Info on some snake species

My name is Matt and I am looking to get a new snake. I currently have a Banana King Snake but I want something bigger. I know I am not ready for a big Red Tail yet so something a little smaller is Ideal. The species I have thought about, besides a Ball Python, are:
Hog Island Boas
Jungle Carpet Python
Blood Python
Or something that would remain around 6 feet max that is girthier than a colubrid but not as massive/long as a Red Tail. Any other suggestions to a new species would be great as well.
Some specifics I am looking for are lengths and sizes of these species, housing sizes needed, and a possible respectable site or place to purchase any of these snakes. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated!

I have all these species so I'll give you my personal suggestions and opinions:

Hog Island BCI Boas: I highly recommend. Lovely smaller "dwarf" boas that are easy keepers. Some pure females can still get on the larger side ("hypo Hogs" ie Hogs crossed with Colombians will usually get larger than pure Hogs) so I would recommend a male (average size ~4-6' for these guys). Depending on the adult size you might be able to get away with a large tub for housing but I still recommend a 4 x 2 vivarium/enclosure.

Here's my pure female from Chad Duggin (recommended):

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3...ber2820122.jpg

I can also personally recommend Jimi Snakes too. Rio Bravo and others have lovely Hogs as well.

I don't have a jungle carpet but I have a pure coastal so I can give some general help but there's others with tons more Jungle experience than I. Carpets are also really nice and easy keepers that make great display animals too. Depending on the species they will need a viv too and appreciate higher enclosures for climbing.

Here's my coastal female from Mike Curtin (recommended):

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3...psfcc11afa.jpg

I hear wonderful things about Nick Mutton too.

For bloods I have two Sumatrans: a T positive albino girl and a Short tail ("black blood") female. I would recommend the Hog or Carpet over these for your next snake based on experience level as it's my opinion that the BCI and carpet are easier keepers over bloods. My two are wonderful eaters but they have their "moments" in terms of getting huffy puffy (which any snake can get: they each have their own personality and temperament). They will also need large tubs/vivs as well and females will get very hefty.

My SSTP from Tim Mead (recommended):

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3...psbc0d1d59.jpg

And my albino (from LLL Reptile):

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3...ps9c4d24db.jpg

Kara at The Blood Cell is one to talk to too for more info and care of bloods.

And as for not being ready for a red tail, you may look into a Colombian BCI MALE too: they usually get to around the 6' mark with some larger and some smaller (and they come in many morphs). I would stay away from the BCC boas (the "true" red tails) as they will get on the larger side.

Hope that helps

I suggest the hoggy 100%, I have a girl and she's awesome!!! I actually just emailed Jimi to put a deposit down on a male when they are born!!

Ball Pythons
0.2 Normals (Coilette and Mary Jane)
1.0 Spider Morph (Zeus)
1.0 Pastel (De Sol)

Boas
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Stella)
0.1 Hog Island BCI (Kiyoko)
0.1 Dumerils Boa (Gloria)
0.1 Yellow Anaconda (Serenity)

This was amazingly helpful! Most people I email or contact just give me vague descriptions or details of what I'm asking and this was so detailed and to the point So thank you very much for that. You have some amazing looking snakes too.

do you know much about boa morphs? I know one I am interested in particularly is the Jungle Boa but I don't know if that is a Columbian BCI or if it's a BCC.

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Thanks for the Help! can you give me any idea as to a range of prices he charges for Hogs?

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Originally Posted by brickman89

This was amazingly helpful! Most people I email or contact just give me vague descriptions or details of what I'm asking and this was so detailed and to the point So thank you very much for that. You have some amazing looking snakes too.

do you know much about boa morphs? I know one I am interested in particularly is the Jungle Boa but I don't know if that is a Columbian BCI or if it's a BCC.

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Thanks for the Help! can you give me any idea as to a range of prices he charges for Hogs?

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I have a Jungle male: Jungle is a BCI Colombian morph:

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3...ps89b36808.jpg

Hog babies can be found for around ~$150 shipped right now depending on the breeder. My female was about $150 shipped from Chad Duggin.

Again, another beautiful snake. Price range for the jungles?

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Originally Posted by brickman89

Again, another beautiful snake. Price range for the jungles?

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Thanks :)

Jungle prices vary a lot depending on the quality and if they're het for anything. Check for jungles on kingsnake classifieds: http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=154 (this link should take you to the Albino/Other Morph boas) and Fauna Classifieds (which you can search for jungles): http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...play.php?f=500

Just putting in my :2cent: for regular BCI's, just for your consideration :) :

I own a female BCI and while she's in a 6x2 enclosure now, for the first year of her life with me, she DID live in a large tub. Also, she was a rescue so she came to me already around 3ft and ~1500g's. BCI's are amazing snakes; their husbandry requirements are very very similar to Ball Pythons (most seem to like their enclosures around 2 degrees cooler than BPs though) and while they do get larger (5-6ft for males; 6-8ft for females) with regular handling and proper feeding they are some of the sweetest snakes around. My girl is a huge softie. Very inquisitive snakes (if you get a boa, don't be surprised if they're literally in your face all the time; most boas seem to have this obsession with faces) and most really enjoy coming out and being able to scout around. I even occasionally take her outside; she likes that too but has this bad habit of trying to climb trees or shrubbery so we have to keep a close eye on her. xD

If you get a BCI baby, it will be fine for at least 2 years in tubs, although the tubs will need to get progressively larger. Boas will use any space you give them, they are not like BP's where "the more cramped the better" to them. If you got a young BCI and put it in a small or even medium vivarium, you'll find it all over that thing. They will climb, but I've noticed that the older and bigger they get, the more they tend to fall off things, so be careful. :P But with a young snake you can grow and learn with them, and it will be a few years before you have a large, big-rat-eating boa.

"IS THAT YOUR FACE?"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...kes/satin3.jpg
"LET ME TOUCH YOUR FACE."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5.../Photo0427.jpg
"Okay, no more faces. Let's go look at things!"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5.../Photo0581.jpg

If you want a larger snake in the future, I would really recommend a baby BCI (male or female, either one). They're excellent "gateway snakes" into the larger constrictors. :)

And Daybreaker stop showing off your amazing collection!! You make me so jealous!! :taz:

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

And Daybreaker stop showing off your amazing collection!! You make me so jealous!! :taz:

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lol! :P

OP: The info xFenrir gave is top notch too :gj:

x2 on BCI's!!!

I have a small male and an adult female.

My male is very inquisitive and loves to be out and handled. He's currently in a 41qt tub, but I'll be upgrading him real soon.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/03/ugypapu9.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/03/qa4yqa2u.jpg

My female was given to me. Shes 10. She's currently in QT.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/03/yvyze4ah.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/03/sy3yja7e.jpg

These are some great looking animals!

These websites are very helpful. Is your Jungle a pastel? I'm looking for more of the brown/tan color instead of the grey.

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These websites are very helpful. Is your Jungle a pastel? I'm looking for more of the brown/tan color instead of the grey.

Thanks for the input and the pics! I definitely know I want BCI, I just have to decide which one I want now haha

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brickman89

These websites are very helpful. Is your Jungle a pastel? I'm looking for more of the brown/tan color instead of the grey.

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These websites are very helpful. Is your Jungle a pastel? I'm looking for more of the brown/tan color instead of the grey.

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Nope, he's not a pastel jungle, just a regular jungle.

JimiSnakes works with jungle stuff, and I've bought two snakes from him before successfully: http://www.jimisnakes.com/index.html
For Hogs I recommend Chad Duggin (as mentioned): http://cdreptiles.com/

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Originally Posted by brickman89

Thanks for the input and the pics! I definitely know I want BCI, I just have to decide which one I want now haha

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Here's a list with pretty much all of the morphs. It might help you decide which one you like most. :) Since it's an older list, it looks like it's missing a few, but pretty much all of the more common ones are on there. The missing ones that come to mind are the Sunglow and Moonglow, but they're a bit higher in price. Don't know what price range you were looking into.
http://www.kingsnake.com/boamorphs/

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

Nope, he's not a pastel jungle, just a regular jungle.

JimiSnakes works with jungle stuff, and I've bought two snakes from him before successfully: http://www.jimisnakes.com/index.html
For Hogs I recommend Chad Duggin (as mentioned): http://cdreptiles.com/

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thanks again, I will be checking these sites out soon. Another question I have is do the jungles have the grey color when they are babies and then become more brown/tan when they get older? or are they already brown when they're born? sorry for being a pain lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

Here's a list with pretty much all of the morphs. It might help you decide which one you like most. :) Since it's an older list, it looks like it's missing a few, but pretty much all of the more common ones are on there. The missing ones that come to mind are the Sunglow and Moonglow, but they're a bit higher in price. Don't know what price range you were looking into.
http://www.kingsnake.com/boamorphs/

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This is very helpful! I am trying to stay between $100-$200, but as close to $100 or lower is preferable

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brickman89

thanks again, I will be checking these sites out soon. Another question I have is do the jungles have the grey color when they are babies and then become more brown/tan when they get older? or are they already brown when they're born? sorry for being a pain lol

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Most snakes tend to follow the pattern of being lighter as babies, then darkening as they get older, so I would assume it starts out as a very light tan and becomes the richer tan/brown down the line.

I Googled it, and while they're not as "slivery-grey" as babies as other BCIs, they are a very light tan. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brickman89

This is very helpful! I am trying to stay between $100-$200, but as close to $100 or lower is preferable

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For that price range, Normals, Hypos, Pastels and possibly Motleys are going to be your best bets. Jungles will run you about $500, it seems.

You might want to look into Central American boas if you're looking for a golden-tan color with rich browns, they've got amazing and crazy patterns as well. They're really beautiful and on the smaller size side of BCIs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

Most snakes tend to follow the pattern of being lighter as babies, then darkening as they get older, so I would assume it starts out as a very light tan and becomes the richer tan/brown down the line.

I Googled it, and while they're not as "slivery-grey" as babies as other BCIs, they are a very light tan. :)


For that price range, Normals, Hypos, Pastels and possibly Motleys are going to be your best bets. Jungles will run you about $500, it seems.

You might want to look into Central American boas if you're looking for a golden-tan color with rich browns, they've got amazing and crazy patterns as well. They're really beautiful and on the smaller size side of BCIs.

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Thank you for all of the great info! The reason I asked about the color they are as babies is because I found this place (UAN Constrictors) and on their Facebook page they have a photo album with all of their available snakes with type and cost as the description(https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3745247&type=3). A lot of them are the silverish color with the brown patterning (not the golden brown/tan) but they are still labeled jungles, and some are labeled normals, even though they are all the same colors. Unless they are just carrying the Jungle gene, I can't figure out the difference it between them. Any thoughts?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brickman89

Thank you for all of the great info! The reason I asked about the color they are as babies is because I found this place (UAN Constrictors) and on their Facebook page they have a photo album with all of their available snakes with type and cost as the description(https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3745247&type=3). A lot of them are the silverish color with the brown patterning (not the golden brown/tan) but they are still labeled jungles, and some are labeled normals, even though they are all the same colors. Unless they are just carrying the Jungle gene, I can't figure out the difference it between them. Any thoughts?

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Normals will definitely darken up, although how much they do is different for each one. Jungles will darken, but they shouldn't "brown out" like normals. The Jungle gene is a co-dominant gene so there should be no hets (all Jungles will be visual morphs). It's a very variable morph and yes, a lot of Jungles look like very nice normals as babies, but the saddles on a Jungle will have more of a butterfly shape to them (but not all Jungles have actual saddles), have a more aberrant pattern and they will keep their nice rich colors into adulthood. Most of them look almost like Pastels with crazy patterns.

Your best bet for getting the Jungle you want is to work with a reputable breeder. They should be able to give you a selection of boas that will be what you're looking for, based on their lineages. :) I'm not super familiar with the Jungle morph though, hopefully someone more familiar with them, like Daybreaker or Evenstar, comes back and can fill in more of my limited knowledge.