What is he really?

[AliCat37]

This is my pet, so i don't really care what he turns out to be haha. He was cheap enough. I got him when he was about a week or two old as a "jungletine" Or Jungle x Argentine cross. Someone recently said he looks like a hypo. Just curious as to everyone else's opinions. Either way, he's a sweet heart (most of the time) and is extremely spoiled.

[fndjason4]

Looks like a very pretty normal colombian BCI to me. but of course im no expert. great looking guy either way.

[MikeSchultz-d]

If I saw that snake with no context I would assume it was a normal colombian Boa constrictor imperator.

Nice looking snake though!

[weird_science04]

I have a huge passion for boa constrictors and I can tell you that your boa is NOT a jungle and it is NOT a hypo. That doesn't mean a parent wasn't a jungle because the jungle gene is co-dominant so not all the babies will have the jungle gene in it. It might be a Argentine (BCO) cross with Colombian (BCI) but unfortunately, that is not something you will ever truly know unless you got it from a reputable person who could prove it. I am not sure if this is the way with BP's or not but if it isn't a morph or a noticeable locale, then all you can really call it is a boa constrictor. A noticeable locale would be your BCC's and your BCL's (just a couple). However, even within the BCC's, you have to have proof of which locality your BCC came from in order to call it by that particular name or you can only call it a BCC. You wouldn't be able to say, "this is my suriname" or "this is my guyanan" because you don't know which locality it came from. Sorry if this sounds confusing.

Here is a hypo for you. This is my Mirage, who is a Hypo Cyclone.


While not all hypos have the aberrant pattern this one does, hypo's typically have a bow tie pattern, always have reduced black (especially in the tail), and has a slightly different base color than your normal boa.

As for the jungle gene. Jungles can have aberrant patterns also but they also have this creamy color to their base tone and especially around the tail. On the tail you have this high creamy color that just makes the saddles stand right out. Many times there is a broken spear on their head (not always).

Here is a picture of my jungle for comparison:


The one thing you know for sure is you have a beautiful boa and it definitely has BCI in it.

Star

[rperry03]

Almost impossible to tell the locale without taking the word of the breeder. Looks a lot like one of mine which I believe is a colombian

[AndrewGeibel]

Looks like a normal BCI although I wouldn't be shocked about a BCIxBCO cross but there is no real way to tell for the most part.

[AliCat37]

Thanks for all the compliments everyone! He is quite a dashing guy.

@ Weird Science- Is a jungle a morph of BCI? Since I too didn't see any jungle traits in him I've just been calling him a BCI x BCO. Or if people ask I just say he's a boa constrictor. I usually am just asked by little kids anyway and they don't need to hear "well he's a this x this etc etc" haha. But like I said, it doesn't matter to me what he is.

While I did get him from a reputable breeder, he had also been given these guys to sell for someone else, so he only knows what he was told too.

[rperry03]

They could almost siblings!

[Evenstar]

If I had a child ask me what that snake was, I would answer, "it's a Boa Constrictor". That is absolutely true.

Normal BCI, not a hypo, very pretty snake.

And, yes, jungle is a morph of BCI. It is co-dominant which means it is usually dominant but is not always passed on to the offspring if only 1 parent is a jungle (I hope that made sense - it's late here...). On the other hand, Argentine is a locale (BCO). They are often darker in color and have lots of flecking in the pattern. They are also often quite large as adults.

To me, yours does look like he possibly could be a BCI x BCO. Either way, he is very pretty and has gorgeous eyes...

[MikeSchultz-d]

While it's entirely possible there's BCO in him, there's really nothing about the snake that would make me think it was one. But it's not that big of a deal in the end... you have yourself a inice pet boa there!