Largest BCC Subspecies?

[farmer1911 45ACP]

I know the "true" red tail boas BCC are generally considered the largest but does anybody know what subspecies are the largest? eg. Suriname,Amazon Basin,Guyana,Peru?
Thanks

[Dxw425]

I think i heard somewhere that the Iquitos (spelling?) peruvians do, not 100% sure though

[Gio]

Yes, Iquitos, Peruvian BCC are said to be the largest of the BCC according to Gus Rentfro.

That is being very general of course.

[Hypancistrus]

How big do BCC's get as compared to BCI's?

[Gio]

Everything is really a snake to snake situation. There are plenty of HUGE BCI boas.

In the wild the largest boas are the oldest boas. It has been found, GENERALLY that BCC boas tend to be larger as adults than the other boas.

Many BCI "common" boas are not common at all. There is mixing in captivity and also natural intergrades that have both BCI and BCC traits.

I would consider a big boa to be 8 feet and over.

Boas are supposed to grow slow. In nature they eat infrequently and have evolved over millions of years to be able to sustain themselves on very little food.

Boas in captivity that are fed large quantities of high fat, captive raised prey will almost always grow quickly and die early.

The focus of any passionate boa keeper should be on health and longevity VS size.

A healthy, long lived boa will grow to a respectful size as it ages.

There should never be a rush to create a large snake of any type.

If you want to own something that will ultimately end up on the bigger end in the boa world, a BCC with Peruvian or Amazon basin roots will generally get there.

Pokigron, Suriname boas tend to be a smaller locality than the Basin Guyana and Suriname BCC.

A nice 6-7 foot boa is a lot of snake. Impressive, handleable and not overly imposing.

There are specimens that can hit 10-11 feet and weigh 80 plus pounds.

[farmer1911 45ACP]

Thanks for the info.

Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk

[Hypancistrus]

Everything is really a snake to snake situation. There are plenty of HUGE BCI boas.
There are specimens that can hit 10-11 feet and weigh 80 plus pounds.

I asked because I had one that was sold to us as a BCI male. We don't overfeed-- he got one appropriate sized rat every 2-3 weeks. But he just kept growing and growing until he was nearing 9' which seemed quite large for a male BCI. It got to be too much for one person, so after my ex and I split we sold him to a person who was looking for a good big boa. I'd like to have another one someday but I don't want anything super massive.

[Gio]

I asked because I had one that was sold to us as a BCI male. We don't overfeed-- he got one appropriate sized rat every 2-3 weeks. But he just kept growing and growing until he was nearing 9' which seemed quite large for a male BCI. It got to be too much for one person, so after my ex and I split we sold him to a person who was looking for a good big boa. I'd like to have another one someday but I don't want anything super massive.

There are always exceptions to the rule.

Without locality data, a "common boa" could be a mix of BCC and BCI then back to BCI. Its generally said BCC basin animals are the largest.

If the snake wasn't sexed, it could very well have been a female, however there are some very large males out there.

A male raised as strictly a pet, without and pheromones or breeding cues from a female in the same home could very well achieve a larger size.

My male is coming up on 5 years old. He's 6' 3" and he skips feeding from late October until right about this time of year.

I suspect he may hit 7 feet in his life.

He is a locality BCI. Barranquilla, Colombia locale.

Not a giant by boa standards, but you can see even over a year ago he had some size.


He was even larger by the end of last summer.




I suspect this summer he will fill out more and possibly add 3"-4". I like my animals lean and muscular, including our dogs.

Anyhow, if you like BCC and want a manageable snake, look into a male, Pokigron, Suri.

They do not typically attain the size of the other BCC, actually a male, Belem, Brazil boa would also fit the bill.

Again, this is all general.

[GoingPostal]

My male suri will be five this year and is right about 6', he was about 5'6" when I got him at three years old so not a fast grower by any stretch.

[Gio]

My male suri will be five this year and is right about 6', he was about 5'6" when I got him at three years old so not a fast grower by any stretch.

And if I remember correctly a total looker too!!!