Whats next!?!?

I know its only been two days since ive aquired my baby ball but I just know im in it for the long run. Im waiting abit and gonna get a few more balls inbetween but im thinking id like abit bigger snake. One that can be handeled and held like a ball but abit beefier and overall bigger.Is a boa the way to go or any other suggestions?

A BCI Red Tail Boa is probably your next longest and easy to take care of. If you want something beefy you can get a blood python but they are hard to take of. check out the caresheets and there is a thread in the blood python forum that is recent that has pictures of the full grown guys being held.

Columbian Boa's (boa constrictor imperator) are great snakes but take the time now to really do your research and make sure that down the road you are ready for the work that goes along with a much larger snake. They aren't the size of burms or retics granted but they can be a very large snake, quite heavy bodied and incredibly strong. Males don't reach much more than 6 or 8 feet but that's 6 or 8 big feet, very girthy, much heavier than a ball python ever attains. The females are even larger and heavier than the males.

They require larger or more prey, large housing and a lot of supervision when you take them out for a bit of exercise. They can and will get wrapped around furniture and believe me it's a lot of work to convince a 6 foot plus, strong as a bull male BCI to let go of your coffeetable. We are currently fostering a big male and at just over 6 feet he isn't showing signs of being quite finished growing yet.

There are also concerns about a mixed collection of boa's and pythons that you need to look into. Do some research on IBD (Inclusion Body Disease) in boa's and it's devastating effects on pythons. Quarantine is something that's always important when you add anything to your collection but especially so due to IBD.

I'm not trying to put you off. Personally we love both boa's and pythons but after having taken in this big BCI as an emergency foster situation, I just want to be very honest about how much work they are compared to smaller snakes so you don't take on more than you can handle. There are a lot of BCI's (and other bigger snakes) sitting in pet stores or reptile rescues because they got too much for their owners to manage or the owners didn't realize what they were taking on in the first place.

Another bit of advice, get your boa (or any snake for that matter) from a reputable breeder. You'll get a great young snake, well started, healthy, etc. which makes life way easier on you and your snake.

No, you didnt put me off at all, more then anything im happy to see theirs others out there that really care about their animals and the well being of others. I will do anything and everything to make sure my future snakes are cared for so no worries there.I was just seeing what the next snakes would be. Im looking for a challenge.... but I still want something handelable... im thinking a red til boa is the largest you could go with haveing a friendly disposition ( i know it depends on the snake ) and still being able to handle it to some degree? im open for any and all suggestions... im also looking for some nice morphs as my next purchases, do boas come in albino morphs and whatnot? If not no worries ill love the snake all the same.Like I said im open to any and all suggestions.

Boas come in many morphs (most much less expensive than BP morphs) albinos run around $600 or so.. they are one of the least expensive morphs.

I would not say that blood pythons are hard to take care of. They are much easier to feed than your average ball python, and they just need proper temperatures and humidity like any snake. A 6' 30lb blood is definitely handleable, however you have to be mindful of the weight, and not just sling it around your shoulders like you could a ball or red tail boa.

You might also want to look into jungle carpet pythons, dumerils boas, and hog island boas

well instead of a colombian dumerils boa are a wonderful snake and about as cklose as it can get to the ball pythons tempernment ther grow an average of 7 feet

Yep.. dumerils are fan-tabulous snakes! ;) I have two.. and if you want to get a general idea of what a big girl is like.. here's Bellatrix!

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../bellatrix.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...atrixfeb06.jpg

Do dumerils come in any interesting morphs?

Not any widely available.. I love them just the way they are.

There is a hypo.. but only one breeder has them as far as I know..

Hmm... I think i would rather go with a boa of sorts...just preferance. Nothing aginst the snake... its a beauty.Would a red tail boa be around 8 or so foot with a healthy girth ? I would like any and all the snakes in my range of interest and go through them all to see what i dont like and do then go from there.And no that dosent mean I expect you all to start listing them out,research will get me where i go i guess.

Dumerils is a boa. Red tails aren't the only boas out there. ;)

Red tails can grow up to 10'.. sometimes a little more for a big female! Males typically stay in the 7-8' range.. but there is the potential for more.

Here's my 7' or so female surinam red tail boa.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/DSCN1356.JPG

hog island boa (these stay smaller than most RTBs)

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/divahold.jpg

A bit of food for thought. :)

What April said...if you are into morphs, have a look at columbia boas or boa constrictor imperator. Hypos, albinos, sunglows, stripes, etc. Lots going on there.

Hogs, Suri's, Guyana, Argies...most folks just keep them homogenous (or try to) within the bloodline - but there's certainly a lot of variation. The locality B. constrictors have a lot of color differences, etc.

To get an idea of different colors and such of B. constrictor, check out these websites to get you started:

http://www.boa-constrictors.com/com/com.html
http://www.riobravoreptiles.com/

But don't forget other boas, like the Hog, rainbow, rosy, etc...all shapes, sizes, looks and origins...it's a huge variety. =)

Yeah.. you seem to want something bigger, so I didn't mention sand boas or rainbow boas. There really is a lot to choose from.. I'd go look through the boa classifieds on kingsnake.com and faunaclassifieds.com

yeah im looking more and more at the boas and im positive that my next snake..
I absolutley LOVE this color and pattern...

http://www.riobravoreptiles.com/imag...arge_index.jpg

Will they stay that color forever? its stunning!

Same for this one on the left.... gorgeous.

http://www.riobravoreptiles.com/imag...e_03_index.jpg


Are these reasonable for what im looking for?

Just a little reminder....if they are not your pictures, just post links. ;)

Yeah, Gus at Rio Bravo has some really, really nice animals! But, as April said, BCCs can get good sized. B.C. Amarali tend to stay smaller, and are equally as attractive as the Surinames. Hoggs are also an excellent choice for a smaller boa. This is mine, she's about 3ft.
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ureCrop110.jpg


Another option would be Jungle or Coastal Carpet pythons. They're reasonably priced, and pretty easy to keep. Jungles stay around 8ft or less, and Coastals can get up to 10ft, but both are slender builds. And they're pretty attactive also! (OK, I'm a little biased!). Here's mine.
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...29.jpgcrop.jpg

One of our forum members here ssscales (Gerry) is a boa breeder and I think has a website up and running now. If you do a search for her threads you'll see some pics as well as I'm sure she'd be a great resource to help you further define what would be the perfect boa for you as far as size, housing, temperment, handling, morph, cost, etc.

I'm very partial to male BCI's (columbian boa's) due to our great experience with our foster, Rauri (check my own threads in BCI/BCC forum for pics and his story). His temperment is wonderful (he watches hockey!), though of course this is a big snake and when he's hungry you need to respect his power and long strike range. He's the best of both worlds in my mind...big enough to fulfill that longing to care for a big, powerful, beautiful snake but not so big he requires a boatload of your friends to come over everytime he has a dump in his cage LOL. We are adopting a juvenile BCI from another forum member as soon as Rauri ships to Texas, his forever home with another forum member here. If you'd like to see pics of that much younger, smaller BCI search the BCI/BCC forums using the search word "Severus", (threads by ladywhipple).

If you like I'll try to snap some new pics of him today and get a proper length and weight measurement on him to give you some idea of what a just over 2 year old male BCI looks like stats wise.

Whatever you decide to get (and there are so many wonderful boa's out there) please feel free to ask about good breeders or where to do your research...BOI http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...splay.php?f=13 and our own Inquiries section. There's a lot of great breeders and great baby boa's out there (it's birthing season right now you lucky dog!) but there's just as much bad stuff too. May as well get your money's worth and have a great experience first time out of the gate I figure.

If you want a boa that stays that red color, you will have to get a BCC (boa constrictor constrictor) boa instead of a BCI (boa constrictor imperator) BCC tend to be larger, but they also tend to keep a blood red tail. Now, you can look at the picture I posted of my big female (the surinam) she is no longer the color of the ones you posted. It's common for them to dull at least a little, but some exceptional specimens keep the jaw-dropping color.

Here is a picture of an exceptional adult http://www.millerreptiles.com/Surina...s/DSC01194.jpg

BCI boas include the most common localities. Colombian and hog island are the most notable.

BCC are a bit pricier, but still easy to find. They include Surinam, Peruvian, and Guyanan red tails.

Jungle carpet pythons are awesome snakes as Erin pointed out. They get brighter colored with age, which is unusual. This is a baby female of mine

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../JCPapr06b.JPG

And.. one of my blood pythons too. (can you tell I like showing pics? lol)

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...r06measure.JPG

Let us know what tickles your fancy!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shelby

Here is a picture of an exceptional adult http://www.millerreptiles.com/Surin...is/DSC01194.jpg

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:tongue2:
I literally had a sharp intake of breath when I clicked on that link and saw the picture. Someday someday someday...that is exactly what I want my future BCC to look like! Just.....wow.....

Suri's get big tho...I have a link to some pictures of an adult female suri from another message board (PM me for the link). She's 10' 6" long and 55lbs (April, this is the girl I linked you in IMs).

This girl is a bit darker than my Carmen but seems characteristics of adult Suri's - a bit pinker, a bit redder.

I keep looking for "pinkness" on Carmen and while I haven't seen any yet, I'm guessing we'll see it eventually. =)

Yeah the baby suris are more silver, but they seem to develop pinkness as they age. My male Rowan has incredible pinks and lavenders all over him.

Are the snakes i posted really like that or photoshopped? Their bodies were completely grey/silver lokin then a deep right..... if there is a snake I want those are them for sure... or a albino of sorts... anyon have any infomation on them?

http://www.riobravoreptiles.com/imag...arge_index.jpg

They're really like that, but the pics you posted are of babies. The adult color is normally different.. gaining a yellowish or pink hue instead of the silver of babies.

Here's my young female surinam. She's even got a bit of the yellow coming in already.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...inarmay06b.JPG

EDIT - oh and I wanted to add about albino boas.. most get VERY dull as adults. I think normal albino boas are quite bland as they age. The exception are coral albinos, and sunglows (albino hypo) but these are more expensive (especially the sunglows)