New BCA (south Brazilian) Male

Bear with me... This is my first try posting several pics in one thread.

I received this male today from Tom McCarthy. I did not get to unbox him myself (my husband brought him home at lunch time for me), but couldn't resist and took him out of a hide in his cage for a few quick pics. He'll be taking it easy in his cage for the next couple weeks to settle in before I feed him / handle him. He's a "super peaked" line South Brazilian BCA. Apparently some think this line was mixed with BCCs at some point, but they stay smaller (lengthwise) like a BCI.

Him in his cage after I placed him back (after handling). This pic really shows some of his neat patterns and color variation.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...agecropped.jpg

Holding him showing his great pattern. Lighting is far too "cool" in the pics, he is more redish brown with pink highlights on his sides... I will get better pics once he's settled in.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...ingcropped.jpg

Still holding him, he wanted to investigate me. To those that said boas "checking out your face" freaked you out with your first boa... I totally understand what you mean now.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...aceresized.jpg

I want to also say a big thank you to Kali on her advice to get this guy. I enjoyed working with his breeder and now after seeing him in person I am very glad I bought him.

Awesome pattern on this guy!


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He looks FANTASTIC!!! VERY nice animal! I think you scored here! Glad the breeder was a good experience - another one to put on the "good guys" list! Enjoy him - you'll love having a boa and he looks to be a great choice! :gj:

He's pretty! Love his markings!


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Tom is a great guy! I talked to him a few times by phone and I may have actually looked at your snake to purchase last year if he is about a year old.

Tom told me to go the route I went which says something about him. He breeds for the true love of the hobby and not for the $$.

That said, I think I would have enjoyed a BCA quite a bit. You have a beauty!

Nice snake from a really nice guy!

Congrats!!!

Whats his temperament like?


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So far... very chill. He didn't hiss or strike at me (I did use a hook to remove from his enclosure though) and once out, he just wanted to "look" around and tried to crawl on stuff. Didn't tense up on me or try to "run" at all. I was impressed considering he just arrived yesterday. Tom said that the BCAs are the most chill of the boas he has and that this guy should be the same once I've handled him more (Tom had not had time handle him a lot due to the number of snakes he has).

I'll be curious to see how big he gets... They're supposed to stay smaller than BCIs length-wise, but get pretty chunky. I'm hoping that both myself and my husband are comfortable with his size as he grows, so that we'll feel confident about getting other boas in the future. I'm also really curious about his colors and contrast as he matures, I'd love it if his background color stayed lighter, but we'll see how it goes.

Gio- I know someone else bought another male from him several months ago, so it could've been that one too. This was the last male of the litter and he was born on 8/11/12, so about 1.5 years old. He's still got, I think, 2 or 3 females left, one of which was the most expensive, so I'm assuming best example from the litter.

I was really happy dealing with Tom, I think that at the price I got this male for, he's definitely not looking to price-gouge anyone. I got in contact with him on another forum and he gave me great information about boas in a thread even without knowing I"d eventually purchase from him. I haven't talked to him on the phone yet, but he did leave me a message to tell me when the snake had shipped and about the heat pack with him, etc. and he's been very professional and friendly through email. I would definitely buy from him again, but I don't think he works with the BCI morphs that I'm interested in (he just had some sunglows, albinos, hypos, and hets born but doesn't work with pastels or jungles that I know of).

I'll have to start a pic thread for this little guy so that I can keep everyone updated on his growth, colors, and weight.

An OT question for you guys... Based on the pics, do you think he would take rat pups? The breeder had been feeding him small rats every 2 weeks, but I want to use a 10 day schedule at first, so I was thinking smaller prey items would be better.. I do have small and weaned rats if he needs to eat items that large at this point.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Congratulations!! He is very pretty! He looks like a typical curious boa. :) What ever you feed him, you don't want it to leave a noticeable lump. So long as you can't see it, you are good. But if a small rat doesn't leave a lump, I'd stick with those, not back down to something smaller. I'd get him back on a 2 week schedule by the time he's 2, as well, if you plan to change to 10 days.

Thanks!
I'll try a rat pup for the first feeding and see what the size is.. If it looks too small, I'll up it for the next feeding.

Wow, smoking looking boa!!!! Very nice choice! And yes, my boa likes to give me "kisses" all the time!! Haha. Gets all up in my face....:P

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Originally Posted by DooLittle

Congratulations!! He is very pretty! He looks like a typical curious boa. :) What ever you feed him, you don't want it to leave a noticeable lump. So long as you can't see it, you are good. But if a small rat doesn't leave a lump, I'd stick with those, not back down to something smaller. I'd get him back on a 2 week schedule by the time he's 2, as well, if you plan to change to 10 days.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by artgecko

Thanks!
I'll try a rat pup for the first feeding and see what the size is.. If it looks too small, I'll up it for the next feeding.

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If you are going to feed him more often than what he's used to, I wouldn't "up" the prey size at all. A pup or weaned rat every 10 days is fine. You shouldn't see a lump. Slower is better for any boa, but BCA are more like BCC than BCI and can be a wee bit touchier with feeding. Err on the side of caution. :gj:

I'm sorry. My post sounded confusing. Basically what I was trying to say was I would not change his feedings. Stick with the longer time and what he was eating. But yes, Kali is right, if you do more frequently, go smaller. But I'd just leave him at what he was. I would also listen to Kali on all things boa. She knows her stuff! So if she thinks 10 days at this point is better, ignore me. :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DooLittle

I'm sorry. My post sounded confusing. Basically what I was trying to say was I would not change his feedings. Stick with the longer time and what he was eating. But yes, Kali is right, if you do more frequently, go smaller. But I'd just leave him at what he was. I would also listen to Kali on all things boa. She knows her stuff! So if she thinks 10 days at this point is better, ignore me. :p

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Thanks DooLittle! You're sweet! But don't discount - you know a thing or two yourself!

At his age, I don't think either way is right or wrong. I would do a 10-14 day schedule. If you stick with 14 days, then stick with the size rats he was on. If you go more frequent at 10 days, then go a step smaller. :gj:

Thanks again for the responses. I was reading somewhere (can't remember what care sheet) that BCAs can have particularly sensitive systems and that you should go with a smaller item rather than larger (if the boa was stressed, had changes, had regurgitated, etc.), which was my reasoning with the smaller sized meal.

The breeder originally told me he could be fed rat pups o small rats, but he sent a feeding chart with him that listed his last few meals as small rats. I took his recommendation of both pups and rats into account when doing my last food order and ordered some pups, weaned, and small rats...Since I have no other snakes eating them at the moment, I thought I'd start with the pups and upgrade if it doesn't seem like enough for him... I was assuming that due to the smaller prey, I'd need to start feeding every 10 days instead of the 2 week schedule the breeder had him on.

Would getting an accurate weight on him help? I have a scale and can do so. If boas do well on a certain percentage of body weight per meal that might make it easier for me to figure out what's appropriate. I'll also take a good look at him and see how wide he is at his largest point and try to match that with my prey items.

Thanks again for your advice. I want this guy to be healthy and grow slowly but not to go hungry or have digestive issues.

No, boas don't go by the percentage rule. Just make sure he looks good, nice muscle tone, and a boxy shape, then feed him according to the size of him and the rat. Leave no bumps! Lol. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DooLittle

No, boas don't go by the percentage rule. Just make sure he looks good, nice muscle tone, and a boxy shape, then feed him according to the size of him and the rat. Leave no bumps! Lol. :)

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Exactly right! And one person's "small" rat may not be the same as your "small". So it's a good idea to use your best judgment and feed what will not leave a noticeable lump. A weight would help, but isn't really necessary. If your small rat leaves a lump, wait 14 days before feeding and then go down one prey size and go 10 days from that point forward. :gj:

OK, I will try the small rats first and see how it goes. I will get a weight on him today... I have to remove him from his tub to solder a few more holes in it (humidity has been too high at around 75-80%).

Thanks!

You could double check with Tom as well. E-mail him or call him. Usually the breeder's schedule is the best. That is if the breeder is decent, and Tom is.

One thing I will say about jumping to 10 days is this. A lot of breeders think about keeping their males and will feed them to keep them smaller for breeding. This is normal as they don't want giant males intimidating newer female snakes come breeding time. I never planned on keeping my boa small for breeding so I asked the breeder if every 10 days was OK. I did stay with the current size rats they were using at the time.

Gus Rentfro's feeding program is one of my favorites. He basically follows seasonal changes, daylight, temps, and feeds accordingly. In the winter feeding slows way down. In the summer it goes up. If your snake eats, eliminates all signs of the previous meal and starts actively hunting, it's probably time.

If in doubt, wait a day or 2. I'm coming up on another 20 days between meals. I'm also seeing some changes to the snake's behavior as the daylight hours increase. Eventually I'll bump the temps again, and I'll be feeding every 10 unless he has not eliminated.

You'll soon find a routine and the actions of your snake will be a good guide.

Now,,,,, after saying all of that,,, Kali and Doolittle have great advice so that's that LOL!