Deciding on my first Boa

I am wanting to get my first boa. I have BPs right now. I'm trying to decide between a Dumerils Boa, Rainbow Boa or Tree boa. Any thoughts on which one I should get?

Not a Tree Boa... lots and lots of work and reading! And you can't really hold them often(I kinda depends I guess...)
I'd go for a Rainbow!

/agree with johnny.. green tree = maintenance. rainbow is good id say :)
my friend has a emerald green tree boa and its BEAUTIFUL. they have huge heads :P they arent as docile as others but they are magnificent... until he showed me one of its teeth that fell off or whatever.. i thought it was a baby fang from a HOT. :eek:

I love my sand boa. No experience with any other boas, though...

If you are stuck on one of those, I'd say a dum assuming that size isn't going to be a huge issue. They don't get too long but they are a pretty heavy bodied snake. Rainbow are very unforgiving. Dums are a lot less specific for temps and humidity than a rainbow boa would be but not much matches the beauty of a nice rainbow.

Of the three, a dumerils is hands down the easiest to care for. Rainbows need super high humidity without a wet cage, and they overheat (and die) quite easily.

Tree boas are also more care-intensive, often aggressive (and what teeth!) and quite expensive.

Dumerils can top 7' and 20lbs (I had a female over that size) but 5-6' is more normal. They're usually quite docile and easy to keep.

Dumeril's would be my pick. Actually it was my pick.

I decided on a Dumeril. He has beautiful colours! I picked him up today (sunday).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Roswell

I decided on a Dumeril. He has beautiful colours! I picked him up today (sunday).

---

Awesome choice..Hope to see pictures

Congrats on your new boa!

Which boa is the one that has the same pattern as a Ball Python?

Edit: I meant to say "IS there a boa that has the same patterns as a Ball Python?"

It won't let me insert a picture. :slamhead:
The pictures (there's 2) are in my gallery though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chz

Edit: I meant to say "IS there a boa that has the same patterns as a Ball Python?"

---

I think the Common Boa is somewhat similar to the Ball python pattern. Is it South or Central American? Not sure. Grows up to 8'.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MelissaFlipski

I think the Common Boa is somewhat similar to the Ball python pattern. Is it South or Central American? Not sure. Grows up to 8'.

---

The Columbian Boa is usually refered to as a common Boa... and I personally don't think it looks much like a BP:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...2/000_0784.jpg

They can grow up to 8', but typically range between 4' and 6'. Many of the Central American Boas are a little darker... Nics and Mexicans...and a little shorter. South American boas---Peruvians, Brazilians, Bolivians, etc.---seem to be more silver or yellow in color (check out www.riobravoreptiles.com for different localities). They can get quite a bit bigger than normal Columbians.

There are some ground boas that have nice dark markings...

But I really don't think there are any boas that would be mistaken for a BP. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ladywhipple02

The Columbian Boa is usually refered to as a common Boa... and I personally don't think it looks much like a BP:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...2/000_0784.jpg

They can grow up to 8', but typically range between 4' and 6'. Many of the Central American Boas are a little darker... Nics and Mexicans...and a little shorter. South American boas---Peruvians, Brazilians, Bolivians, etc.---seem to be more silver or yellow in color (check out www.riobravoreptiles.com for different localities). They can get quite a bit bigger than normal Columbians.

There are some ground boas that have nice dark markings...

But I really don't think there are any boas that would be mistaken for a BP. :)

---

Thanks for clearing that up. How do the two of those get along when they meet? Pretty cool photo.

Glad you picked the dumerils they are great snakes! Rainbows are like other said tough to keep happy, you have to keep humidity and temps spot on or risk illness or death. They also happen to often turn into jerks as adults, even docile babies often get snappy and irritable as adults.

I agree with what has been said about ETBs, however, there are a lot of different tree boas and not all are that hard to keep. Both Haitian Tree Boas and Madagascar Tree Boas are pretty easy to keep and tend to be docile,