clutter on my storage tub. First the bite. Also, DUW
http://i42.tinypic.com/2u3v880.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/140xeo5.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/50s9sn.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/2mooyur.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/iwudua.jpg
And now for the beautiful red tail boa named Cleopatra.
http://i41.tinypic.com/11gmuja.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/e5s4rk.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2qsm80g.jpg
This one I thought was very cute, the way she's checking out the camera. I'm glad I caught her with her tongue out. Submitted it for Herp of the Month, hope she wins :)
http://i42.tinypic.com/15xo1lu.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2m7u54k.jpg

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Originally Posted by interloc

Ya I would definitely recommend a boa to any ball owner. I recently got one and it's a whole new experience. One thing that was weird at first was the way a boa looks at you. A ball python seems to look through you and when you move your hand the ball just moves along with your hand. Boas look right at you. Plus when you move your hand, their head stayed locked on to whatever they were looking at. Also they seem to be trying to figure you out when they look into your eyes. And for some reason they are a pain to put back in their house. For something without arms or legs they can really put up a fight to stay out. Lol. Enjoy your boa man.

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Thank you all for you advise and congratulations. Yes I have noticed that boas seem more intelligent that ball pythons. When my friend was holding her, for whatever reason she kept staring right at me even with him moving her etc, and stretching like she was trying to get to me. Yes I get her out twice a day at least and I don't care what anyone says, I don't know about handling so much as she seems to thoroughly enjoy being out of her tank. She flat out refused to go back. I have to sorta ball her up, set her inside and close the sliding screen top before she can climb out.

She's purdy!!!

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Originally Posted by WifeOfSlasher

She's purdy!!!

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Thank you. These pictures don't do her justice at all. In person she has a very light amount of purple on her sides and her tail is actually red orange on the top and orange red on the sides. But that makes her look so much more beautiful in person :)

She sounds so beautiful! I can't wait for my guy to get bigger. He's such a squirt right now and I am so excited to see his pattern and colors develop. The differences between light and dark phases are drastic already.

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Originally Posted by WifeOfSlasher

She sounds so beautiful! I can't wait for my guy to get bigger. He's such a squirt right now and I am so excited to see his pattern and colors develop. The differences between light and dark phases are drastic already.

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Same, my girl is 32 inches and about a year old. Can't wait until she gets bigger, always wanted a huge snake :)