Questions about Hog Island Boas

[CloudtheBoa]

@CloudtheBoa: Thank you so much for the size comparison images, that is super helpful! I have to admit a 7 foot snake still looks pretty intimidating to me. Maybe there is a part of me that still hasn't fully let go of a wariness toward large snakes. I have never handled a snake that size and in my head I think I just have this fear that the snake would be strong enough to hold onto me with enough force that I might not be able to get it off, or at least not without hurting it.

The male boa does look more manageable than the female since it's less girthy, though. Also I love how they both seem perfectly chill about being lifted into the air like that and they look comfortable and curious. Both beautiful snakes, thank you for sharing

Thanks for the info about the feeding as well, I hadn't considered that the Hog Island size could be attributed to the availability of prey on the Hog Islands. That makes a lot of sense.

Nah, they’re very manageable at this size. If you’re uncomfortable, it’s not unreasonable to have another person around then. Snakes, even large snakes, can be easy to get off so long as you have the hands and do it properly.

They are heavy if you aren’t used to it, though. If you get a baby you’ll grow with it, and get used to its weight as it grows slowly. I power fed the male on accident when he was young, so he reached 6’ by 3 years old, but normally you wouldn’t see that for a good 4-6+ years. The female is 11 years old, and was slow grown by her breeder. So even if they get bigger than you currently want, you have time.

The male is quite used to being handled, but the female has taken a lot of work to get her to the point I was comfortable measuring her, and she was comfortable enough to not mind using me as a tree. Haha When I first got her, she was intent on staying off of me and did not like me to touch her at all. Handling boas is definitely an experience, and a rewarding one.

Dwarves, such as Tarahumara, Crawl Cay, etc. should stay small no matter how you feed. There are some genetic lines that get bigger (even when pure), which I see from time to time mostly in Nics. Most Nics are also small, but they’re more likely to get big and are as commonly bred into “Colombians” as Hogs tend to be. But pures aren’t hard to find.


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