My boas are some of my favorite snakes, they have great personalities. My carpet is a handful though, hes bitey. If you're looking to set up a great display, I would lean towards the carpet, because of their slender bodies and arboreal tendencies, you can make something that looks really cool. For handling I would go with a boa, but this is just my experience, each snake is different, and your carpet may not be hard to tame at all.