Questions for the biology types.

[WarriorPrincess90]

I wouldn't be bummed about having a BP. I have both and love both for different reasons. You could always get another snake. It happens to the best of us. As had been mentioned, it's quite addicting. I always want more!

Hog Island boas look similar to red tails if thats what youre looking for

What he's saying here, is if you want a boa but don't want the size, you could purchase a Hog Island or Caye Caulker boa (or other dwarf species). They have all the personality of a bigger boa, without the size. Ideal for someone with kiddos.

[Gio]

Mike,

It's called Boas and Pythons of The World. I'm thinking about getting a copy from Amazon.

I'm learning new stuff here too. I'm glad I asked this question.

I agree taking things on a snake by snake basis is a good idea. I do want to generalize a bit and also go from there.

Good point on birds and eggs and evolution. Live young do come with a set of issues unique to the situation.

Also don't get me wrong I like our little BP. I'd love to see here reach 5+FT and show her curiosity a bit more often. It's only been a week and just because I'm excited doesn't mean I need to rush out and get a 12 FT whatever. But the bigguns are very interesting. We had options for Kings, Corns and Milks and my son said B/P so that's what we're into.

Cheers,
Gio

[ball python 22]

http://www.riobravoreptiles.com/boas_island.htm

Here is a link to a couple of dwarf boas with a little bit of information on them.

[Gio]

Thanks, I liked the dwarf red tail.

I think I'll be totally thrilled if our little female B/P hits 5FT. For us, that would be a big snake, and we were looking for the 4.5 to 6FT range, with a nice attitude.

If we get that I'm sure we'll all be happy.

But a 6-8 FT something would be pretty cool I gotta say.

[Mike41793]

Thanks, I liked the dwarf red tail.

I think I'll be totally thrilled if our little female B/P hits 5FT. For us, that would be a big snake, and we were looking for the 4.5 to 6FT range, with a nice attitude.

If we get that I'm sure we'll all be happy.

But a 6-8 FT something would be pretty cool I gotta say.

Most male red tail boas stay in the 6-8foot range. A male bigger than that would be very rare

[Gio]

See,,,,,,,

now there you go tempting me : ) Well let's pretend our B/P is gonna be a 5 footer and the kids and I will be in total awe about the size and girth.

My wife would not be happy, at this point if we had something she new was going to be big. But I think secretly she is starting to like the new girl here. Very secretly.

[Vypyrz]

Thanks, I liked the dwarf red tail.

I think I'll be totally thrilled if our little female B/P hits 5FT. For us, that would be a big snake, and we were looking for the 4.5 to 6FT range, with a nice attitude.

If we get that I'm sure we'll all be happy.

But a 6-8 FT something would be pretty cool I gotta say.

Boa Constrictor Imperators from the following locales will normally be in the size range that you are considering:

-Panama
-Costa Rica
-Nicaragua
-Cancun
-Tarahumara
-Tamaulipas
-Caye Caulker
-Cayos Cochinos (Hog Island)
-Pearl Island
-Corn Island
-Sonora

Some others worth mentioning are:

-Dumerils Boa (male)
-Jungle Carpet Python (male)
-Iriyan Jaya Carpet Python

[Anatopism]

Just contributing to the idea that there is a huge range of reactiveness/alertness between individuals. I would say my carpet python is the most 'intelligent' but I don't have any sort of measurement used to come to this conclusion. She may just have the most sophisticated set of instincts. She is is the best at sneaking away unnoticed, can shoot 3 feet through plants and sticks to hit any rat in the perfect spot every time (always on the neck or over the eyes on the head), and it is amazing watching her eat a rat dangling in the air.

The dumeril's reacts instantly to the smell of rat in the room, but seems to have pretty horrible eyesight. She wont grab a rat until it's touching her on the nose, but she overcomes any issue with grabbing it strangely by just slamming it hard and using brute force.

The Balls have a pretty big range, some hit their rats with finesse, others are sloppy.. some find every possibly flaw in an enclosure to get out, others are perfectly content just to stay put.

Hard to measure intelligent in any animal that spends most of it's time with an extremely restricted environment, not only in captivity, but also in the wild. They don't need to be smart to survive, they just need to react appropriately to their environment.

[Vypyrz]

I would think that alot depends on the snakes natural environment. For snakes, like BP's, that live mostly in the ground, and are primarily ambush predators, would have a more highly developed sense of heat detection and smell. Whereas arboreal and semi-arboreal species, that more actively hunt their prey in trees, or from low hanging branches, would have better vision. The fact that they are atracted to, and track motion, could make them seem more alert and intelligent. Ball Pythons, on the other hand, are just as alert, it's just that they don't have to move their head, because they can sense your location and movement because of their more prominent labial pits, which give them a 180 degree view.

[Gio]

Those are good points. I may see if I can actually find any studies on intelligence levels among pythons and boas.

It's interesting that marine biologists have done extensive work with octopi and found them to be very intelligent. I would like to find something similar with the pythons and boas.

I did mention the additional bone in the head of pythons vs boas. But I did not find where it was located or what it was for. Does anybody know? I just read they had 1 and an extra row of teeth.

My guess is that if I want anything beyond the O'shea book, I'll have to find a herp/herp biology book for a look further into the mysteries of the snakes we enjoy so much.

Was the conclusion that B/P's had decent vision, or was it the heat sensing and smell they relied on? I could swear I've seen our little BP's head out, then pop down when somebody comes into my son's room.

Thanks to all with insight. I'm enjoying the discussion and am learning from everybody here.