Rosy Boas

[TreF68]

So i have been thinking of getting a rosy boa, and have heard nothing but good things about them. My question is, if they make good pets like i have read, why do more people not have them. They are rarely talked about on forums and websites.

I think I'm going to get a Rosy over my second choice (Ball Python), just wondering why they aren't as popular i guess.

anyone know any cons about them?

[ericeod]

They are great animals and there are many Rosy owners. But you are right, for some reason there are not a lot of threads/posts about them.

I picked up my first Rosy Boa (The Mexican Rosy) a few months after picking up my first Ball Python, which was last summer. Note the last time I owned snakes was as a 12yr old when I had a Red Tail Boa, Hognose and albino Kingsnake... and that was 21 yrs ago. Anyways, I now have 3 Rosies and 2 Ball Pythons, and the Rosies are all tame, friendly and easy to care for.

The plus of Ball pythons include: Variety of pattern and availability.

The plus of Rosies include: manageable size, easy to care for (needs very little humidity) and losts of localities to chose from.

There are more for each, but just what I thought of noting.


Here are the 3 I have:

I've got a mexican, San Feliepe and Coastal Anery:

[Shmoges]

I haven't dabbled in the rosies yet but I am becoming more and more of a fan of boas and less of colubrids and pythons. I love my BP and the corns but these kenyans and the rough scale are awesome and a friend of mine has a 6 foot red tail that is like a pig puppy dog, a little big for me but very nice animal.

[blushingball419]

I'm actually hoping to get a rosy very soon!! I was inspired by ericeod's other post about them, but until then I didn't know much about them. When I started researching and found out how easy their care was and how small they are, I immediately started looking around for breeders. They're actually relatively cheap too compared to some of the bp morphs, and I think most of the localities have wonderful colors. I really don't understand why they're not more popular either! If you haven't been there already, the site that I found to be the most thorough and informative was localityrosys.com

It seems like the only cons would be that you always have to make sure that whatever enclosure you keep them in has enough ventilation to keep the humidity down, or if you happened to get one that had an attitude of course, but I'm sure that could happen with any species of snake. Hopefully the one I get will be as nice as all the others I keep hearing about

[TreF68]

I'm actually hoping to get a rosy very soon!! I was inspired by ericeod's other post about them, but until then I didn't know much about them. When I started researching and found out how easy their care was and how small they are, I immediately started looking around for breeders. They're actually relatively cheap too compared to some of the bp morphs, and I think most of the localities have wonderful colors. I really don't understand why they're not more popular either! If you haven't been there already, the site that I found to be the most thorough and informative was localityrosys.com

It seems like the only cons would be that you always have to make sure that whatever enclosure you keep them in has enough ventilation to keep the humidity down, or if you happened to get one that had an attitude of course, but I'm sure that could happen with any species of snake. Hopefully the one I get will be as nice as all the others I keep hearing about

My wife and I have been going to pet stores and interacting with them pretty much every day for the past week or so. last night we hit the jackpot with a pet store that had 8 different rosy's! they differed in age and size, and every one of them were super sweet. We didn't get one because we are determined to wait till our local reptile expo, but it was a good experience to see a bit about their personalities.

in total we have interacted with about 20 in the last week or so and all have been really great to hold. not one has been nippy or skiddish; in fact, not one of them were even head shy! one in particular seemed to love getting the under side of its chin rubbed. he kept coming back for more lol.

this isn't to say that there are no mean rosy's, but so far all i have seen have been wonderful. I just wish i had room for them all.

BTW, do you happen to know off hand the post by ericeod? I would love to read it.

well im off to do more rosy hunting, got 2 pet stores i plan on visiting tonight. wish me luck!!

[blushingball419]

In total we have interacted with about 20 in the last week or so and all have been really great to hold. not one has been nippy or skittish; in fact, not one of them were even head shy! one in particular seemed to love getting the under side of its chin rubbed. he kept coming back for more lol.

That's really awesome to hear!! Yeah, they seem like such nice snakes. Are they active when you hold them like a corn, or do they just kind of chill like a bp? I was going to wait until the next expo too, but not only is it a long drive for me, I checked out the vendor list and none of them have any rosies So I shopped around online a bit, and now I'm waiting to hear back from a breeder about a really pretty little one that caught my eye. I'm so excited!!

BTW, do you happen to know off hand the post by ericeod? I would love to read it.

Sure! It's this one http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Boa-owners-at I just happened to click on it one day, and was like "wow, those are actually really beautiful" and started researching them. A couple people that posted said that they have rosies that are mean, but it definitely seems like a rarity.

Good luck finding your rosy!! I would love to see pics of the one you finally choose!!

[TreF68]

That's really awesome to hear!! Yeah, they seem like such nice snakes. Are they active when you hold them like a corn, or do they just kind of chill like a bp?

The ones i held were active, but not in the same way as a corn. my experience with corn snakes is that they seem to always want to get away from you. The rosy boas i have held would move around, but seemed to be trying to explore you, not get away. Also, they have moved much slower. some would try to go up your sweater arm, one in particular (my fave so far) slithered between where the zipper part of my jacket folds back on itself... does that make sense? anyway, it went up and around my neck. i just let it cruise and it was happy figuring out where things led.

oh and tonight, didnt find any rosy's held a couple corn snakes though.

[TreF68]

Let me add a quick question in here, i dont want to flood the board with new topics lol.

It wont be till October that i get a rosy, and would like to splurge on an Exo-Terra terrarium. They are a bit pricey, but they are so good looking IMO and i have time to save up.

What cage would be appropriate from baby to adult?

My guess would be the 24x18x18, Is that too cramped for an adult?

the other option is the 36x18x18, but that could be too big for a baby.

If i could do either, i would pick the 24x18x18 due to space and price, but would rather do whats best for the animal.

THanks

[blushingball419]

The ones i held were active, but not in the same way as a corn. my experience with corn snakes is that they seem to always want to get away from you. The rosy boas i have held would move around, but seemed to be trying to explore you, not get away. Also, they have moved much slower.

Very cool As much as I love my corns, I really enjoy slower moving snakes.

As far the size of the enclosure, most people say that they keep adults in a 20 gal tank, which I believe is 24x13x17 or something like that, so you could definitely go with the 24x18x18. I prefer to give my snakes a little more room though, so you could always buy a cheap 10 gal for when it's a baby, and then move up to the 36x18x18.

[SpiffyYoshi]

I love Rosy Boas. There doesn't seem to be much demand for them. I'm going to an expo tomorrow, I should see if I find any. I've only heard good things about them. They are super gentle, manageable size, and easy to care for. And pretty darn cool looking if you ask me. Love the stripes!