Just curious

So I'm not planning on getting any boas or other snakes for a while, as some of you may know my tp ratsnake that I got back in February, Orla, passed away recently & I'm still recovering from that, but I'm trying to stay active & sort of involved here & I had a few questions about boas so I thought I might as well ask here :)
Anyway, I was wondering how many varieties of dwarf boas were out there and what's the smallest? I've taken a bit of an interest lately as I've seen so many people praise boas temperament, and they're absolutely gorgeous (would you believe I used to hate how they looked? that was wild), and as much as I'd love a full size one some day, realistically I'm not sure that will ever happen. Also, for the smaller dwarfs, what's the biggest meal they could eat? Like, would a dwarf one still eventually need rabbits/birds or just rodents?
And if anyone has any other fun facts or info about dwarf boas that might be nice.
And just to reiterate, I'm probably not getting any more snakes for a while as my last experience really shook me, but I figured why not learn for the future. Thanks for reading :)

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Think the the one of the smallest is Mexican tahurama boa under 4ft and probably large weener rat/small rat eventual food, they not big at all

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Think I spelt that wrong sorry

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I've often heard that dwarf boas (or most of them) can be on the feisty side, not as mellow as the larger ones...but if you really ask around & talk to the right*
breeders, you should be able to find the most suitable options. *You want one that really knows the personality of their offspring so they can steer you to the
one that is the most mellow of the clutch, as they can vary by quite a bit...so probably a breeder that is small to mid-size, not just mass-producing dwarf boas.

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Originally Posted by richardhind1972

Think I spelt that wrong sorry

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Yeah, I think it's Tarahumara...you're forgiven. ;)
https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGS...erpetarium.pdf

There are around 15 or so dwarf locales I think and yes the tarahumara is the smallest followed close by the cloud forest boa if I'm not mistaken. They max out at about 4-4.5 foot but even most of the other locales don't get any bigger than 5-5.5 at the most so they're about the same size as a ball python. Feeding is pretty much the same as well. Medium rats for adult females and small rats for adult males.
Pretty sure there's a moderator on here with a pair of tarahumara mountain boas that might be able to shed some light for you.

Thanks everyone for the info! Are there any dwarf boas that are more generally docile? I'm sorry if that's a dumb question, I don't know anything about boas lol, I'm really new to them

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You've seen this thread, I assume?
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...Dwarf-quot-BCC

I don't know the answer off-hand, I remember reading that there's a difference, some are better than others, but off-hand I don't recall which is which, it's been
too long since I researched them. Keep reading & asking for recommended sources though. :gj:

Right now, I've got my rosy boa cuddling around my shoulders & messing up my hair...;) They're sweet too, & stay small (females about 40" max & males 33")

My Nicaraguan and corn Island boas are both under 5ft at 4yrs old, both nice and chilled too

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

You've seen this thread, I assume?
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...Dwarf-quot-BCC

I don't know the answer off-hand, I remember reading that there's a difference, some are better than others, but off-hand I don't recall which is which, it's been
too long since I researched them. Keep reading & asking for recommended sources though. :gj:

Right now, I've got my rosy boa cuddling around my shoulders & messing up my hair...;) They're sweet too, & stay small (females about 40" max & males 33")

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Thanks Bogertophis.

Feliz is a doll - except when feeding, but hey, he's a boa.

I cannot speak higher of Tommy Carpenter and Feliz rocks. He does not breed them every year though, so you might want to reach out and see when he will breed again and how much interest there is if you are interested.

Feliz is 1 year and 8 months and 270G. Comparatively, Behira, my female BI, was 700G at the same age. He really is a dwarf species.

I have a central American motley boa male. CAs are more variable in length/size than specific locales because they are a "mutt" so to speak. That said, my male motley is fully grown and is about the size of an adult corn snake. My male is also very calm and has never tried to bite me, even while administering meds, etc.

Nicaraguans are a good locale that is pretty small (around 5' for males) and not too difficult to find. There are some Nicaraguan morphs also (anery, T+ albino, and hypo I think), so you can get some variety in looks too.

I think temperament really depends on the boa as an individual. If you work with a good breeder, you can request that they pick out a mellower animal for you. Vin Russo at cutting edge and Legacy reptiles both have documented locality boas. Scott Miller might have some nicaraguan boas also (He mainly deals in Kenyan sand boas and I've purchased those and boa constrictor longicauda from him).

Boas are a lot of fun and my favorite species / group to work with. They all have strong prey drives though, so hook training is a must IMO, as is providing them with climbing options.

I have 1.1 adult Tarahumaras that I paired over the winter and it looks like my female is gravid; she is getting big, grumpy, and off food. The female is well under five feet and fits easily in a 41 qt tub, and the male is about 3.5 feet.

Both will eat rodents (small rats for the female, wean rats or jumbo mice for the male), chicks, and rabbit kits. They are so small that it's hard to think of them as full grown so you have to be careful about not overfeeding.

Babies are usually very hissy and nippy which makes sense; they are so tiny they are easy prey for many other animals, and because they don't get large they remain prey for life for many other animals where there just aren't as many predators who would look at a 5-6 foot boa as a meal. Fortunately the babies are tiny and their bites rarely draw blood. With gentle handling they do calm down.

Just like any other boa they do like to climb, perch, burrow, etc. and will use up all of the available space in an enclosure.

Thanks everybody! I'm going to look into Venezuelans and Nicaraguans and see what I can find. I just looked through Dakski's thread and just WOW is Feliz a beautiful animal, you're a lucky man haha.
And another related question, what would be the largest varieties that can still be fed rodents as adults? I really do love big snakes, but I'm not sure I could reliably get a hold of feeder rabbits or birds.

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Originally Posted by Ditto

Thanks everybody! I'm going to look into Venezuelans and Nicaraguans and see what I can find. I just looked through Dakski's thread and just WOW is Feliz a beautiful animal, you're a lucky man haha.
And another related question, what would be the largest varieties that can still be fed rodents as adults? I really do love big snakes, but I'm not sure I could reliably get a hold of feeder rabbits or birds.

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My adult hypo Nicaraguan boas are only on medium rats, she's such a great colour they really are nice snakes

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Originally Posted by richardhind1972

My adult hypo Nicaraguan boas are only on medium rats, she's such a great colour they really are nice snakes

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I'll definitely look into them, thank you!

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My male BCI and male BCA are both on rats and I don't see them needing anything larger. Typically only large adult females will need rabbits or larger feeders with boas. Note that males are usually a lot slimmer and shorter than females.

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Originally Posted by artgecko

My male BCI and male BCA are both on rats and I don't see them needing anything larger. Typically only large adult females will need rabbits or larger feeders with boas. Note that males are usually a lot slimmer and shorter than females.

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Really? Wow, I guess I just assumed since they were so large they all needed larger feeders, I might have to look more into them haha, thank you!
Another question, do boas in general do well in tubs? Or are pvc enclosures or tanks better?

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Originally Posted by Ditto

...And another related question, what would be the largest varieties that can still be fed rodents as adults? ...

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I had a female BCI that grew over 7.5' that I typically fed medium rats to. She got bigger than I really wanted, but I never planned to have her, she was a homeless
rescue that needed help, & me, just a softie that couldn't say "no". Had I planned to have a boa, a male BCI would have stayed smaller & been my preference. BCI's
are common but great pets...easy to feed. When I gave her a large rat once, she didn't regurge it but I feared she might...she was obviously uncomfortable, so I never
fed her larges again. Just remember that many people over-feed their boas...doesn't mean you have to.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I had a female BCI that grew over 7.5' that I typically fed medium rats to. She got bigger than I really wanted, but I never planned to have her, she was a homeless
rescue that needed help, & me, just a softie that couldn't say "no". Had I planned to have a boa, a male BCI would have stayed smaller & been my preference. BCI's
are common but great pets...easy to feed. When I gave her a large rat once, she didn't regurge it but I feared she might...she was obviously uncomfortable, so I never
fed her larges again. Just remember that many people over-feed their boas...doesn't mean you have to.

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Oh boy, I feel kinda dumb now, I guess I've only seen people with either really large boas or people overfeeding them so I just assumed that was what all the adults ate.. I definitely need to do way more research if I ever get one of these guys.
That makes me really excited to hear that though, my hang up about boas has always been feeding them and I figured I'd probably never be able to have a full size one, but this is giving me some hope I guess

My male BCA, close to 6' is roughly the diameter of a baseball bat, but in a "loaf of bread" shape. I give him either medium or large rats and adjust his feeding schedule accordingly...every 4-6 weeks he will get a meal. My hypo BCI male, is about 5' and is about the same diameter as a broom handle.. he gets either small or medium rats every 3-5 weeks.

Most baby boas stay on mice until they are large enough to eat adult mice, then they switch to rats and most will be on rats their whole life. Some larger individuals can eat rabbits and some people will feed quail and other feeders to vary the diet but they don't need especially large meals.

I house my adult boas in PVC cages with sliding glass doors and a basking shelf to climb on. They do use the space. My male CA motley is in a V70 rack but I will be attempting a move to a PVC cage for him to see how it goes. He is unusually shy and inactive for a boa so he may not appreciate the move.

I kept all of my boas as babies / juvies in rack systems but some people house boas in racks their entire lives. I personally feel that for smaller boa locales (Tarahumara, Nics, CA's, etc.) it can work as long as you give them the largest tub you can (V70 or bigger for adults) but for the regular BCIs, etc. I don't think a tub allows enough climbing room. Boas will lay out in the open and use all of their cage. They make excellent dispaly animals and because of their more active nature, I would not want to keep adults in a small tub as is done with shyer, less active BPs. There are super large racking systems that professional breeders house boas in (tubs are about 4'x3'x12" or more) and those would work ok but would still not allow for climbing options.

The only reason my larger adult boas get very young rabbits that are an appropriately sized feeder is because large, XL, jumbo, colossal, etc. rats may be retired breeders, and retired breeder feeders have a higher fat content than their younger/smaller counterparts. A young rabbit has very little fat.

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Originally Posted by artgecko

My male BCA, close to 6' is roughly the diameter of a baseball bat, but in a "loaf of bread" shape. I give him either medium or large rats and adjust his feeding schedule accordingly...every 4-6 weeks he will get a meal. My hypo BCI male, is about 5' and is about the same diameter as a broom handle.. he gets either small or medium rats every 3-5 weeks.

Most baby boas stay on mice until they are large enough to eat adult mice, then they switch to rats and most will be on rats their whole life. Some larger individuals can eat rabbits and some people will feed quail and other feeders to vary the diet but they don't need especially large meals.

I house my adult boas in PVC cages with sliding glass doors and a basking shelf to climb on. They do use the space. My male CA motley is in a V70 rack but I will be attempting a move to a PVC cage for him to see how it goes. He is unusually shy and inactive for a boa so he may not appreciate the move.

I kept all of my boas as babies / juvies in rack systems but some people house boas in racks their entire lives. I personally feel that for smaller boa locales (Tarahumara, Nics, CA's, etc.) it can work as long as you give them the largest tub you can (V70 or bigger for adults) but for the regular BCIs, etc. I don't think a tub allows enough climbing room. Boas will lay out in the open and use all of their cage. They make excellent dispaly animals and because of their more active nature, I would not want to keep adults in a small tub as is done with shyer, less active BPs. There are super large racking systems that professional breeders house boas in (tubs are about 4'x3'x12" or more) and those would work ok but would still not allow for climbing options.

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Thank you so much for the information! I'm definitely going to look into getting a bigger boa, probably not for a while because I really don't think I'm ready for another reptile yet, but for right now I'll do lots of research (and save my pennies lol) and maybe in the future I'll be able add one to the family :)