New Member Looking For Suggestions and Info

[Caitlin]

I wanted one of the dwarf Boa varieties for a long time and finally settled on the Tarahumara Mountain Boa. I don't have experience with any of the other dwarf varieties, and I am a new Tarahumara owner - just wanted to be clear that I am far from an expert in these guys. I got my pair from Michael Beach in Oregon, who has been breeding the Tarahumara and other dwarf varieties since 2004 or so. I'll copy/paste his Boa breeding list below. He's really a pleasure to deal with. My Tarahumara were from a September 2019 litter, and I paid $685 for the pair, which included shipping costs.

I settled on Tarahumara because of their size (the smallest Boas), generally sweet temperament, and the fact that they are not a particularly demanding species (they don't need high humidity and they are fine with a wide temperature range) thanks to their evolutionary history in a rather harsh mountainous environment. Plus I think they are really a pretty snake, but I think that about most snakes, lol.

I have been really delighted with them. They are confident and curious, have great appetites, and while they hiss like crazy when I first pick them up, they are all hiss and no bite. They settle down beautifully and will just sit loosely coiled around my hand for quite some time. When they do explore, it's slow and leisurely - these are just not squirmy, panicky snakes, even as babies. I like that they don't stay in their hides all of the time - I often see them out and about, or just lounging on the big cork rounds I have in their quarantine enclosures.

Looking at their parents, I'd say the male, and even the female, may eventually not need more than a 3' long enclosure. I'm still planning on a 4' for each of them, as they are active. I also want to give them room to have some branches; they seem to enjoy a bit of climbing.

I'll include Michael's contact info along with his breeding list below.

Michael Beach: Woodcliff Herps on Facebook. He advertises on Fauna Classifieds.
woodclif5169@gmail.com
(503) 288-4684

Boa breeding list (this is from 2019. I am not sure of 2020 status on all these; you'll have to ask him)


BOAS All Pure Locale / No Morphs


Hog Island Bi (Lloyd Lemke / Vin Russo / Sears)
Crawl Cay Bc (Rio Bravo / Vin Russo)
Tarahumara Sonoran Bi (Rio Bravo)
Corn Island / Islas del Maiz Bi (Rio Bravo)
Paraguanera Venezualean Penninsula Bi (Rio Bravo)
Barranquilla Colombian Bi True Colombian (Rio Bravo)
Sabogae Pearl Island Bs (Vin Russo)
Bolivian Amarali - Silverbacks Ba (Joe Terry 1987 Blood)
Longicauda / Peruvian Long Tail Bl (Vin Russo)
Peruvian Pucallpa locale Bc (Rio Bravo & Blast)
Peruvian Iquitos locale Bc (Jim Pomaville AND a brand new unrelated Import bloodline)
Surinam Bc (FLRT, Futo, Sipperly, WC, Belnap)
Surinam Bc Pure Pokigron locale (Rio Bravo)
Trinidad Bc Pure Trinidad locale (Rob Tudehope)
VenezuelanBc (Rio Bravo)
Dwarf Dumerils Boas Acrantophis dumerili (Prato dwarf bloodline 4+ft. MAX)
Brazilian Rainbow Boas Epicrates cenchria (8 totally unrelated bloodlines)

I am obviously biased but I just don't think you can go wrong with the Tarahumara.