So now one for the experts.

This is a typical what do you think would be best question however, it's part of my pre-snake research.

The snake is a go and obviously it's going to be a boa.

I'm pretty sure I want a male, but that's still open ended.

I was fairly certain I wanted a Colombian BCI, but I do have a thing for the Guyana boas because of the purple/pink hues they posses.

With an understanding that "docile" is an individual, snake to snake trait and any snake can decide for whatever reason it feels threatened, hungry or does not want to be bothered.

Is there a huge difference in the personalities of Colombians and the Guyanese boas (in general)?

Husbandry for both seems close but the mistake factor seems to set the Guyana boas off more than the Colombians.

Having said that, there are more and more CB/CB Guyana boas and for that matter all the other Ssp these days. Are people finding the BCC boas are becoming easier to deal with these days as far as care and personalities?

Ideally I want a 6-8' snake that is not overly thick, yet full bodied. There seems to be a lot of overfeeding with boas, and some huge females really should not be as huge as they are according to Rentfro, Russo and other experts.

Docile personality is a big deal. Our Royal has been a joy, and I'd like to see something similar in a boa, but do understand there is no "tame" snake.

Do the Guyana males get bigger than the Colombian males in general?

Lot's of questions but I have time for research so I'll do it.

a bcc male will get around 7-8 foot where the females are around 10.

from my limited understanding, there is a lot of variation in the sizes of BCC vs BCI and I'm not sure if there is enough evidence to suggest that the differences observed are significant or not. I have seen BCC females that are 7ft and BCI females that are 10. Even the genetic overlap suggests that one might be hard pressed to offer a definitive answer. There may be statistical research out there done by a biology grad student somewhere that compared the differences but I would think that such a study would have to include 30 of each (30 male BCC, 30 female BCC, 30 male BCI, 30 female BCI) all raised in similar conditions with equal feeding schedules to draw a definite conclusion. The parents of the male BCC I just picked up were reported as ~6' for the male and ~8' for the female.

As mentioned there is a huge variance in size of individual animals. But on average you should expect bcc to get larger. A 10' bci is pretty rare but a 10' bcc is not that out of the ordinary. As you mentioned individual's very but in my experience Guyana's are for the most part well natured just like South American bci's. Suriname bcc and central American bci are in my expierince typically more defensive snakes.

I have no bcc but I do have 3 25% bcc animals one is 25% Guyana sharp albino and also a 25% suri het coral albino (shes 9 ft and 47 ibs), and another 25% suri coral albino visual full younger sister of the the monster girl lol all 3 of these animals are the grumpiest in my collection. To me these guys put on weight faster then my staright bcis and I have to be more careful about feeding them, they aren't on a "schedule" as I adjust it based on growth and body condition.

they don't have an edit?? Id also like to add that none of my adult bci females are over 6.5 ft my Mexican boas, sonoran/leopards are like 4-5 ft lol fully grown

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Originally Posted by Hotsalza

they don't have an edit?? Id also like to add that none of my adult bci females are over 6.5 ft my Mexican boas, sonoran/leopards are like 4-5 ft lol fully grown

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The edit goes away after a short time. I'm not sure why. I've had some poor spelling and grammar posts that I saw later on that I couldn't change. Now people think I'm "Eliterate" ha ha LOL!

Are your females Colombian BCI?

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Originally Posted by Hotsalza

they don't have an edit?? Id also like to add that none of my adult bci females are over 6.5 ft my Mexican boas, sonoran/leopards are like 4-5 ft lol fully grown

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You can only edit for the 1st 10min after you post. I believe it's to prevent you from changing your post after people have already responded to your original thoughts. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Gio

This is a typical what do you think would be best question however, it's part of my pre-snake research.

The snake is a go and obviously it's going to be a boa.

I'm pretty sure I want a male, but that's still open ended.

I was fairly certain I wanted a Colombian BCI, but I do have a thing for the Guyana boas because of the purple/pink hues they posses.

With an understanding that "docile" is an individual, snake to snake trait and any snake can decide for whatever reason it feels threatened, hungry or does not want to be bothered.

Is there a huge difference in the personalities of Colombians and the Guyanese boas (in general)? Yes, generally. Many BCCs can be somewhat temperamental when compared to the gentle nature of the BCIs. There are a few BCIs that are touchier too - Central Americans and Nicaraguans can be. But usually BCIs are very tame and easy-going.

Husbandry for both seems close but the mistake factor seems to set the Guyana boas off more than the Colombians. Husbandry is very similar, but BCCs are FAR less forgiving of any errors made. BCIs will thrive if your temps are off 2 or 3 degrees. BCCs won't. BCIs will tolerate handling well, BCCs can freak out easily. BCCs will often regurge at the drop of a hat for a variety of reasons - temps are off, they got handled right at the 48hr mark (wait 3 days to be safe with BCCs), etc.

Having said that, there are more and more CB/CB Guyana boas and for that matter all the other Ssp these days. Are people finding the BCC boas are becoming easier to deal with these days as far as care and personalities? No, I doubt that. I think there are 2 things going on. First, I think that as they are becoming more popular, there are more people knowledgable about their care. And therefore, there are also more people that just make impulse purchases as well so they are being bred for the almighty dollar more frequently too.

Ideally I want a 6-8' snake that is not overly thick, yet full bodied. There seems to be a lot of overfeeding with boas, and some huge females really should not be as huge as they are according to Rentfro, Russo and other experts. Then you'll want to stick with a BCI male. And you pick up on a GREAT point - boas should NOT be overly large! You'll hear this from me often - do not overfeed your boa! Boas are not Balls. It is nearly impossible to underfeed a boa. And more, lol.... :gj:

Docile personality is a big deal. Our Royal has been a joy, and I'd like to see something similar in a boa, but do understand there is no "tame" snake.

Do the Guyana males get bigger than the Colombian males in general? Yes they do. Male BCIs will easily stay within your size limits. BCCs will most likely exceed that. Males are usually around 7-9ft and females will reach 8-10ft or more.

Lot's of questions but I have time for research so I'll do it.

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As you can tell, I would HIGHLY recommend a male Colombian BCI as your first boa (there are a few other species, like Dumerils, that are also good choices, but having read your other posts and knowing what you're looking for, I think a male Colombian is what you're seeking in a pet boa).

You'll have a VERY nice snake that should have an excellent temperament, sit at around 5-7ft as an adult, and should be able to live very comfortably in a 4x2x2 or so cage his whole life.

I'm no expert, but I can weigh in on my female BCI. 7.5 ft long. Tame as a puppy, even when in blue. I'm not a breeder or reseller of any kind. So as a PET...fantastic. Enough that I'll be getting another one in 6 months or so.

What evenstar is spot on.

Yeah Evenstar is spot on!!

I think I have my mind set. I also saw a nice Guyana going for close to $600. That helps a bit too as I'm looking to be around the $200 or a tad over if shipping is involved.

I saw a beauty of a male Colombian on Rio Bravo's site and to be honest, if I got a snake that looked like that, I'd be more than thrilled.

Thanks folks, I think I've got my mind made up.

Evenstar, good point on the Dumeril boa. I was Oh so close to going that route when talking to Serpent Merchant (Aaron). I was debating between Dums, Carpet and for a short time Blood.

I just hear so many great things about the BCIs and the BCC's

You would love a Dumerils too.... :D

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/...psea999a3e.jpg

HA HA,,, Evenstar, I see what you are trying to do here LOL!! I'm certain I would love one of those, and a big thick female would be an easy choice. BUT,,, I think I'd be kicked to the curbside if I even mentioned another. I have to get my Colombian first LOL!

Just wait.... Your wife will fall in LUV with your boa and it will be HERS. So then you have to get YOURS and you can get a Dumerils.... :banana:

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Just wait.... Your wife will fall in LUV with your boa and it will be HERS. So then you have to get YOURS and you can get a Dumerils.... :banana:

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Thus much is true. I don't know how you couldn't fall in love with a boa.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2

This is just a side note. Did you look into hog island boas? they are smaller and tend to have lots of pinks and oranges. :]
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/SAM_0522.jpg

:p

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Originally Posted by pinkeye714

This is just a side note. Did you look into hog island boas? they are smaller and tend to have lots of pinks and oranges. :]
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/SAM_0522.jpg

:p

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Yes, at one point I'd looked into them, but I just wanted the full, robust size of a Colombian. I have seen some of the larger Hogs but I'm set on the male BCI from Colombia or at least that region.

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Originally Posted by Gio

Yes, at one point I'd looked into them, but I just wanted the full, robust size of a Colombian. I have seen some of the larger Hogs but I'm set on the male BCI from Colombia or at least that region.

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Stick with a Colombian - they generally have the best temperaments. :gj:


(Hogs have great personalities too - but of all the BCIs from the mainland of latin and south America, the Colombians tend to be the most tractable... ;) )

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Stick with a Colombian - they generally have the best temperaments. :gj:


(Hogs have great personalities too - but of all the BCIs from the mainland of latin and south America, the Colombians tend to be the most tractable... ;) )

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I've researched this for close to a full year, and you just echoed everything I've been hearing in that time. I think it's a no brainer for me. I just spent some time at my fav reptile store yesterday and they have 3 male Colombian boas there. 2 from 2011, and 1 from 2012. Their larger snakes are at the big show in Chicago this weekend I guess. However there was one 5' Colombian male there and he was big. I'm not used to the grown boa size and can say they are a lot of snake!!

I had great success with my son's BP from that store, and if I don't order a boa on line, I buy from go there. They are NOT a typical pet type store. They are a quality reptile store which makes me feel a lot more comfortable.

My BCI has tons of pinks, and peach colors. Especially after she sheds, surprising amount of iridescence.

My cousin bought a juve RTB and his GF fell in love with the boas personality. He has to buy her a salmon RTB so he can get his RTB back!

Honestly, a calm and docile pet. I find excuses to take mine out to admire her.

Just to throw this into the mix...Brazilian Rainbow Boa. This was my introduction to boas, and I love mine. He is a high orange and he looks like a plastic toy in the sunshine.

There are so many choices which is one great thing about this hobby.

After we got our Royal, my list of "Next snakes" went like this.

King snake Eastern.

Blood Python.

Dumerils bo.

Then back to Blood python.

Then Dumerils again.

Then I started thinking Colombian BCI and juggled that and Carpet pythons for a bit.

I'm dead set on the male C. BCI. Size, personality and activity level seem perfect for me.

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Originally Posted by Gio

I've researched this for close to a full year, and you just echoed everything I've been hearing in that time. I think it's a no brainer for me. I just spent some time at my fav reptile store yesterday and they have 3 male Colombian boas there. 2 from 2011, and 1 from 2012. Their larger snakes are at the big show in Chicago this weekend I guess. However there was one 5' Colombian male there and he was big. I'm not used to the grown boa size and can say they are a lot of snake!!

I had great success with my son's BP from that store, and if I don't order a boa on line, I buy from go there. They are NOT a typical pet type store. They are a quality reptile store which makes me feel a lot more comfortable.

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That's good! Wish we had a nice pet store like that around here.... If you get a baby, you'll grow with your snake and managing the large size as an adult won't be nearly so intimidating! :gj:

you should get a brazilian rainbow boa

I have a juvie peruvian male about 4 feet long and he is as tame as can be. Love him!

I like the BCI's because of all the different morphs.

The choice is yours, but I think a boa is just right for you. Large enough and handleable.

I say get a male BCI in the flavor you like! Will get 6 foot or more. I have one 2008 female that is under 5 feet. My other 2008 females are over 6 feet. So it can vary a bit.

Don't be surprised if you buy a baby and it is very pissy! LOL They calm down quick!

Ive never had a desire to keep any other kind of reptile lol Ive had blood pythons 2 albinos and 2 red bloods het albino, they were given to me as a birthday gift..and I couldn't stand them lol and was so used to keeping boas, they didn't thrive well so I gave them to another friend that had some blood experience and have been strictly boas since lol get a bci Ill always stand by that haha

Yeah the male BCI is a no brainer now. I will stick to their natural color scheme which for some reason in any snake seems to be beautiful to me. No knock on the morph crowd as I do like the eye candy too, but I will have a common boa as they say.

There is even variation in colors and patterns within the natural given color schemes so I can still pick a pattern I like.

At this point its just a countdown. The cage is about 4 weeks out, the heat panel is probably 2 weeks out. I have to get some type of decent table or dual tables that stand at least 3.5 feet off the ground. I am ordering a light or two, and a Herpstat.

I'd be surprised if I have a snake before the end of April.