Question about subspecies

[hardball]

Which subspecies of RTB should I be looking into that stays possibly between 5 ft and 8ft tops. I am not all that familiar with these snakes but I love their appearance. I just bought my first BP about a month ago and that is my first snake and i love it. Im thinking around my birthday which is going to be in December of getting another snake and this is the one that Id like if i can find a subspecies that would stay relatively smaller, but a little bit bigger than a BP. Any suggestions or even a recommedation of another snake all together even that I should look into? A docile temperament is pretty important as well for any other recommendations.

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Some sort of male. I'd try to go with a Central American locality such as Nic or Honduran, they do tend to be nippy so shop around. Hog island tend to stay under 6' but they can also be pretty nippy, some are, some aren't. Really the luck of the draw.

[Kara]

A nice Colombian-locality boa (Boa constrictor imperator) male is typically going to stay in the 5-8' range, with 6' being common. When you do see a bigger male, it's usually an older snake (5+ years). You're not suddenly going to have a giant snake on your hands overnight, especially if you feed on an appropriate schedule (i.e. 1x every 7-10 days). There are so many fantastic breeders working with Colombian boas that you should be able to find something that you like, from someone respectable, in a reasonable price range.

Also, Eco Publishing (http://www.reptileshirts.com) just released a lovely book called Boas in Captivity, written by Vin Russo, who is an esteemed boa keeper/breeder/enthusiast, as well as an upstanding member of the herp community. We just got several copies for our retail store last week, and it's a thoroughly enjoyable read. For under $10, it's a herp-library-find that no boa keeper should be without!



K~

[hardball]

ok so it seems the smaller the nippier almost? maybe not every case but the ones yall are suggesting seem to be nippy atleast. I plan on attending the local expo that comes here to Jax i believe at the end of June and ill probably look around and get some info and maybe even a little first hand experience. But Ill probably look to buy a youngster at the end of the year after gaining more experience with my BP. What size enclosure is ideal for the smaller species of RTB through its lifespan?

[Mezclado_Reps]

My males get the equivalent of a 50-60gallon tank, most of that being floor space. the general rule of thumb is 1 square foot of floor space per foot of snake.

[hardball]

O yea, the RTB seems to be a more outgoing and less shy snake that doesnt mind being out in the open so does daily handling stress them much? How much handling is ok?

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

I could handle my boas every day if I wanted and they would be cool with it. Most people have problems getting the boa BACK IN THE CAGE!! lol I can walk in and within seconds, the boas line up waiting to come out. Its a pretty cool site. I would agree with Kara, any BCI male should stay in that range. I don't like the idea of males getting very big at all. I feed my male that is 13-14 month old now every 2 weeks on a small rat and he is still keeping a good body shape. Really, just feed them as you think they need it. If they seem hungry, feed em. If they seem to be skinny, feed more. If they seem fat, feed less often.

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

ok so it seems the smaller the nippier almost? maybe not every case but the ones yall are suggesting seem to be nippy atleast. I plan on attending the local expo that comes here to Jax i believe at the end of June and ill probably look around and get some info and maybe even a little first hand experience. But Ill probably look to buy a youngster at the end of the year after gaining more experience with my BP. What size enclosure is ideal for the smaller species of RTB through its lifespan?

I start with an 18 qt. tub and move up from there. 18 then 32 qt. then 41 qt. then a 4' by 2'. You can keep bigger boas in the larger tubs(the 52" by 20" tub from www.reptiletubs.com) but I fell in love with my 4' by 2' boaphile. Awesome cage and a great deal. That will easily house an adult male boa and many adult female boas

[hardball]

Ya i like the idea of the tub. Which seems to be easier to regulate temperatures and humidities from what i have read and much much cheaper. Thank yall for your help. I will start looking around for a good breeder to get one of the suggested species and talk to the breeders of these species to confirm what details.

[chris B]

Now are hog's tolerant to being held just as much as the columbian's? I've heard some horror stories about the hog's so I was curious?