Different Types of Boas

[Amaya K]

Okay, this is a little bit like a rant, but I'm hoping a few people will reply with more information and kind of agree with me, because man am I peeved. I already greatly dislike the way most people just group all boas together, like, they aren't different species? I mean, a Kenya Sand Boa grows to be a couple feet long, and a Red Tail Boa hits 7ft easy. I'm not super knowledgeable about boas, I've mostly been working with Royal Pythons and Corn Snakes since those are the two I own, but even I know to do some research before even considering a new pet.

So there I was, going through Craigslist pet section, looking for a scratching post for my kitty and a bigger tank for my corn. Not in a big hurry to buy either, so hey, might as well just scan them all right? Well I see an add for a baby "Dwarf" Red Tail Boa. That strikes me as odd, when I've heard a reptile store owner friend of mine complaining about how people think "dwarfs" exist. I mean, I suppose there could be an obscure, smaller range of red tails out there, but from everything I've heard, know about genetics, and have researched on the internet for an hour, they don't exist. Red Tails are a breed of snake, and that breed has genetic markers that allow their size to vary between adults. If such a thing did pop up, it would be very inbred, or at least this is my impression unless someone can tell me otherwise. So what do I do? I email the guy telling him such, very politely and under the impression that he's just a poor guy who was lied to by whoever he bought it from. I mostly just don't want this poor animal to get sold to someone who doesn't expect it to reach a size they can't handle.

Well this guy replies very meanly, if I do say so, telling me he got it from a reputable breeder and all and finishes by telling me that I "shouldn't stick my nose in other peoples business" and should "learn before I speak because then I'll sound smarter" all misspelled and poor grammar. He then claims he has a "Panamanian" Red Tail that he says only grows to 5-6ft. I don't know about that, I didn't look into it much, but then I checked his add again and it no longer said "Dwarf" it said "Panamanian Red Tail"

So I guess I'm just asking if anyone else has more experience with this, either Dwarf Red Tails and if they exist or not, or if region they are from can make a difference in expected size. I'm just really mad at this guy, if nothing else for being so rude about it. Has anyone else had similar problems with people not being clear or wise about their type of snake?