Adult BCI pictures?

I'm considering adding a BCI to the collection, but I'm a little cautious. I recently saw some at a zoo and I thought they were amazing. I know I want to have one. They're completely fascinating, so different than any other snake I own. However, I'm not sure if what I saw was considered average size. They looked smaller than what I expected. I'd like to see some pictures of adults to get an idea of what I'd be getting into, and it would be great if you could mention whether the animal is male or female.

And here's an unusual question... do you mind showing pictures of a boa cage after the snake has made a particularly bad mess? I want to know exactly what clean up is going to be.

You can look up my thread "Cloud, Colombian BCI" if you want to see pictures of my boy. He's just turned 4 years old and is somewhere between 6' and 6.5' and 8.5 lbs. I personally find him very easy to manage, even at 6'+ he still feels small (to me). He only really shows his true size in his caging, feeders, and if he were to have a bad day (which the bites I've seen from boas of his size weren't too major, they did less damage than the one time my 3.5' BP bit me).

Everyone's experience will differ though. Even though I find him easily manageable, other people could be overwhelmed by him and his space/feeding requirements. As some other users point out in the thread, he does look rather large on me, I'm only 5'1", so that will make him seem a bit more to work with in those pictures.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures as I prefer to just clean and dump. When I was over-feeding him, he'd leave feces that were 3-4 handfuls big and rather stinky. Now that I've moved him onto a 4 week schedule, it's more like a 1-2 handful dump and doesn't stink at all. He's pretty good about being clean, so I just scoop the poop and surrounding bedding and that's it. Luckily he's not a poop artist. haha

My 8 year old female is about that same size. Amazing snake and you wont regret it.... Poop size seams small to me now with my burn and big coastal but about the same size as a 15-20lb dog

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Can take a pic when I get home tomorrow

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Oh, that's not bad at all. I think I could manage that size... and clean up doesn't sound terrible...

Does anyone have a picture of what they consider a larger than average snake?

My 6 ft BCI female is just as easy to care for as my BP. Actually easier, because I KNOW that she will eat.

Her poo is no different than my 4.5 + ft BP.

My daughter is extremely afraid of snakes. Here is her first time with Elenore.

When I told her that toddlers used to pull her out and carry her around, my daughter realized that Elenore must be tame and gave it a try.

sorry no pics! Tapatalk is not working for this site AGAIN!

Anyone else? I'm leaning towards getting one, but I want to be absolutely sure before I do.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...102e01e5da.jpg this is the biggest one I have currently she is 6 years old and extremely small 6 foot and a doll. Most boas can be fed rat all there lives I switch it up and feed small chicken and rabbits ever now and then... My other boas are 2015 &2014. Boas are very easily managed by one person. Get a baby and watch it grow and the you wont even notice the size. If your wanting a smaller one just get a male.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by CloudtheBoa

You can look up my thread "Cloud, Colombian BCI" if you want to see pictures of my boy. He's just turned 4 years old and is somewhere between 6' and 6.5' and 8.5 lbs. I personally find him very easy to manage, even at 6'+ he still feels small (to me). He only really shows his true size in his caging, feeders, and if he were to have a bad day (which the bites I've seen from boas of his size weren't too major, they did less damage than the one time my 3.5' BP bit me).

Everyone's experience will differ though. Even though I find him easily manageable, other people could be overwhelmed by him and his space/feeding requirements. As some other users point out in the thread, he does look rather large on me, I'm only 5'1", so that will make him seem a bit more to work with in those pictures.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures as I prefer to just clean and dump. When I was over-feeding him, he'd leave feces that were 3-4 handfuls big and rather stinky. Now that I've moved him onto a 4 week schedule, it's more like a 1-2 handful dump and doesn't stink at all. He's pretty good about being clean, so I just scoop the poop and surrounding bedding and that's it. Luckily he's not a poop artist. haha

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Great advice here, and also a good example of somebody catching their snake's possible overfeeding schedule before any issues popped up. Cloud is a nice sized male and his growth leveled out. Job well done!

I have a male locality boa. Barranquilla, Colombian BC.

He is a bit over 3 years old and just about 6 feet long. Males, managed for size can still get large especially if there are no female boas in the same house to give off pheromones that trigger breeding behavior.

If you take good care of your snake be it male or female you should have a lean, muscular animal and usually a very pleasant captive pet.

The laterally compressed body of a healthy BC.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2578.jpg

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2584.jpg


This is a 48" x 30" x 20" Pro-Line cage. I clean up waste immediately and have never thought of taking pictures of it. I can't help you with the pictures of excrement.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2658.jpg

It is not overly large (the waste) , and if you follow a season temperature drop and good feeding schedule, the winter months should almost be waste free once the snake is an adult.


They are heavier and more dense than most snakes of the same length. My female coastal carpet python is longer, but nowhere near the thickness or strength of the BC.

As far as "BIG" snakes go, boa constrictors give you the size and thickness but not to the extreme like some of the giant pythons.

6 foot BC.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2586.jpg

You will more than likely wind up with a 5-9 foot snake if you go with a BCI and really, 5-7 is more common in animals that are not overfed.

Very beautiful boa! Thanks for the information, that was very helpful.

So for a seasonal temperature drop, just how much of a drop are we talking here? And is that for adults, juveniles or both? Haven't really found anything concrete on this point.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Penultimate

Very beautiful boa! Thanks for the information, that was very helpful.

So for a seasonal temperature drop, just how much of a drop are we talking here? And is that for adults, juveniles or both? Haven't really found anything concrete on this point.

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Read THE COMPLETE BOA CONSTRICTOR by Vincent Russo.

The feeding and temp drops I'm referring to come from that book and a lot of Gus Rentfro's writings.

I would keep juveniles and neonates in small caging and would keep constant temps.

I was referring to mature adult boa constrictors when mentioning that. I have a night drop that I employ year round, so my ambient day temp could run in the mid 80's and then drop to 77-78 at night.

My hot spot differs by 8-10 degrees usually.

There are different ways of doing things, and different ways to heat an enclosure.


If you have some other specific questions feel free to ask.

To date, carpet pythons and boa constrictors are my favorite snakes.

There are possibly 2 or 3 other species that I would be interested in, but if you only have royal pythons, boa constrictors will be a nice change.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...DSC01297-1.jpg

I have ball pythons and one rainbow boa. Thanks for the information. I'll see if anyone at the next expo is selling that book.

From what I've read, boa constrictor temperature requirements are similar to ball pythons. Can I keep a young boa in a ball python rack until a bigger enclosure is necessary? Or is there a reason not to do that?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Penultimate

I have ball pythons and one rainbow boa. Thanks for the information. I'll see if anyone at the next expo is selling that book.

From what I've read, boa constrictor temperature requirements are similar to ball pythons. Can I keep a young boa in a ball python rack until a bigger enclosure is necessary? Or is there a reason not to do that?

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Check Amazon for the book, as I believe its priced relatively nice there.

I would quarantine your BC separate from the royals altogether. The requirements are similar, but don't jeopardize the royals or the new boa simply for convenience. You could easily set up a separate little tub with a UTH and an intro Herpstat for the initial stages. Are you talking about just the rack caging, or including the boa in the same rack with the royals? You could certainly use that style of cage, just not WITH other snakes around the new one.



My BC was 10 months old when I bought him and he was already established on small rats.

Be 100% ready for the new snake. Don't let the excitement of the new snake take over your instincts for providing the proper setup and care.

It is very rewarding to have everything in place, including some knowledge and history of the new animal prior to getting it.

You can pick anything you want, and the possibilities are endless with all of the quality breeders out there.

The best advice I can give, is to follow what the breeder has been doing with the animal prior to your purchase.

A good breeder will have established practices that work for them, and they can guide you through the process should you purchase a young BC.

The book answers a lot of the care questions so seriously look at Amazon for it.

Ok, I'll check it out! Great to know that there's a good book on the subject. I wouldn't mind having that on my shelf.

This is a question I've been researching quite a bit, and so far I haven't found anything. I'm setting up a new quarantine room for ball pythons. If I'm getting new ball pythons set up in there, why can't I quarantine the boa in the same room? I would never keep a new snake in with my established ones, but I don't quite understand why I wouldn't be able to keep a boa in the same quarantine room. I'm talking about keeping the boa in a quarantine rack with ball pythons that are also in quarantine. If there's a very obvious reason that I'm overlooking, please let me know so I can think about future quarantine room layouts. :)

Oh, don't worry about me overlooking anything with a new snake. I don't want to take on a boa constrictor for at least a few months, most likely closer to a year. I want to take it slow going into the larger animals, just to be sure I'm perfectly ready to go. I'm just heading into the planning and researching stage. I usually research at least six months before getting any new animal, whether it's a rabbit or a reptile. I love research. It's a shame to skip it, I think it's part of the fun.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Penultimate

Ok, I'll check it out! Great to know that there's a good book on the subject. I wouldn't mind having that on my shelf.

This is a question I've been researching quite a bit, and so far I haven't found anything. I'm setting up a new quarantine room for ball pythons. If I'm getting new ball pythons set up in there, why can't I quarantine the boa in the same room? I would never keep a new snake in with my established ones, but I don't quite understand why I wouldn't be able to keep a boa in the same quarantine room. I'm talking about keeping the boa in a quarantine rack with ball pythons that are also in quarantine. If there's a very obvious reason that I'm overlooking, please let me know so I can think about future quarantine room layouts. :)

Oh, don't worry about me overlooking anything with a new snake. I don't want to take on a boa constrictor for at least a few months, most likely closer to a year. I want to take it slow going into the larger animals, just to be sure I'm perfectly ready to go. I'm just heading into the planning and researching stage. I usually research at least six months before getting any new animal, whether it's a rabbit or a reptile. I love research. It's a shame to skip it, I think it's part of the fun.

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Well, the quarantine process is to figure out IF a problem exists and WHICH animal may have an issue. Doing it with more than one at a time could be tough, and if one takes ill, or has mites the others in the area can potentially contract the disease or issue. Or you could have 1 or more animals that come in with problems and not know it.

You could more than likely pull it off in the same room, but its not advisable to have new snakes in the same rack system as established snakes, as in above, below or next to the new arrival.

It is much easier to pinpoint a problem when the animal is isolated, hence the "quarantine" process.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are saying/asking.

The book is worth buying and owning and Vin Russo answers questions in it that I can't.

There are other keepers here that are more skilled than I am at keeping multiple animals. I currently house 3 separate species and all are in naturalistic, display cages.

The rack/tub keepers could offer some guidance I'm sure.

So she isn't full grown but I wanted to show you anyways. As Gio said, a lot of boas are over fed. I believe slow and steady wins the race. Here is my four year old girl. Not full grown yet, of course, but you can see she's much much smaller than a lot of four year old females. Just under six feet and all muscle. She's much stronger than larger boas that were overfed.

http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/z...psbf33tzon.jpg

http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/z...psgxd0nxfw.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gio

Well, the quarantine process is to figure out IF a problem exists and WHICH animal may have an issue. Doing it with more than one at a time could be tough, and if one takes ill, or has mites the others in the area can potentially contract the disease or issue. Or you could have 1 or more animals that come in with problems and not know it.

You could more than likely pull it off in the same room, but its not advisable to have new snakes in the same rack system as established snakes, as in above, below or next to the new arrival.

It is much easier to pinpoint a problem when the animal is isolated, hence the "quarantine" process.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are saying/asking.

The book is worth buying and owning and Vin Russo answers questions in it that I can't.

There are other keepers here that are more skilled than I am at keeping multiple animals. I currently house 3 separate species and all are in naturalistic, display cages.

The rack/tub keepers could offer some guidance I'm sure.

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I believe you may be misunderstanding me, or it could be the other way around. I have no idea, haha. What I'm saying is that I'm setting up a new room far away from my established collection to quarantine new arrivals. A separate reptile room, basically. I'm going to have a new rack in there specifically for new snakes. Quarantine lasts three months in that room and restarts if any new animal comes into the room. After that's over, they would go to my established reptile room. It makes sense in my head, just not sure if I'm overlooking something incredibly obvious.

Alright, I'll definitely be thinking about that book. The next expo is at the end of the month, so if I see it there at a lower price, I'll pick it up there. If not, I'll get it on Amazon. In the meantime, I'll do some online research. I'm definitely not in a hurry to get a boa, so I figure I might as well take my time.

If anyone else has any input on the quarantine question, I'd love to hear it. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shann

So she isn't full grown but I wanted to show you anyways. As Gio said, a lot of boas are over fed. I believe slow and steady wins the race. Here is my four year old girl. Not full grown yet, of course, but you can see she's much much smaller than a lot of four year old females. Just under six feet and all muscle. She's much stronger than larger boas that were overfed.

http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/z...psbf33tzon.jpg

http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/z...psgxd0nxfw.jpg

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Beautiful boa! I love those little dots all over her. :)

My 3 year-old female
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...df6db5513a.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...b38e75306a.jpg
My 2 year old male
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...009dfea19f.jpg
1 year old female
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...67c76fe7f3.jpg

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