Red Tail Boa?

[Tyler Ferrell]

So my search for a hog island boa is more than likely going to be fruitless because pmherps only has reduced (400$ Can't Do), Vin will not ship after Dec 1, and Rio Bravo MAY have some in January, but I am expecting not. I have no prior experience with snakes, but I am not careless. I am not really interested in a ball python because they are so shy and skiddish. Would a male red tail boa be too much for me for a first time? I REALLY would like a boa because I like their curious nature. Can anyone point me to a good boa? I am a bigger guy, but do not want something I can't handle myself. I was thinking of red tail. I am scared of it becoming 7ft eventually because it will happen over time, and I will have time to accept. Can someone help me out please?

[Daybreaker]

If you want a Hog, then wait until you can get a Hog. I want one myself, and they are a smaller "dwarf" boa (of course there are exceptions as I've heard of some getting just as big as Colombians). For price, I just saw some Hogs for sale on KS for $150 shipped.

Ball Pythons are shy and skiddish? That's news to me. Some babies can be but my subadults/big girls (~5 lbs) are all so mellow and easy to handle and will just chill out on my lap. They are very curious as well, but snakes all have different personalities. The more you work with them the calmer they become.

I'm sure you can handle a Colombian boa (I don't like the term "red tail" for them as IMO it's not really correct: I call true BCCs "red tails"). But if you're scared of it getting larger than 7 ft then I would stick to a male, just know that some males do get as large as the girls. If you're still scared, then stick to a species that won't get so large until you're comfortable to handle it/gain more experience.

Also be prepared to have a lot of space for an adult boa, I plan on using 6 ft cages for mine.

Good luck!


PS: Look into other dwarf boas, such as CAs and Nics. Those might be a good route for you if you're set on a boa.

[dragonboy4578]

I truly love all my boa's. Right now I have a coral albino female, a sunglow male, and I central American Hypo female. They are just awesome. They are so curious and seem to really like to be out of their enclosures. Yes they do get quite a bit larger than bp's, but that is part of their appeal to me. Just make sure that you are comfortable handling a larger snake before you get one. If you want a hog keep an eye on kingsnake.com and fauna classifieds. I see them there on a regular basis. Also watch some of the facebook auctions. I think that Ben Segal had one that he auctioned off a few days ago.

[Tyler Ferrell]

Im kind of wary of kingsnake because I have heard some are not pure. If I am gonna pay 150$ for a snake I want it to be what it is claim to be. Can I buy a baby columbian this time of year? or do they only breed in the summer like hog. I want to raise it from a baby since this is gonna be my first . I will look into Nics and what does CA stand for?

[dragonboy4578]

CA stands for central American. There are breeders on kingsnake.com that sell pure hogs. You just need to find out which ones have a good reputation and which ones don't. That is where the BOI section of FaunaClassifieds comes in handy. Most Breeders already have had there baby boa's. They are still quite small though, and most will be feeding well, and many have already switched them to F/T. That alone is enough for me to want to buy one that is a few months old. Basically you will still be raising '11 from a baby with any you buy.

[Daybreaker]

Im kind of wary of kingsnake because I have heard some are not pure. If I am gonna pay 150$ for a snake I want it to be what it is claim to be. Can I buy a baby columbian this time of year? or do they only breed in the summer like hog. I want to raise it from a baby since this is gonna be my first . I will look into Nics and what does CA stand for?

You can always ask the breeder if the parents are pure Hogs or not (most crosses are listed as such on KS, such as Colombian x Hog crosses). I would search them on Fauna in the BOI section before purchasing any animals online as well.

You will be able to find Colombians (no "u"s in there) year round - they're very adunbdant. They come in several morphs too but normal babies are around $40-$60 + shipping.

[Wh00h0069]

There are a ton of very nice looking dwarf boas out there. I am not a very big fan of Hogs because a lot of them pure hogs are very speckled. I prefer clean boas. If you are interested in dwarf boas, you should check out boas from Central America and Mexico. I'm sure there are a lot of boa breeders out there that still have some in stock. I have a couple left from this season.

[TheWinWizard]

Where do you live. I may have some leads for you. You can PM me if you don't want your location public. As you can see I'm in MA.

[Tyler Ferrell]

heres my game plan lol. I am going to try to buy the hog nose boa for 150 in January off ks, and if they are not available, I am going to get a ball python and gain some experience before I venture into large snakes. Thanks for the help! also, where do you yall buy pinkies and fuzzies from? will a baby ball take f/t? because a college town does not cater to reptile enthusiasts

[Daybreaker]

heres my game plan lol. I am going to try to buy the hog nose boa for 150 in January off ks, and if they are not available, I am going to get a ball python and gain some experience before I venture into large snakes. Thanks for the help! also, where do you yall buy pinkies and fuzzies from? will a baby ball take f/t? because a college town does not cater to reptile enthusiasts

Try Petco/Petsmart for frozen mice/rats. Also look for local feeder breeders in your area as they will most likely give you a better deal: I know a 6 pack of fuzzies/adult mice/pinkies are $12 at my local Petsmart and that is wayyyy overpriced.

It depends on the snake: some will only take live, some will take live or F/T, and some won't look at live. You'll just need to find your snake's feeding quirks. I would make sure you are able to get live feeders in your area first in case your snake won't take F/T or prekilled (again, Petco or Petsmart should have live "pet" mice/rats but they'll be overpriced as well). Look for a mom/pop pet store too.

I would start baby balls off on adult mice though, at least mouse hoppers (rat pups will be good too). Don't bother giving it pinkies or fuzzies because those are way too small for even a baby.