Baby pictures compared to adults? BCI/BCC

[redshepherd]

I see a lot of baby boa constrictors with a dirty and darker pattern and color, especially a dirty head. But I haven't seen very many adults with dirty heads... in fact, many adults look smooth and lighter colored. I've also not found if anyone did a "before vs after" pic comparison of the same snake as a baby and then as an older animal, so I've been wondering whether baby boas are just dirtier looking, and then maybe all boas become clean as they grow up... Which would be fantastic LOL. I've been specifically looking at jungles and hypos.

I've been avoiding interest in dirty boas, because if it's anything like ball pythons, they're cleanest as hatchlings and only become dirtier and dirtier in pattern as they grow up. But maybe it's the opposite in boas?

Can anyone with personal experience explain if there's any correlation between how they look as babies vs adults? How do boas pattern develop? Also seeing any before and after pics would be nice

[Sauzo]

Depends on the morph and locale. BCL start out as plain looking ugly ducklings and slowly get better with each shed until they peak at about 3 years old. Most albinos and sunglows start out as really bright babies and fade out as they age. The ones that hold the color into adulthood are generally more valued. Not quite sure what you mean by a 'dirty' head.

Here is a pic of Vicky, my Lipstick sunglow as a baby and as an adult.


And her about 4 years later...a lot of people thought she was a sharp when i showed them but nope, she is a kahl


And as for Louie my BCL. I've only had him about a year but here is a pic of him from a year ago.


And him now. His blacks are getting deeper and to me, it looks like his yellow top is getting more yellow.


And then there is Rango, my salmon DH snowglow male. I've had him about 2 years now.


And him now...now if you mean 'dirty' as in the head speckling, Rango has pretty much lost it all as you can see from the pic when i got to now.



And finally there is Gina. I've only had her about 15 months but she has made a big change in her sides and top. This is when i got her...she was so tiny lol.



And her now....


Dont have any pics of Rosey as a baby but she was a lot lighter in color and has darkened with age. I've had her about 6 years now or so. This pic is a few months old but you can see how dark in color she is. When i got her, she was basically the color of toast.

[richardhind1972]

I agree with sauzo. Definitely depends on the morph, a lot with Hypo gene in definitely cleans up with age, here’s my Hypo red Pastel, she had a dirty head as a baby

And as said the Bcl have a massive colour change normally by the 3rd year


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[Hmoore1984]

I agree with sauzo. Definitely depends on the morph, a lot with Hypo gene in definitely cleans up with age, here’s my Hypo red Pastel, she had a dirty head as a baby

And as said the Bcl have a massive colour change normally by the 3rd year


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I like this morph. Nice snake. Really liking the tail on him


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[richardhind1972]

Thanks yes her tail is really cool her mum was Hypo red Pastel jungle and dad was Kahl sunglow so should be some great babies from her in the future if I pop in with a decent male


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[AbsoluteApril]

I'm curious - what do you mean by 'dirty head'?
Because what I think you mean, might not be what you are talking about.

Some things to understand about boas (in case you didn't already know) -

Boas can go through a light and dark phase. Hypos and smaller locality boas (esp hog isles) tend to show this the most. Can be depending on the temps, depending on the time of day (usually darker at night and during cooler temps). Their entire coloration can deepen, dark spots appear darker and color can appear muddied; in the light phase, everything lightens up, blacks and greys can turn super light and that also allows more of the pinks to show up.

Boas are usually born with a grey wash, some of us call it the 'baby greys'. It's especially noticeable on the laterals. As boas age they develop the yellow pigment. Reds/oranges/pinks may or may not fade as the boa gets bigger. So you'll see the greys fade off and the background coloration turn a tan, buckskin or brown color, this is the yellow coming in. This is also why albinos are red/orange and whiteish as babies and turn into large yellow bananas. The reds are fading and the yellows get brighter.

Some boas, especially the harlequin line, brighten up coloration and get really pink 24-48 hours into digestion. Just a neat thing I've noticed.

I hope that helps?
I have some hypo harlis and jungles I've raised up but I don't have any good recent photos to compare to their younger pics. I guess I should get updated pics of everyone one of these days.

Here's a normal baby from my first litter ever and then a photo the owner sent me about 4 years later.

[AbsoluteApril]

I found these of a hypo, this was Cinnamon, salmon hypo (father was from Rich Ihle, founder of the main hypo lines in boas)

As a yearling or so:


Adult pic:


oh and here she was in a dark phase (with my red group jungle male Kirk)

[redshepherd]

Very interesting info and pictures guys, thanks very much!! Gorgeous snakes!

Sauzo, I really like Rango! It's so neat how his speckles on the head pretty much completely faded, and most on the body too.

April, I didn't know about the light and dark phase, that's neat! I'll be aware of that. That's a HUGE change in looks from baby to adult in that normal het albino.

Richard, that's a drastic lightening!

And yes, what I meant by dirty is the dark speckling and darker marks here and there, especially on the head on some baby boas, that makes them look "dirty".