So, I've made up my mind.

[sur3fir3]

I do not own them, but with SD retics, I've read extremely varied accounts of how large they get and their temperament. If it will only be you handling, cleaning, etc. then I'd go with a male high percentage or 100% SD locale only and buy from a reputable source. You don't want to handle anything over 8' solo and even a male SD would be pushing that.. but they are thinner than boids, so that should be considered too.

There are a LOT of options with boas. I own 5 myself (BCA, BCI, CA BCI, and BCL). If you stick with a male, most will max out around 6' (or less) and be thinner than a female. Not all boas stay that small, but if you are really concerned, you can purchase a dwarf locality like a central American, Nicaraguan, island boa, or Mexican boa. BCL also stay leaner and shorter on average.

I am married, but my husband doesn't enjoy the hobby. He will help occasionally if I'm sick or something, but I take care of my whole collection (~15 snakes, 6 geckos, and 1 skink) by myself. I would not want to keep a similar number of large snakes though.. and wouldn't want anything that I couldn't handle solo if needed. My largest snake now is my male BCA at just over 5.5' and I can easily handle him by myself. Time is the biggest issue with maintaining a larger collection.. I spend maybe 30-45 minutes on average a day (sometimes 1hr+) and then about 2-3 hours+ on the weekend doing deep cleaning, etc.

I have purchased my first breeding pair (BCL) but am growing them from hatchlings so it'll be about 5 years before I even have the option to breed them if I decide to at that point. I picked BCL specifically due to their smaller size and relative rareness in the hobby (plus they look great). That said, I can see my time commitment at least tripling if I breed and have to deal with cleaning, feeding, and selling babies. Not to mention how much my food bill would go up.

Deciding whether you want to breed or not is a very serious matter and you can always go back and change your mind if your situation changes later. I'd grow your collection and buy a few nice females of the species you want to deal with.. Grow them up and see what the amount of work and time is and also how you feel about handling them, then make up your mind.

Yes, I spoke to a SD retic breeder (the guy I bought my V180 from) who mentioned the temperament of the SD Retics. I have his information, and he said he would introduce me to some reputable breeders that I would get what I am looking for. My plan is to keep one of the tubs empty so that I can transfer whatever snake whose Tub I am cleaning to the open tub.

Yes breeding is very serious, that is why I don't want to do it solo. But something I did speak with my GF about was getting a female T- Blood python just in case I ever change my mind.