Gonna go Boa

[bhsurf4]

I’m a ball python guy, but I’ve been looking at possibly getting a boa. I’ve been doing some research and browsing on morph market, which 9 times out of 10 results in me getting a new snake! Question is, I know a ball python is a ball python no matter what kind of paint job it has, but boas seem like a different thing all together. What I would like (size wise) is what I grew up calling a “Columbian red tail boa”. Is a a sun glow a red tail morph? Also I noticed there are 4 or 5 categories of albino, are they completely different boas or just different morphs? I would appreciate any help I can get.

[WhompingWillow]

I'm not too familiar with boas other than the two I have, but I know you deal with different subspecies, localities, and morphs. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.

[EL-Ziggy]

I've just recently starting keeping boas, and don't know much about morphs at all, but so far they are awesome to keep. I have mostly pythons and colubrids but my boas are already my favorite snakes to handle.

[Dianne]

What we both call Colombian redtail boas are now usually referred to as Bci...or sometimes Bi (I think?). I believe most of the morphs are Bci - motley, jungle, stripe & partial stripe, sun glow, albino, hypo, and snow are the ones I can think of offhand. There are a fair number of other boas subspecies, and there are different localities in each of the subspecies that have their own characteristics. Pretty much there’s a boa for everybody these days, both smaller and larger than the Bci. That doesn’t even take into considerstion all the boas that aren’t in this branch of the boa family.


Edit: I’m not very familiar with the other subspecies, so they may have morphs as well that I’ve not heard of.

[dakski]

Okay, here goes. First, Boas rock! I have two. Behira, a Ghost BCI female, and Feliz, a Venezuelan True Red Tail/Dwarf BCC.

Secondly, there are two major kinds of boas that people generally call red tails. Boa Constrictor Imperator (BCI, often just referred to as BI these days, but that's a separate discussion) which include Columbian Red Tails, a medium sized boa species, but also include the dwarf species which stay much smaller. Of note, there are morphs of both, but many more of the columbian BCI's. 99% of boa morphs, if not specified as a dwarf species, is a columbian boa. The second major red tail is the "True red tail boa," or Boa Constrictor Constrictor (BCC), which is generally a larger species than BCI (not hugely, but noticeably), needs more humidity and is more sensitive to humidity being spot on, and can other digestive issues if fed too often or meals that are too big, etc.

As a separate note, I could write a book here on proper feeding techniques for boas, but we will safe that for a different day. Let's say Boas have much slower metabolisms than say BP's and need to be fed smaller meals less frequently or they can develop serious digestive issues, can get obese quickly and it can be dangerous or fatal, and it can be very tough to get them to lose weight.

BCI's, except for dwarf species, are generally bred for color and pattern (morphs) and BCC's are almost always bred for locality. Many dwarf boas are also bred for locality.

If you found a sunglow boa you like (which is essentially a hypo albino, I believe Kahl strain, but don't quote me on that part), it is almost definitely a columbian BCI.

A few rules of thumb for BCI:

1. Males and Females generally vary greatly in size with males being much smaller.

On average: Males, if fed properly, are 4-6FT, with 7FT not impossible, but very rare. Females are generally 5.5-7FT, with 7.5-8FT possible, but much over that, very rare. A female BCI will be 2X the thickness of a male, or more.

A healthy, well fed, 7FT female, can weigh 13-18 pounds, give or take.

A healthy, well fed, 5FT male, can weigh 5-7 pounds, give or take.

Both of those are averages.

2. Boas are generally VERY aggressive feeders and should be hook trained. However, they eat like clockwork. Once they know food is not being offered, they are generally puppy dog tame and are brave, curious, inquisitive, beautiful, and gentle, animals. Awesome snakes to handle.

3. Bigger snake = bigger enclosure.

Any questions, there are quite a few Boa peeps on here who will be happy to help. Also, feel free to PM me. I know some good breeders and have learned a lot researching before getting my first boa, from keeping her, and from the people I referenced earlier from this forum.

Good luck!

[Sauzo]

A sunglow is a BCI aka common boa morph. It is a hypo albino. They come in different grades, some are poor quality while those that hold the colors into adulthood are better. Then there are line bred ones like Lipstick which is a tom Burke line and then there are also stuff like corals but those arent really a specific gene and arent guaranteed to pass the coral off to offspring.

Also baby sunglows will always be very vivid. You need to look at the parents to get an idea of what they will look like as adults.

Here is Vicky my Lipstick sunglow as a baby....



And her about 4 years later....

[richardhind1972]

Well put Dave and sauzo
The sunglow also come in 3 types of albino kahl strain, sharp strain and t+ (caramel albino) these can be bread together but would not produce a visual albino or sunglow so you need to breed a sharp strain to a sharp strain etc to produce a visual albino but to produce a sunglow one of the parents aswell as both having a copy of the albino gene must also be carrying the hypo(reduced black gene)so nice and red/pink generally ,that's why sunglow are that nice colour as the albino gene also removes the most other colours so your left with a really nice generally orange and white snake.
Boas are great and as Dave said there a boa for everyone size wise, alot of the smaller locality boas can be as little under 4ft upto 5-6ft and can be pretty colourful still,most leopard boas come from the Sonoran boa(bi) and are normally around the 5ft mark and have some amazing paint jobs . Where most (boa imperata) females can be 7-8ft but most are 6-7 and males 5-6 some can be bigger but a general rule of thumb.
All are generally great Eaters and chilled too or can come round if a bit nervous a first with some training and handling
As as sauzo said definitely try look at the parents as they can be of varying quality as adults

This is my khal sunglow as a baby and adult
She's 3in January

Sent from my TA-1024 using Tapatalk

[AbsoluteApril]

It's BI now instead of BCi because the scientific classification was changed, lots of us still use BCi simply because it's what it's been for a long time.

Richard covered the albino strains pretty well. There was a surinam BC albino years ago but they never got young from the breeding. Some people bred BC strains into BI albinos to color up their lines which is a shame IMO. anyways almost all boa morphs are BI. There are a few that are crosses with BC like Roswell, Lucy/Fire/Diamond and a few others (not all confirmed but suspected). Some morphs come from CA (central american) localities like the majority of Hypo/Salmon, Motley, Leopard. These are commonly bred to other BI localities.

There's a lot to learn but not as many morphs as ball pythons, don't let it overwhelm you and feel free to ask questions!

[cletus]

Whatever flavor you choose, you will enjoy. Very rewarding snakes. Fairly active. Great feeders. My favorite breed of snake. Welcome to the fold!

[bhsurf4]

A sunglow is a BCI aka common boa morph. It is a hypo albino. They come in different grades, some are poor quality while those that hold the colors into adulthood are better. Then there are line bred ones like Lipstick which is a tom Burke line and then there are also stuff like corals but those arent really a specific gene and arent guaranteed to pass the coral off to offspring.

Also baby sunglows will always be very vivid. You need to look at the parents to get an idea of what they will look like as adults.

Here is Vicky my Lipstick sunglow as a baby....



And her about 4 years later....

Now that is a beautiful snake!! Gonna be searching out a lipstick sun glow now!! Thanks for all the reply’s.