General questions and tips on BCI? (Or other species?)

[AbsoluteApril]

I'm hoping to stick with a snake that tops at 8 feet or under at adult size. How likely is that in a male BCI?

Males stay smaller than females, you're probably looking at 4-6' for an adult male. Smaller adult males can stay on medium rats, I have one big guy (original owner powerfed his pair), he's 18yrsold and gets one XL rat about once a month. Just around 6'. Island locales and Central American locales tend to stay smaller than their Colombian cousins. True red tail boas (BCc) will get larger and those are usually the ones you see in the 8-10'+ range.

How often have you been bitten by your adult (over 6 feet) BCI, and do you have pictures of the bite?

Was it due to your own mistake during feeding response, a defensive strike, or a random bite out of nowhere while just sitting around? Are BCI often unpredictable like that? How commonly does an unpredictable bite happen?

Been bitten lots of times but only a few times by adults but I wouldn't say it happens often. I will use hooks and shields (shields especially with a momma that just had a litter). Babies/Juvis are usually defensive bites. Here are pics of two adult bites, one 5' and one 7', smaller boa was a rescue and defensive bite. Adult was a stupid feeding error on my part. Two part pics - first is after it happened, second is after being cleaned. They feel like getting punched. Bleed a bit but really are not that bad and usually heal in a week. Defensive bites a lot of the time are closed mouth, they just want to scare you away, was an open mouth strike in the first pic that's why you can see a perfect outline of the mouth. SFE bites, like the bottom one, are full open mouth, grab and wrap which is why there are some 'rips' in my skin.

Are BCI often cage aggressive? Say... relative to ball pythons and dumeril's boas?

Depends on the snake. I hook train and don't handle my boas a ton, generally when I open the cage/tank/tub they are thinking food (or sleeping). I have BPs that will leap out of their tub thinking food is coming, so it really depends on the snake, how much you work with them and what they are used to. (IMO)

How is the temperament of your own BCI, and how old/how large are they? (for those who have a couple)

Mine are all generally fine, I have two that I don't trust very much no matter how much I work with them and I have some that are as docile as ever no matter what. They are all different. I have young ones only a few years old, a few in their teens and my oldest will be 27 this year. That oldest girl is approx. 8.5', most of the adults are in the 6' range (male and female).


Here is a silly vid I made 6 years ago with a variety of my babies. I get a quick little warning nip from one You can see how they are generally more 'squirmy' than BPs.
Hope some of this helps you out! I love boas!