Bolivian Boa Question

[Hamsnacks]

Hello,

So I kinda decided my next snake would be a Carpet Python and was preparing and researching everything on CPs, but about an hour ago a friend calls and says a co-worker is moving and needs to sell his Bolivian Boa ASAP and will give me a wicked deal for his full set up. Unfortunately, unless I am searching it up wrong on google, I can't find much on them in regards to tank needs.

He sent me a 2 pictures of it, I asked to make sure it wasn't a red tail boa and he insisted it was a Bolivian, the tail kinda tricked me. But maybe you guys can confirm, he says its about 3 feet long and 3 years old. Her current tank size is 36x18x18, he does not have any sort of climbing decorations and hide spot.

So my questions are, will she get much bigger, if so, will her tank be big enough to last her for life? Does she require climbing decor, and a cave? Anything else I should know before accepting this? I do not know much about Boas, any help would be much appreciated!

[richardhind1972]

Very nice indeed, great deep bat like saddles.
She looks like a Bolivian to me , bca can still have cool red tails there markings can be very variable from high peaks to almost patternless with a few diamonds , they normally max out at around 6ft and bca or boa amarali are a lot slow growing than bci so will need a bigger viv eventually
Here’s a few pics I found I’ve had my longicauda from these guys in Germany and they have some amazing pure locality snakes



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[Sauzo]

Looks like a BCA to me. They require pretty much the same as any BC. 78-80F cool side, 86-88F hot spot. A couple hides, a branch to play on and around 70% humidity.

The tank will last a little bit but expect about a 6 foot snake. I would invest in a 4x2 PVC cage.

And technically the only true red tail are BCC. Red tail is just a pet shop coin word.

As for info on them, you wont find too much. They arent really a common boa. Kind of like Argentines, Peruvian Longtails and Venezualen BCC. But like i said, they require pretty much the same care as any boa.

[Sauzo]

Very nice indeed, great deep bat like saddles.
She looks like a Bolivian to me , bca can still have cool red tails there markings can be very variable from high peaks to almost patternless with a few diamonds , they normally max out at around 6ft and bca or boa amarali are a lot slow growing than bci so will need a bigger viv eventually
Here’s a few pics I found I’ve had my longicauda from these guys in Germany and they have some amazing pure locality snakes



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Omg please tell me you arent the idiot i was arguing with on FB about BCLs? This guy said Stockl is the only true BCLs and that if it doesnt have a cross head stamp, it isnt a pure BCL. Except that the person who actually discovered the species was Vin Russo and actually a lot of pure BCLs dont have a cross head stamp...including some of Stockl's stuff..

Spent awhile arguing with said guy who said my BCL wasnt a BCL....except that he came from Vin Russo's striped BCL litter and a Meltzer/Lincoln BCL from legacy Reptiles....

[richardhind1972]

I haven’t even got face book sauzo so don’t worry

Your bcl looks likes like one to me mate and a great one at that , bcl can be quite varied in colours like we all know
I also know mr Russo was there from the beginning with these amazing boas,
Stöckl do have some good looking boas and so do a lot of people


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[richardhind1972]

Hi sauzo
Just had a look at your pics again And your louies head stamp is pretty much identical to my two bcl and not crossed at all lol, my motleys head stamp is crossed but them markings are quite distinctive, lol, so god knows what that idiots on with then , I’ve got my paperwork to prove my lineage is from Stöckl so if anyone says anything on mine , cheers Rich


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[Sauzo]

I haven’t even got face book sauzo so don’t worry

Your bcl looks likes like one to me mate and a great one at that , bcl can be quite varied in colours like we all know
I also know mr Russo was there from the beginning with these amazing boas,
Stöckl do have some good looking boas and so do a lot of people


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Lol np. The guy didnt even use his real name. Used the character from Dark Tower series, Roland Deschain. Didnt really think it was you as you dont seem like an idiot where as this guy was the poster child for birth control

[CloudtheBoa]

"Red tail boas" is a pet trade label, and isn't actually a real snake, and can be used to refer to really any snake with a red tail (pet stores don't exactly care about correctness). Usually, "red tail" refers to any of the species/subspecies in genus Boa, aka boa constrictors. Bolivian boas are indeed a boa constrictor, subspecies (at least for now) Boa constrictor amarali. Boa constrictors recently had a bit of a taxonomic change, but Bolivians are still a subspecies of Boa constrictor if I'm not mistaken, but I'm not a fan of the "red tail boa" label in the first place, as just because a boa constrictor doesn't have a red tail it doesn't mean it isn't related to the other boa constrictors.


3' and 3 years old is a bit small, my commons are about 4' at that age, but if I'm not mistaken Bolivians are on the small side anyway, I don't think they tend to get much above 5' or 6', but I could be wrong. At 3 years old, he has several years ahead of him for growth, just feed him an appropriate meal every 3-4 weeks, and he'll get there. At 3', a weaned rat (30-45 grams) is likely the best prey size. You want something that leaves little to no difference in girth immediately after swallowing, and that's what I'm normally feeding boas of that size at least.