boa help

hey guys i have a common boa thats 3 or. 3 an a half foot and a small rainbow boa almost 3 foot less then a year old i was wondering how fast they will grow and how bad the bites will be when full and at diffrent sizes as the common has alrady got me once also how fast will they grow since i have not had the common along time an its almost 4 foot i was told he is male but i cant be sure he is on medium rats an i only had him a few months also any advice on tameing them would be usefull

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Originally Posted by boalover

hey guys i have a common boa thats 3 or. 3 an a half foot and a small rainbow boa almost 3 foot less then a year old i was wondering how fast they will grow and how bad the bites will be when full and at diffrent sizes as the common has alrady got me once also how fast will they grow since i have not had the common along time an its almost 4 foot i was told he is male but i cant be sure he is on medium rats an i only had him a few months also any advice on tameing them would be usefull

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anyone?

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Originally Posted by boalover

hey guys i have a common boa thats 3 or. 3 an a half foot and a small rainbow boa almost 3 foot less then a year old i was wondering how fast they will grow and how bad the bites will be when full and at diffrent sizes as the common has alrady got me once also how fast will they grow since i have not had the common along time an its almost 4 foot i was told he is male but i cant be sure he is on medium rats an i only had him a few months also any advice on tameing them would be usefull

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I have a 4 1/2 foot albino bci.. They do grow fairly quickly.. As far as taming goes handle it a lot.. Withhttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...07dabcb6ec.jpg bites mine never bit me so idk.. Here is a pic you can see. When I got her to now.. She is around 2 yrs old http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...12c7293c71.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...4dce681a74.jpg

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Originally Posted by MrSnake21

I have a 4 1/2 foot albino bci.. They do grow fairly quickly.. As far as taming goes handle it a lot.. Withhttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...07dabcb6ec.jpg bites mine never bit me so idk.. Here is a pic you can see. When I got her to now.. She is around 2 yrs old http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...12c7293c71.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...4dce681a74.jpg

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thanks amy imfo is good how big will my male get he is on medium rats an i was told he was almost a year a few month back also when will he need large an jumbo rats an will he eat rabbits

No one can say when a particular snake will be taking a particular size feeder. A male boa on medium rats would get fed every 14 days. I have 3-4 year old males taking large rats, they get one every 21 days. My biggest female is five years old and seven feet, she's on a jumbo rat every 3-4 weeks.

An appropriate sized feeder is as large around as the boa at its widest point, there should be a minimal lump after the snake eats.

MrSnake21's boa is in good weight, note the square body shape. BCI should never be round or even pleasingly plump like a ball python, as fatty liver disease will shorten their lifespan considerably.

The BRB should be fed slightly smaller meals than the BCI, they are known as "slender boas" and should never be heavy-bodied. They must be maintained at cooler temperatures than BCI and pythons, and as a result they digest slowly. My adult male is on a small rat every 10-14 days since I have no plans to breed him this year, last year he was on medium rats in the fall to get a touch more weight on him before I started the fasting/cooling process.

As for settling them down, I would handle each gently for up to 15 minutes each day, except for feeding day and the three days after so you don't induce a stress regurge. As you noted the little nips from a small snake aren't a big deal, but they're not fun if the snake hasn't settled down when it grows up.

Make sure when the snake is out that it is well-supported so it's not fearful of falling, and you may have to distract it by giving it something soft and safe to strike at, such as a roll of paper towels, while you scoop it up from behind.

Make sure it is calm when you put it back so they don't learn that biting = going back to the enclosure.

the brb is on medium mice and was wondering if he will thicken out and was wondering how big the diffrence beetween large and medium rats is also about bites a nip from the big one is not good how bad do they get i have loads kf questions so i am asking bit at a time

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Originally Posted by bcr229

No one can say when a particular snake will be taking a particular size feeder. A male boa on medium rats would get fed every 14 days. I have 3-4 year old males taking large rats, they get one every 21 days. My biggest female is five years old and seven feet, she's on a jumbo rat every 3-4 weeks.

An appropriate sized feeder is as large around as the boa at its widest point, there should be a minimal lump after the snake eats.

MrSnake21's boa is in good weight, note the square body shape. BCI should never be round or even pleasingly plump like a ball python, as fatty liver disease will shorten their lifespan considerably.

The BRB should be fed slightly smaller meals than the BCI, they are known as "slender boas" and should never be heavy-bodied. They must be maintained at cooler temperatures than BCI and pythons, and as a result they digest slowly. My adult male is on a small rat every 10-14 days since I have no plans to breed him this year, last year he was on medium rats in the fall to get a touch more weight on him before I started the fasting/cooling process.

As for settling them down, I would handle each gently for up to 15 minutes each day, except for feeding day and the three days after so you don't induce a stress regurge. As you noted the little nips from a small snake aren't a big deal, but they're not fun if the snake hasn't settled down when it grows up.

Make sure when the snake is out that it is well-supported so it's not fearful of falling, and you may have to distract it by giving it something soft and safe to strike at, such as a roll of paper towels, while you scoop it up from behind.

Make sure it is calm when you put it back so they don't learn that biting = going back to the enclosure.

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If its a BCI male, it will probably top out around 5-6ft. Females around 7-8ft. As for growth, they go through spurts. My BCI girl is just over 1.5 years old and she is between 5-6ft. A bite from a full grown one im sure would hurt like hell but my girl has never bitten once and I had since she was 8 weeks old. She did strike at me when she was younger but not with an open mouth, she more or less just hit me with her nose because I scared her and reached into her cage from the front and over her head so was my fault. Now that she is older, she isn't head shy at all and actually likes to have her head pet. You just got to handle them a lot. I usually always take my girl out and let her drape on me while I do stuff around the house or cook something to eat although I have to be extra careful during that so she doesn't get burnt or hurt. The more you handle, the tamer they become and some like mine seem to actually like the interaction. Snakes never stop growing completely, they just slow down a lot after around 2-3 years I'd guess. During the first year is the fastest.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

If its a BCI male, it will probably top out around 5-6ft. Females around 7-8ft. As for growth, they go through spurts. My BCI girl is just over 1.5 years old and she is between 5-6ft. A bite from a full grown one im sure would hurt like hell but my girl has never bitten once and I had since she was 8 weeks old. She did strike at me when she was younger but not with an open mouth, she more or less just hit me with her nose because I scared her and reached into her cage from the front and over her head so was my fault. Now that she is older, she isn't head shy at all and actually likes to have her head pet. You just got to handle them a lot. I usually always take my girl out and let her drape on me while I do stuff around the house or cook something to eat although I have to be extra careful during that so she doesn't get burnt or hurt. The more you handle, the tamer they become and some like mine seem to actually like the interaction. Snakes never stop growing completely, they just slow down a lot after around 2-3 years I'd guess. During the first year is the fastest.

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how do i know if its a rtb a bci or bcc as the shop just said its hypo breed with common an dwarf so i dno if its drawf i kmow it wud top at 4 ft but its almost 4ft in less then a year

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Originally Posted by boalover

how do i know if its a rtb a bci or bcc as the shop just said its hypo breed with common an dwarf so i dno if its drawf i kmow it wud top at 4 ft but its almost 4ft in less then a year

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bit more info for above never met parents but was told they were 7 foot an a good 6 foot male atleast on average so cant be dwarf i dnt think

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Originally Posted by boalover

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they supposed to be pics

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Originally Posted by boalover

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BCI tend to be more rust colored tails where as BCC are blood red like Surinames or Guyana. If it was from a pet shop, then it is probably a BCI as I've yet to see a regular pet shop sell a BCC. And if the mom and dad are that big, baby is probably gonna be around there which sounds about normal size for a Colombian. BCI also are like garbage disposals and eat everything where some Suris can be picky about food and quick to regurgitate. So to sum it up, you probably got a male BCI that will grow around 6ft or so. They are great snakes though. My girl is a BCI and she has tons of personality and loves her head scratched and to come out and ride on my shoulders as I do stuff around the house.

http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/...ps93afd378.jpg

http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/...psd140e5f1.jpg


http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/...ps93ba2d74.jpg

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Originally Posted by Tragic Image

thanks there my pics let me know thoughts was from a specalist pet shop but they dunno alothttp://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/...ps93afd378.jpg

http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/...psd140e5f1.jpg


http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/...ps93ba2d74.jpg

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Originally Posted by boalover

how do i know if its a rtb a bci or bcc as the shop just said its hypo breed with common an dwarf so i dno if its drawf i kmow it wud top at 4 ft but its almost 4ft in less then a year

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Given the pictures, hypo yes, common BCI yes, minimal or no dwarf lineage.

I think shops throw "dwarf" into the mix to try to reassure unsuspecting buyers that the snake will not get big, which IMO does both the snake and the buyer a disservice.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Given the pictures, hypo yes, common BCI yes, minimal or no dwarf lineage.

I think shops throw "dwarf" into the mix to try to reassure unsuspecting buyers that the snake will not get big, which IMO does both the snake and the buyer a disservice.

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how do u know its not got any or alot of dwarf im does it look male or femele and i guess it cud get abit bigger then 6 foot

The "dwarf" localities are primarily from Mexico and Central America. You can read about them and see pictures at http://www.cuttingedgeherp.com/. Your hypo boa looks nothing like the dwarf localities. I have three of the Tarahuras, one of the smallest of the locality boas, all in the 18-20 month old range. They aren't nearly as big as your guy is now.

Also people who breed the dwarf localities tend to keep them pure and not out-cross them with other BCI morphs.

Unless they can give you documented papers, I would take anything verbal with a grain of salt. That looks like a hypo BCI. Surinames have "peaks" on their saddles which adds or subtracts from the price depending how high and even the peaks are. Also like I said, their tails are bright red. As for dwarfs, there are Hog Island, caulker cay, Nicaraguan among some. And as bcr229 said, most dwarf boas are kept pure as even a large boa isn't really unmanageable. Now as for retics, the new fad is to breed super dwarf or dwarf retics to keep them from getting into an 18ft snake yet still keep the look of them. Plus if you get a "pedigree" boa, you will pay the price for them. Your hypo is nice though. My girl is a normal Colombian but she has the best personality out of all the snakes I've had. I can leave the door open on her cage and she will just sit there with her head resting on the top of the litter dam and relax and loves when I walk by and pet her head or rub her body.

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Originally Posted by boalover

how do u know its not got any or alot of dwarf im does it look male or femele and i guess it cud get abit bigger then 6 foot

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No one knows for sure except the breeder. Generally, if it did have dwarf, it would list the % like 66% hog island Colombian or 75% caulker cay Colombian. If you really want to know how they do it, do a search for super dwarf or dwarf reticulated pythons and breeders will explain how it works. Its basically you take a mom with X amount of dwarf or super dwarf blood and a dad with X amount and breed those. Then you come out with babies that would be the combined. Then breed those higher % super dwarfs or dwarfs back to mom and then those new offspring will have X amount more of super dwarf or dwarf blood. Its all confusing to me as I don't breed but if you read on it, you can figure it out.

And being that your snake looks BCI to me and you don't know the sex, just guess you could end up with a 10ft snake but probably more like a 5-8ft snake. There is no guaranteed way to sex them I know of other than watching them do the wild thing :P You could have a vet pop it or probe it or if you know someone or breeder who can do it. But unless they know what they are doing, they can actually hurt the snake so I'd be cautious.

thanks for all the help guys is gettimg it sexed a good idea all the guy at the shop did was look at the tail an said i am sure its a male

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

No one knows for sure except the breeder. Generally, if it did have dwarf, it would list the % like 66% hog island Colombian or 75% caulker cay Colombian. If you really want to know how they do it, do a search for super dwarf or dwarf reticulated pythons and breeders will explain how it works. Its basically you take a mom with X amount of dwarf or super dwarf blood and a dad with X amount and breed those. Then you come out with babies that would be the combined. Then breed those higher % super dwarfs or dwarfs back to mom and then those new offspring will have X amount more of super dwarf or dwarf blood. Its all confusing to me as I don't breed but if you read on it, you can figure it out.

And being that your snake looks BCI to me and you don't know the sex, just guess you could end up with a 10ft snake but probably more like a 5-8ft snake. There is no guaranteed way to sex them I know of other than watching them do the wild thing :P You could have a vet pop it or probe it or if you know someone or breeder who can do it. But unless they know what they are doing, they can actually hurt the snake so I'd be cautious.

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Originally Posted by boalover

thanks for all the help guys is gettimg it sexed a good idea all the guy at the shop did was look at the tail an said i am sure its a male

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Was this the same guy who said it was a dwarf cross? ;)

FWIW I've been given several "male" snakes that have laid eggs... :D

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Was this the same guy who said it was a dwarf cross? ;)

FWIW I've been given several "male" snakes that have laid eggs... :D

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yep its the same guy who said it was a dwarf cross a now confused if it will get bigger then 6 foot an if its gonna eat rabbits

Why the hang-up about eating rabbits? Even large female boas can do just fine for life on jumbo rats, unless you want to feed rabbits. And it doesn't matter whether your boa is male or female, if it's only a year old now it'll be years before it would need larger prey than a jumbo rat.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Why the hang-up about eating rabbits? Even large female boas can do just fine for life on jumbo rats, unless you want to feed rabbits. And it doesn't matter whether your boa is male or female, if it's only a year old now it'll be years before it would need larger prey than a jumbo rat.

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the rabbit thing is becouse i have seen 4ft dwarf boas eating rabbits an my 3ft is on medium soon to be large rats if i get u pics of the tail can u try sex it also man how quick do thye grow was windering when he will get 4ft an also when he needs large rat

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Originally Posted by boalover

the rabbit thing is becouse i have seen 4ft dwarf boas eating rabbits an my 3ft is on medium soon to be large rats if i get u pics of the tail can u try sex it also man how quick do thye grow was windering when he will get 4ft an also when he needs large rat

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S/he needs to be given a feeder as wide around as the body is at the widest point, every 2-3 weeks. Boas grow at different rates.

No one can sex a snake from a picture, it has to be popped or probed.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

S/he needs to be given a feeder as wide around as the body is at the widest point, every 2-3 weeks. Boas grow at different rates.

No one can sex a snake from a picture, it has to be popped or probed.

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how can i pop or probe it is it hard to do it an is he big for 1 year

My boa is about 2 now and is still on small rats. Like bcr said, if they prey item is bigger around than the snake, it's too big. You will need to find someone that can probe it for you (an experienced snake keeper or breeder). I think popping is harder on larger snakes and you are more likely to hurt the snake. It is almost certainly a Bci... Bccs are rarer and more expensive. Other than that, I don't have much to offer you.

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Originally Posted by artgecko

My boa is about 2 now and is still on small rats. Like bcr said, if they prey item is bigger around than the snake, it's too big. You will need to find someone that can probe it for you (an experienced snake keeper or breeder). I think popping is harder on larger snakes and you are more likely to hurt the snake. It is almost certainly a Bci... Bccs are rarer and more expensive. Other than that, I don't have much to offer you.

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am confused the guy who sold it said it was a male that would only get 4-5 foot and other places say diffrent like 7-9 foot also does anybody know were i can probe it i fed him a large rat yestaday and he refused to eat

Was the rat the same size as your snakes belly in diameter? If it was bigger than your snake is around the than it was too big and is probably why he didn't take it. You can put your fingers around the middle so when your checking feeders make sure they aren't bigger than that. Forcing too large prey is dangerous to your snake. It could cause a regurg. Not good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by calmolly1

Was the rat the same size as your snakes belly in diameter? If it was bigger than your snake is around the than it was too big and is probably why he didn't take it. You can put your fingers around the middle so when your checking feeders make sure they aren't bigger than that. Forcing too large prey is dangerous to your snake. It could cause a regurg. Not good.

was the same size he noramly eats an strikes fine all i did different this week is give him a bigger hide as he outgrow the old one and moved his fave tree to a new position btw does it matter what way the tree is placed for him to climb if i put it put it upside down its higher then normal i also defrosted food like normal when shall i feed again as he eats every 10-14 days

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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This thread is concerning.

DO NOT worry about rabbits at this time. DO NOT try to sex your snake by yourself either. The questions you are asking are fine, but don't be in a hurry to grown a large boa.

The biggest boas are the oldest boas. That means a long lived, properly fed boa will reach its full, genetic potential with age. Overfed boas are FAT, sluggish and lack head development, which is called "pin head syndrome". It's a huge, fat body and a head that stays the size in relation to what the snake's size really SHOULD be, but due to hyper growth, the head won't catch up to the body because the body is too fat.

You can feed rats, quail of the same size as the rats, and tiny rabbits if they are available, but the rabbit should not be any larger than rat you are feeding.

There are posts here in the archives that go into great detail about the BCI or BCC questions you were asking. I just wrote some basic info about that subject 2 weeks ago in a post somewhere here.

Buy and read THE COMPLETE BOA CONSTRICTOR by Vincent Russo.

That book has all the info needed to keep and raise healthy boas.

Also anything written on the web by Gus Rentfro is gospel in my opinion.

Good luck.

I'm guessing that whoever sold the snake sold the OP a load of :cens0r: with it also.

There is no dwarf in that snake - a dwarf is never going to get large enough to need a large rat. It's a hypo BCI.

Whether male or female, if it's on large rats it shouldn't be eating more often than once every three weeks or four weeks.

As for why s/he isn't eating... mature males sometimes go off food during the winter because they want a girlfriend.

Or, if your house has gotten colder with the winter weather and your boa isn't warm enough to digest, that can cause it to stop eating. What are you using for an enclosure and heat?

Hey sorry for all the questions but as bcr said looks like the shop were talking rubbish as I said he is on medium rats an refused a large this week I won't do that again I only did as the shop said he could take things bigger than himself as he is a boa I certainly will not be power feeding as for his vivarium it is a four foot vivexotic with a fake tree thing a hide a Cork bark hide and waterbowl he is starting to hiss as well an I have a snake hook as was told it's a good idea but he only hisses when the hook touches him and not my hand the rainbow boa has a three foot tank with high humidity and hides also what size viv do adult boas need sorry but I wanna be sure coz shop has me second guessing now due to there crap

bcr229;2307702]I'm guessing that whoever sold the snake sold the OP a load of :cens0r: with it also.

There is no dwarf in that snake - a dwarf is never going to get large enough to need a large rat. It's a hypo BCI.

Whether male or female, if it's on large rats it shouldn't be eating more often than once every three weeks or four weeks.

As for why s/he isn't eating... mature males sometimes go off food during the winter because they want a girlfriend.

Or, if your house has gotten colder with the winter weather and your boa isn't warm enough to digest, that can cause it to stop eating. What are you using for an enclosure and heat?[/QUOTE]
Hey

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Originally Posted by boalover

Hey sorry for all the questions but as bcr said looks like the shop were talking rubbish as I said he is on medium rats an refused a large this week I won't do that again I only did as the shop said he could take things bigger than himself as he is a boa I certainly will not be power feeding as for his vivarium it is a four foot vivexotic...

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How is it heated?

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Originally Posted by bcr229

How is it heated?

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ceremic eatlamp with guard

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Originally Posted by bcr229

How is it heated?

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ceremic heat lamp with guard

So... no belly heat or under-tank heater? Is there a thermostat regulating the CHE? How are you measuring the ambient and surface temperatures?

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Originally Posted by bcr229

So... no belly heat or under-tank heater? Is there a thermostat regulating the CHE? How are you measuring the ambient and surface temperatures?

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i did not know u had to measure surface temp shop never told me heater is on thermostat set to maximum 32.5C as my tank looses hea by about 2C and it is im shed