ball vs boa

My wife and I are looking at getting a snake. we started out wanting a Ball Python. Yesterday at the pet store she saw a baby boa and no thinks she might want one of them instead. can anyone tell me what the differences are? everything from care taking, feeding, growth, living envoirment, and so on. the whole 9 yards.

Thank you for you help.

JoryLee:snake:

I just got my first ball python. actually my first 5 :D but have had boas for years now. Boas are really nice especially if you want a nice sized snake to throw over your shoulders and show off, but me personally am in love with the ball pythons. there are so many distinct variations of the species that just keep emerging as time comes, and yea there are many diff. boa morphs but i personally dont see much variation among them.

:welcome: to the site. Fist off boas grow larger than ball pythons, imo if you don't have experience with snakes go with the ball python.

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Originally Posted by llovelace

:welcome: to the site. Fist off boas grow larger than ball pythons, imo if you don't have experience with snakes go with the ball python.

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Ditto!

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Originally Posted by JORYLEE76

My wife and I are looking at getting a snake. we started out wanting a Ball Python. Yesterday at the pet store she saw a baby boa and no thinks she might want one of them instead. can anyone tell me what the differences are? everything from care taking, feeding, growth, living envoirment, and so on. the whole 9 yards.

Thank you for you help.

JoryLee:snake:

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I always check out the boas when ever we are at the reptile store and I find them so beautiful but I am kinda wary of how big they can get so I am sticking with the BP's for now.

Welcome to BPNet.

The first bit of advice I'd share with you is to enjoy the snakes at the pet store but consider purchasing direct from a quality breeder either at a reptile show or online. There are some good pet stores out there but a lot sell snakes in poor health, with mites, unsexed, not feeding and so forth. We see a lot of new owners here at BPNet struggling with those snakes and it's awfully tough for a first snake experience. Just something to consider.

My family keeps both ball pythons and boa constrictors (the most commonly seen in pet store type - Colombian boa aka Colombian red tail aka common boa - pet stores call them a lot of names). We love them both. However for a first snake I'd probably go with a ball python. Boas can get a lot bigger so making sure of the gender of your snake is important as the females can get quite a good size. Boas also tend to have a stronger, longer strike range. However, boas are also better able to handle the stress of human handling than most ball pythons (this is a generalization of course).

I think it's wonderful that you are making this decision so carefully. It's a big committment and there are so many types of snakes that it's best to do it this way and get the snake that best fits your family. :)

Oh and once you settle on a snake, please come here to see about enclosure stuff. The pet store will often sell you a ton of stuff at a ridiculously marked up price. Read threads here and you'll house your snake properly without wasting any of your hard earned cash.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Welcome to BPNet.

The first bit of advice I'd share with you is to enjoy the snakes at the pet store but consider purchasing direct from a quality breeder either at a reptile show or online. There are some good pet stores out there but a lot sell snakes in poor health, with mites, unsexed, not feeding and so forth. We see a lot of new owners here at BPNet struggling with those snakes and it's awfully tough for a first snake experience. Just something to consider.

My family keeps both ball pythons and boa constrictors (the most commonly seen in pet store type - Colombian boa aka Colombian red tail aka common boa - pet stores call them a lot of names). We love them both. However for a first snake I'd probably go with a ball python. Boas can get a lot bigger so making sure of the gender of your snake is important as the females can get quite a good size. Boas also tend to have a stronger, longer strike range. However, boas are also better able to handle the stress of human handling than most ball pythons (this is a generalization of course).

I think it's wonderful that you are making this decision so carefully. It's a big committment and there are so many types of snakes that it's best to do it this way and get the snake that best fits your family. :)

Oh and once you settle on a snake, please come here to see about enclosure stuff. The pet store will often sell you a ton of stuff at a ridiculously marked up price. Read threads here and you'll house your snake properly without wasting any of your hard earned cash.

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what are some good quality breeders online?

Many members here are breeders.

I have mostly balls but I do love my boa too.

A boa is evenyually going to need a much larger enclosure than a ball so if space is a consideration balls like smaller spaces and stay smaller.

If you want a snake that you will handle alot, I would say a boa. In general they are much more outgoing, not as easily spooked out and will not stress out as much as a ball which are definately much more secretive. This can vary from snake to snake but most are generally like this.

Now balls come in amazing morphs and colors, are much more timid and can live in and prefer much smaller enclosures.

If I were you I would check out and handle both, do alot of research into long term care, decide what you can best accomodate, get proper enclosure and thermostats and find a breeder who can give you a healthy well estabished animal.

A breeder will usually give you much better advice on the care and feeding habits than a petstore which usually says what you want to hear to make a sale and sell you lots of stuff for your pet wether its correct or not.

If you get animals to breed and grow you are probably doing something right.

I don't think either is *better* but it's a question of which is better for YOU :) You're researching the traits, appearances, and size and needs of each, so that's good.

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Originally Posted by luna13

what are some good quality breeders online?

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Many members here have links to their own sites in their signature lines. Check some of those out to see what they might have available, how informative their sites are, etc. You can always send PM's to a few breeders or give them a phone call, make a short list of who you feel most comfortable with/has the snake you like and then ask specifically for feedback in our business section.

Also do some reading in our threads. You'll soon see who people tend to buy from and how they feel about the snake they purchased. Most of those threads usually include pictures so you'll get an idea both of the quality of the snakes purchased and what you should be looking for in a healthy, well cared for snake.

Personally, I like boas better than balls. They are much more active, and are more fun to handle. Boas are also better eaters and will take frozen / thawed rodents, while many ball pythons are picky eaters and will only eat live rodents. If you are worried about size, male boas stay much smaller than females. There are also dwarf locality boas out there that stay fairly small. Some grow no longer than five feet.

Hope this helps.

I wouldnt reccomend a ball python as a first snake. Yes they are nice looking, easy to handle and such. BUT, they are known to go off their food for long periods and can be worrying for first time keepers of snakes.
Bos on the other hand rarely go off their food and can be got it many dwarf forms, hogg island, sonoran dwartf, and a male colombian boa wil rarely get much bigger than 5 - 6 foot.

Or if you want a small boa, you could always go with a Kenyan Sand Boa. :D

Thank you all so much for the great information. I know this will be helpful when it comes time for us to get our snake. And yes, we will look for local breaders before looking to a pet store. :salute:

Yeah I would do some research and decide which snake is best for you. Me personally I like the Balls better, but that is just my opinion. Also one you might check out is the rainbow boas. Brazilians, and Columbians. While the Brazilians are much more colorful, I used to have a Columbian and he was a great pet...:gj:

Ball pythons are very easy to care for, if you've done enough research. Boas tend to get a little long, like 10 ft at the max. Ball pythons stay generally small, around 6 feet at the max. Ball pythons will rarely ever get to the 6 foot mark, but some have been recorded to get a little over 6 feet. You will probably need to feed an adult Ball python large rats, as a boa would need to eat even larger meals. Plus, BPs come in so many morphs it's unbelievable. I would say get the Ball python. As far as their temperament, they are one of the nicest snakes I've ever had in my collection. They are very sweet snakes, and as well as calm too :]. :snake:

Ball pythons are boring.
They just stay there coiled up when you take them out. They can't climb or grip on to you. They are fat and clumsy. They are more prone to not eating do to their heat pits.


Boas are slimmer, cooler, more active get a bit bigger.
More beautiful colors. More fun.

Get a boa constrictor

a male BCI gets around 7 ft in a couple years.
Which by then youd want more snakes(Bigger snakes), lol.

Boas have many morphs as well.

Don't let these people fool you.

I keep and breed both ball pythons and boas so I do know the pros and cons of both worlds. For ball pythons the pros have been stated just like the cons have been so no need to really go there. For boas the pros are most of the time they do not go off of food and they have imo better base coloration for a normal. The cons are that I have had more boas attempt to bite me than any other species, they require much larger food, when you breed them you have a lot more babies to find homes for, and the market in boas gets driven down much faster than anything else. They are both great snakes don't get me wrong but do not go out and say that this snake is better than that snake because no one snake is better than any others. All snakes take time and knowledge to have good experiences with them without both of those key points then any snake is a bad snake.

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Originally Posted by tattlife2001

All snakes take time and knowledge to have good experiences with them without both of those key points then any snake is a bad snake.

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Excellent point! It's sooo tempting to see a beautiful snake and want to get it right then and there! If you buy on impulse, don't do your research first, don't already have your supplies and everything you will need to take care of the animal, bad things can happen. Take your time - they're not going extinct.

lol another one of these.

Again I ask why your asking people on a BP fan site. to compare a bp to something else? You are going to get VERY biased answers :)

Since it seems like neither of you have experience in dealing with snakes, go with the ball python. As far as which is better, it's totally opinionated. Boas grow quite larger then ball pythons, some require more intense care/requirements. Since you're asking I would recommend you doing research before you get either.

Ball Pythons are a bit easier to house and care for in my opinion, but I love Boas. Some boas (talking redtails) are not as hard to take care of, like the BCI's, or common redtail, and some of those can vary wildly on size. I think the Central Americans stay a bit smaller, and has a lot of dark coloration and speckling in the. And some say true redtails, or BCC's, take a lot more to care for. I have BCI's and I love em, but they do take a bit more time out of my day than my ball pythons do, but that is mainly me watching them cause I think they are cool.

Also, there is so much variation in color and patterns in Boas without having to get into morphs. Some are dark, some are pinkish, some are light tan. They are fairly docile animals too.

As long as you decide from the start to do it right, and get the animals husbandry needs taken care of then you shouldn't have much problems keeping either one. Get some good books and learn. Never try to meet their needs halfway and you will have healthy, happy snakes with either pick.

Bps are smaller and known to be more docile. Boas can get huge, take up more room and if agressive will be a pain in neck. IMO i would go for a Bp for your first snake. Dont get me wrong though i love boas but i dont think its the best beginner snake. I can give you a list of some reputable Bp breeders if that's what you choose to get!

I have one of each (so far) and each are great. The ball makes a super first snake - easy going, calm, and beautiful, she's sort of my older, calmer but adventurous girl. I enjoyed having her so much that I decided to get another snake and after much debate and investigation I decided to get a Hog Island Boa. She is beautiful as well, in many different ways but a bit more speedy and quite strong for her size. The ball is a bit slower at eating whereas the boa will rip the rat off the tongs before you are ready for it. I'm glad that I started with just the ball as they are very manageable and, in my case, so easy to deal with. I think that my next snake will be something a bit different again as I love the various morphs of ball pythons but around here they are quite expensive whereas I can get a smaller boa (or kingsnake, milksnake, etc) quite easily and cheaply.

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Originally Posted by highqualityballz

Bps are smaller and known to be more docile. Boas can get huge, take up more room and if agressive will be a pain in neck. IMO i would go for a Bp for your first snake. Dont get me wrong though i love boas but i dont think its the best beginner snake. I can give you a list of some reputable Bp breeders if that's what you choose to get!

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Post is from 2009

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I am not sure what everyone is talking about ball pythons not being active or stressing out when being handled. Maybe we just got lucky but all 3 of ours let my daughter's hold them and when they do they are all over the place. Friendly and active.

On the other hand,not sure why people would say there are not many color options with boas. There are some gorgeous boas out there. I have had some Argentine boas that were nearly solid black and some Surinam boas that had an amazing pink base color.

The best advise would be for you to pick the species you cannot live without. Research husbandry for it and make sure it is a commitment you can live with. I would not recommend getting one you don't like just because it grows smaller or is less likely to bite. Any of the above species can he tamed and made safe to handle. These snakes live far too long to get one simply as a starter snake. Start with the one you want and are equipped to take care of. Just my 2 cents