Peruvian Long Tail Boa

I saw the other thread (https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ian-Long-Tails), but the links on care are dead, and it was 2013, so I want to know if there is good updated information.

I would like to get one, but want to know how long they get--I don't want to have to feed it rabbits eventually, but I would like it to be able to handle large rats when fully grown...

If the conditions are terribly different from ball pythons...

and any other information you have. I'm having trouble finding info through ol' Google.

There are a few in stock from lllreptile... I'm interested in a female one.

No one knows if the conditions for Boa c. Longicauda have updated? It's not listed in the FAQ either. The last report I read is that they get to a max of 6 feet?

First off, no boa has to be fed rabbits. Any of them will do fine on large rats their whole life unless you get some mutant female BCC.

Second off, I would imagine their care would be the same as most south American boas. Mid to high 70s cool side, 88-90F hot spot and about 70-80% humidity. You can also just look up the average temps for Peru and go off that too.

Third off, I have heard if you buy from LLL, be prepared to get a 2 for 1 pet deal. You get a snake AND mites as a bonus pet. Also i'm not sure I would trust them for a more obscure species. I would go through a reputable breeder like Cutting Edge Herps or Legacy Reptiles.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

First off, no boa has to be fed rabbits. Any of them will do fine on large rats their whole life unless you get some mutant female BCC.

Second off, I would imagine their care would be the same as most south American boas. Mid to high 70s cool side, 88-90F hot spot and about 70-80% humidity. You can also just look up the average temps for Peru and go off that too.

Third off, I have heard if you buy from LLL, be prepared to get a 2 for 1 pet deal. You get a snake AND mites as a bonus pet. Also i'm not sure I would trust them for a more obscure species. I would go through a reputable breeder like Cutting Edge Herps or Legacy Reptiles.

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Thanks, but neither have animals currently available. Do you know a breeder that would have animals available?

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Originally Posted by GoldSheep

Thanks, but neither have animals currently available. Do you know a breeder that would have animals available?

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Not off hand. Never really looked into those. You can post a 'want to buy' thread on Kingsnake.com and FaunaClassifieds.com and see what you get. You probably wont really have much luck until late spring as it seems a lot more babies pop up around that time.

You can also join FB sites like Boa Constrictor Keeper and Boa Constrictor Aficionado and ask there. Might have some luck.

Just for general information about Cutting Edge Herps and Long tailed Boas, Vin said that he only sells in pairs and before birth. Total cost would be 500 dollars. He does not sell high red ones... so you would be buying sight unseen.

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Originally Posted by GoldSheep

Just for general information about Cutting Edge Herps and Long tailed Boas, Vin said that he only sells in pairs and before birth. Total cost would be 500 dollars. He does not sell high red ones... so you would be buying sight unseen.

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And coming from him, I would be totally okay with that.

According to Kingsnake, Outback Reptiles has a couple for sale, or did as of December 15. I don't see them on the website, but they was asking $750 for a pair.

I just want 1 female...

Is living legless reputable? I don't see any reviews about them either way.

Never heard of Living legless so don't know and Outback Reptiles I believe is like LLL. They are all just middlemen resellers. And as for buying sight unseen, with Cutting Edge herp and Legacy Reptile, you can pretty much know you are going to get what you pay for. That's why I referred you to them first.

BCL can get up to 7' long, but they are much much thinner-bodied than most boa constrictor species/subspecies so they wouldn't seem as big.

Boas 6'+ can eat rabbits if that's what you want to do, but I wouldn't consider it necessary until they're about 8'. Then you'd do a mix of large rats and rabbits, as rabbits by themselves are too much food and large rats by themselves are too little. I would honestly not go to xl or jumbos whatsoever, as even spaced apart boas gain a ton of weight on them. My newest female is maybe 7' and has been eating xl/jumbo rats once every 1-2 months and she's still like 4+ lbs heavier than she was when she got gravid last year. She's currently 13.5 lbs and was 9.2 lbs last year around the time she was bred. That was a few months before she was bred but there's no weight records taken when she was actually bred so she may have been close to 10 lbs at the actual time of breeding, and she was 10 lbs just a few months after giving birth. She normally eats a regular large rat every 1-2 months but her breeder wanted her back up to weight to be bred this year, I'm going to put her back on regular larges as the earliest I'll breed her is next fall/winter. So, as you can see, they really gain weight quickly on the bigger rats.

After reading through Vin Russo's section on BCL in The Complete Boa Constrictor, care seems very similar to most other boas, but he does mention keeping them a little dryer than his other species. I'm assuming 50-60% as it wasn't mentioned directly, but I'm sure they could be kept at the usual 70-80% with little troubles, especially if you don't plan on breeding.

I'm kinda reluctant to buy a pair from the same breeder... 'cause it's likely they are closely related when sold. I'm super careful with my ball pythons to make sure breedings are from different or long distant lineages to minimize birth defects in the future. It kinda seems like a waste to spend extra money on a pair I would be reluctant to breed. (And I don't believe that crap that somehow magically snakes have a more robust genome. NO.)

Back when I got my normal female from lllreptile they had a much cleaner reputation and would be up front on which breeder they got her from. I was able to look at the breeder's website, etc. They aren't being as up front right now.

Going to show reputations change.

So what's best course of action? I don't want to buy a pair, but I do want to have a female. I kinda need a boa around to clean up the rats that get too big eventually because keeping a snake long term is cheaper than keeping rats.

Like I said, you're best bet is to post on the 2 reptile sale sites I listed and also on the 2 FB pages I listed and just wait. Like I mentioned also, you probably aren't going to find many babies now much less people shipping now as its winter and the holidays. When I look to add to my collection, I usually start looking for stuff around May. And i'm sure i'll probably have the same issue as you when/if I decided to start looking for a Iquitos or Pucallpa Peruvian BCC. But then again, as it will be close to my last snake to add for awhile, I am going to be very picky and want the perfect one......or I might save up and get a cow retic or pied tiger retic :D Retics are just awesome. Caesar is so interactive. he is out almost every night just to check out what i'm doing or to just come out and hang out on me lol.

From personal experience with longicauda, I am yet to have a female over 5.5ft. They grow slowly when fed correctly, and rarely get large. They are comparable, in my opinion, to the size of a female Nicaraguan, with the body shape more similar to a constrictor. Given that they belong in different genera (i.e. Nicaraguans are Boa imperator and longicauda are a subspecies of constrictor [i.e. Boa constrictor longicauda]) this is only to be expected. In regards to temperature and humidity, mine have always been comparable to the maintenance of my other boas. Ambient temp of 84oF, hotspot around 90oF, cool end in the mid to high 70s. Feeding was also comparable. So as neonates, feeding every 10 days, subadults stretched to every 14 days for females and 14 to 21 for males. Adults, = every 3 weeks for females and 3 to 4 weeks for males. My females attained adulthood around 5 years of age, and 5.5ft or so. The males were smaller, closer to 3.5 to 4.5ft. Humidity was simply ambient for the room, elevated slightly due to a water bowl in the ambient zone of the cage.

As far as breeders go, I recommend Vin Russo and Phil Goss. There was a guy in California called Steve Muys that also produced excellent longicauda. Note that Vin normally only sells in pairs. Also, remember that the blood lines for longicauda are minimal, therefore buying a pair from Vin, if you plan to breed, really does not impact the genetic integrity of the offspring you may produce.

Warren

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Originally Posted by CloudtheBoa

After reading through Vin Russo's section on BCL in The Complete Boa Constrictor, care seems very similar to most other boas, but he does mention keeping them a little dryer than his other species. I'm assuming 50-60% as it wasn't mentioned directly, but I'm sure they could be kept at the usual 70-80% with little troubles, especially if you don't plan on breeding.

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Not-fer-nothing,i think my favorite part of that chapter is the story of how longicauda got its name :rofl:

I found a source. ^_^ Thanks for all of the help. I kinda wanted them, too, since they are said to be more forgiving of a ball python, don't get too big and might be able to clean up my rat population in the future. Plus the color change is just awesome and the iridescence too.