Bought as Childrens, now suspect Spotted

[BLM94]

I bought this as a late 2012 female Childrens Python, but after getting her home and seeing her in natural light I suspect she's actually a Spotted. She doesn't have the red tint most Childreni have, and the vendor claimed she would max out around 5 feet (incorrect for all Antaresia, but closer to Spotted range than Childrens). Doesn't really make a difference to me as I intend for her to only be a pet, but would just like come clarification.
Thanks in advance or any opinions!

[Tikall]

Not a python... It's a type of rainbow boa, but I'm not 100% on the subspecies.

[JLC]

Yeah....that's definitely a boa. Best guess, a Epicrates cenchria boa species. Probably a Colombian rainbow boa, but hard to tell for sure from those pictures. It's NOT an Australian python by any stretch.

[Capray]

That's a BRB! I think you got a deal for it if you bought it as a python.

[JLC]

That's a BRB! I think you got a deal for it if you bought it as a python.

Pretty sure it's not a Brazilian, unless it's in deep shed at the moment. But it's in the rainbow boa family, for sure.

[Tikall]

On top of color, the pattern is also incorrect for Brazilians (big side spots, this one has a lot of little spots). I was also thinking Columbian, but there are a few that look pretty close.

[BLM94]

Oh god. Now that I'm looking at the head pattern it is absolutely a rainbow boa of some sort. I'm also guessing Colombian, it is in pretty deep shed but there is absolutely no red pigmentation and as Tikall said the patterning suggests more Colombian than Brazilian.

I can't believe I slipped up this bad and thought that it was an aussie python, that's a hell of a mistake on my part, but also for the vendor who was completely off base advertising (and pricing it) as a Childrens. Time to contact the vendor.

[Xaila]

Glad I wasn't the only nutcase who thought "wait, that kinda looks like a rainbow boa..." when I was scrolling through the pics.

Looks like a Columbian rainbow boa to me...doesn't look like a Brazilian.

[BLM94]

Well I guess the bad news is that she's not at all what I had intended to purchase. She came from a vendor at the April 27 Hamburg show who didn't seem to have all his facts straight about the care, but she was just to calm and cute to say no to (while I was under the impression that she was a slightly unusual looking Childrens).
The good news is that she's still calm and cute, and just took a F/T fuzzie that I dropped in, and hasn't displayed any signs of juvenile nippiness that sometimes accompanies boas.

When I asked about humidity, the vendor said he took a half a cup of water and dumped it into the enclosure (aquarium) floor every 3-4 days and let it evaporate from the heat mat until all the sides had fogged up- essentially 100% humidity. That sounded like total BS. Rainbows are notorious for needing higher humidity, which isn't an issue as the Acu-Rite I have in her tub is reading 72%.

I just don't know how fast she'll grow- I was preparing for a small snake that would grow slowly, and this seems to change things.

[olstyn]

You'll want probably at least a 3'x2'x18" enclosure for her as an adult (a bit bigger might be better), and she could reach 6 feet in length, though she should remain relatively slender.

Obviously next time, you should take more care to be sure of what you're buying, but on the plus side, all rainbow boas have that awesome iridescence, so at least you can enjoy having a pretty snake for as long as you've got her. I don't want to get into trouble with the mods over recommending another forum, but in this instance, hopefully they'll forgive me, as it's in the interest of helping someone out: the folks over on the kingsnake.com rainbow boa board are, by and large, friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. If you have some questions about care that you can't find the answers for here, I'd suggest posting over there; several well-known rainbow breeders hang out there, and if you've got husbandry questions, they can set you straight.