General questions and tips on BCI? (Or other species?)

[redshepherd]

I realized that I enjoy larger docile species that I can handle easily, like my Dumeril's boa, more than a display snake. I like to touch and pet my pets! And the bigger she grows, the more I like taking her out to handle. LOL. So Malaysian Mangroves and Emerald Tree Boas are lower priority now... And with the Reptile Super Show coming again in August, I may jump for a 4th snake this time, but I'm still indecisive on species. I think that BCI's might be a better fit, but still not sure. So I just have a few questions on your personal experience or experiences you've heard.

I'm hoping to stick with a snake that tops at 8 feet or under at adult size. How likely is that in a male BCI?

How often have you been bitten by your adult (over 6 feet) BCI, and do you have pictures of the bite?

Was it due to your own mistake during feeding response, a defensive strike, or a random bite out of nowhere while just sitting around? Are BCI often unpredictable like that? How commonly does an unpredictable bite happen?
I'm still paranoid of being bitten by a large BCI, because of some wound photos I've seen... so avoiding unpredictable temperaments is important to me.

Are BCI often cage aggressive? Say... relative to ball pythons and dumeril's boas?

How is the temperament of your own BCI, and how old/how large are they? (for those who have a couple)


I might think of more questions later. :s

Thanks!

[AbsoluteApril]

I'm hoping to stick with a snake that tops at 8 feet or under at adult size. How likely is that in a male BCI?

Males stay smaller than females, you're probably looking at 4-6' for an adult male. Smaller adult males can stay on medium rats, I have one big guy (original owner powerfed his pair), he's 18yrsold and gets one XL rat about once a month. Just around 6'. Island locales and Central American locales tend to stay smaller than their Colombian cousins. True red tail boas (BCc) will get larger and those are usually the ones you see in the 8-10'+ range.

How often have you been bitten by your adult (over 6 feet) BCI, and do you have pictures of the bite?

Was it due to your own mistake during feeding response, a defensive strike, or a random bite out of nowhere while just sitting around? Are BCI often unpredictable like that? How commonly does an unpredictable bite happen?

Been bitten lots of times but only a few times by adults but I wouldn't say it happens often. I will use hooks and shields (shields especially with a momma that just had a litter). Babies/Juvis are usually defensive bites. Here are pics of two adult bites, one 5' and one 7', smaller boa was a rescue and defensive bite. Adult was a stupid feeding error on my part. Two part pics - first is after it happened, second is after being cleaned. They feel like getting punched. Bleed a bit but really are not that bad and usually heal in a week. Defensive bites a lot of the time are closed mouth, they just want to scare you away, was an open mouth strike in the first pic that's why you can see a perfect outline of the mouth. SFE bites, like the bottom one, are full open mouth, grab and wrap which is why there are some 'rips' in my skin.

Are BCI often cage aggressive? Say... relative to ball pythons and dumeril's boas?

Depends on the snake. I hook train and don't handle my boas a ton, generally when I open the cage/tank/tub they are thinking food (or sleeping). I have BPs that will leap out of their tub thinking food is coming, so it really depends on the snake, how much you work with them and what they are used to. (IMO)

How is the temperament of your own BCI, and how old/how large are they? (for those who have a couple)

Mine are all generally fine, I have two that I don't trust very much no matter how much I work with them and I have some that are as docile as ever no matter what. They are all different. I have young ones only a few years old, a few in their teens and my oldest will be 27 this year. That oldest girl is approx. 8.5', most of the adults are in the 6' range (male and female).


Here is a silly vid I made 6 years ago with a variety of my babies. I get a quick little warning nip from one You can see how they are generally more 'squirmy' than BPs.
Hope some of this helps you out! I love boas!

[Sauzo]

BIs as they are called now are great. You can get a female or male. Males are smaller but it will be awhile before your female grows huge. My Colombian girl is 3 years old and about 6' and my sunglow girl is 4' and almost 2 years old. So they don't grow fast, except for the first year or two.

As for bites, I have never actually never been bit by either of my BIs. My Colombian has slammed her head into my hand as a baby but that was because I came in above her head face first and she got scared. Since then her or my sunglow has never made an effort to bite. About the worst either have done is hiss at me when I first fed Rosey a rabbit. She apparently loves them and hissed when I was picking aspen off it while she was swallowing, guess she thought I was going to take it away. Shes never done that with rats. And Vicky has hissed at once when she went into her first shed when I got her. Since then neither of them do anything. I can reach in head first and do whatever, they just come over to my hand and flick their tongues and when I'm not food, they lay back down or crawl out the door to explore. Mind you though that both my BIs get lots of outside the cage time and daily interaction be it as simple as a few pets on the head while changing water to actually letting them out for a few hours to hang out on their shelves above the bed or on the couch.

As for cage aggression, neither of mine are cage aggressive at all. Like I said, I reach in usually daily to change water and pet them as well as spot clean if needed.

As for size, like I mentioned, Rosey is about 6' and just over 3 years old and Vicky is 4' and almost 2 years old and both of them are like giant puppy dogs. The only downside is when I take them outside in the summer, if I get near anything they can grab like a low tree branch or rain gutter or fence, they try and do the ninja stretch behind me to grab onto that stuff lol.

[Reinz]

I got my two BCI's as adults and they are absolute sweethearts.

Elenore is supposedly a female at about 5.5-6 feet. Her largest girth is about the size of a Coke can. I rescued her from twin toddlers dragging her out of her tub everyday and also from a Pit Bull trying to get to the snake while loose or in the tub.

Punch the supposed male is 7 feet long and the largest girth is just shy of a half gallon milk jug.

(I really think that he is a she and she is a he)

I did not know any better and bought him off CL as a Suriname. The guy said he measured him at 10 feet, but I knew he was wrong and didn't care since I liked the snake.

I actually rescued Punch as well because he was a free roamer. The guy said that his Pit Bull tore up the snake's cage.

I handle them fairly often with complete confidence that they will not bite. I spot clean their enclosure without removing them with no fear whatsoever.

If I ever do get bit, I know that it will be due to my fault and complacency probably during feeding.

I feel that Boas are a step up from BPs and just enjoyed in a different manner. And make a much better display snake as well.

Elenore, first two pictures





Punch

[redshepherd]

Thanks so much for the replies, you guys! It's all very in-depth and very helpful, just what I was looking for. It seems like cage aggression will likely not be an issue if I handle mine frequently, which I do with my current snakes. Hopefully I can find one who is at least 1 year old, so the temperament is known.

Sauzo- I hope I can find a BCI with a temperament like one of yours! They sound like a dream.

AbsoluteApril- that second bite looks bad, dang. I'll be very careful not to make feeding response errors.

4'-6' is really much smaller than I was imagining for a male. My dumeril's boa now is 4', still very easy for me to handle, and I'm hoping she can grow a few more. I asked this same question awhile back in a BCI group on facebook, and got responses that 7'~8' is common for males, which put me off a bit.

I feel much safer with going for a male BCI now (or BI? Is that a new thing?) in August. This is very likely going to happen, and I'm feeling a bit excited already.

Punch has neat patterns! It sounds like bites from adults are almost solely from feeding response errors, which is good news. I was under the impression (also from the boa group on fb) that BCI's commonly bite you out of nowhere while they're just sitting around on your lap.

[AbsoluteApril]

4'-6' is really much smaller than I was imagining for a male. My dumeril's boa now is 4', still very easy for me to handle, and I'm hoping she can grow a few more. I asked this same question awhile back in a BCI group on facebook, and got responses that 7'~8' is common for males, which put me off a bit.

Don't overfeed and don't bump way up in food and it won't get huge. Can a male get 7'? Sure! Will they normally? no. A lot of people overfeed their snakes, especially when young because they either don't understand or they want a 'big snake' quick. Boas will continue to grow their entire lives and boas do best with a conservative feeding schedule.

I have never had a boa that was out and being held or chilling on my lap suddenly bite. I know everyone has a different experience but that seems out of the norm to me.