Alethia the Female Hog Island Boa

[JRLongton]

I am now the proud keeper of a pure bred, seven month-old, hog island boa snakelet from the Rio Bravo Reptiles bloodline. We've named her Alethia, which is Greek for "Truth", and she is a gem! Special thanks go to dakski who hooked me up with the breeder. I asked the breeder's permission to name him, but haven't heard back yet. I'm sure he wouldn't mind, but it seems polite to ask first. Once he give mes the OK, I'll give him a glowing write up.

Anywho, I contacted the breeder waaaay back in December and waited patiently trying not to make a nuisance of myself, until I heard from him last week. He appreciated my patience so much that he offered to sell me his holdback for a little bit more money than any of the others, and I was happy to pay!

We agreed to ship on Thursday for Friday morning delivery, as the weather looked promising on both ends. Well, I live in New England and as often happens the weather prediction for Friday night changed at the last minute. I almost asked the breeder to hold off, but decided that picking up the package at the FedEx hub would work best in many ways; it would be safer temp wise, it would be fewer hands on the box, and I would get her that little bit earlier.

What a stressful night. I must have refreshed the FedEx tracking page 200 times, as though that would make the package arrive faster. I barely slept and kept waking up to refresh the page. I even had a dream that I was staring at the tracking screen. Happily all the stress was for naught as I picked her up at the FedEx hub in Raynham, Mass, at 9:20 this morning. When we unboxed her my temp gun read her body temp as 62 F, which is lower than I like to see any snake, but is grudgingly acceptable for so short a time, given the circumstances.

She's now in a divided RB 48x24x12 (so she has 24x24x12) with a 40w Pro-Panel regulated by a Herpstat 2. I even bought the special metal end probe from Spyder Robotics. She has a big water bowel, several hides, a humid hide, and a few decorations. Once she settles in, I'm going to bump her up to a RB 48x24x15, but for right now she'll be fine. She's barely 24 inches as it is. Right now she's hiding in her paper towel tube.

I couldn't be more pleased. I've wanted a boa for a long time and now I have as close to a pedigree as exists in the snake world. I'll tell you, few boa constrictors have ever lived that were as doted on as this one will be. She has been born to heaven.

I didn't take any pictures of her when we unboxed but I've attached some from the breeder. I'm sure you can all appreciate that the pics do no justice, in person she is amazing.

[WhompingWillow]

She's beautiful! Happy she arrived safely.

[dakski]

She’s stunning!

Great name as well!

[Craiga 01453]

Congrats!! She's a gorgeous addition!!

[fadingdaylight]

Congrats, she is beautiful, and now in great hands!

[Dianne]

Congratulations! She is gorgeous!

[EL-Ziggy]

Great looking boa! Congrats on the awesome addition!

[cletus]

Beautiful boa! Congrats!

[Bogertophis]

Worth the wait & nervous dreams, lol...and it looks to me like you're both lucky. I've no doubt you'll 'spoil her rotten', & we'll enjoy your updates...she's pretty one.

[JRLongton]

So, I heard back from the breeder and of course he doesn't mind me singing his praises. I bought Alethia from Tommy carpenter of TC Reptile
http://tcreptile.com/ and on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TCReptile/

It seems most, if not all, of his animals are from Rio Bravo and Gus Rentfro, who as best I understand has retired. All the animals TC has are pure localities, so if you are like me and prefer nature's paint job, Tommy is a great person to buy from. And if you want one of Alethia's litter mates, best to act now while they are still available!

For right now, I'm pretty satisfied with Alethia, but we're all reptile people here and we know how this goes. Right now I'm satisfied but once Alethia gets bumped up to a larger enclosure, and I have an empty one sitting, I may want to fill it! And I have this recurring thought of a longicauda.... That's the future though.

As for now, Alethia ate her first meal with me last night. I offered a thawed mouse hopper on tongs and she didn't hesitate. She got the scent and came like a bullet. A welcome change from my BPs, one of whom is still on a hunger strike .

She spends most of the day hidden curled up in a paper towel tube, and at night we see her crawling about or perched regally on her tree. I'm going to resist handling until she's eaten once more, but it's so tempting. Looks like everything has gotten off to the best possible start.

Thanks for everyone's support and thanks again to dakski for hooking me up. I owe you one!