New Member Looking For Suggestions and Info

[WrongPython]

I hate to be a downer, but I would mentally prepare for the September expo to be cancelled. The COVID-19 crisis won't be going away any time soon and social distancing measures may well be necessary for the rest of the year, if not longer.

That's not to say you wouldn't be able to get your boa, though! You'll probably just have to order any supplies you need online and potentially have your new boa shipped directly from the breeder. The shipping situation is a tad spotty right now, but not prohibitive. If you're uncomfortable buying a boa online without handling it first, do take the time to wait until expos re-start so you can pick out your snake in person. This is an animal you'll have for 20-30+ years, so make sure you're happy with the one you get!

Regarding Sonorans: as I said earlier, I adore mine! My female is particularly sweet, curious, and outgoing. She's a very active hunter and will cruise around her entire 4'x2'x2' when she's hungry and looking for food. She stuck to her hides for most of the winter, but is out more often during the day now that spring is here. She regularly hauls herself up to her basking shelf and has been using her other climbing ledges lately. I'm sure she'd use any climbing branches I'd give her -- I was actually planning on buying some at the next expo I went to, but COVID. She's not a burrower, though, and will only nestle down into her substrate a little when she's under a cork flat.

She was a bit shy with the occasional hiss when I brought her home at a month old, but she's very mellow now. Her temperament reminds me of a corn snake I worked with in the past. I've heard that others that Sonorans can be much hissier (and maybe feistier) as babies, but it seems to be more hiss than bite. I can count on one hand the number of time my girl tried to tag me, and most of them were food-related.

A 10-14 day feeding schedule would be appropriate for a young Sonoran. They don't grow as quickly as hybrid morph boas, and as such shouldn't be given as much food. My girl picked up a little bit of pudge and seemed to grow a bit too quickly on a 7-10 day feeding schedule, but has since become nice and trim and is on a roughly 14 day schedule.

Just so you know, there aren't any localities under "Sonoran." Sonoran is a locality of Boa sigma itself; the other B. sigma locality just so happens to be Tarahumara! There are a few Sonoran morphs out there, though. Said morphs are hypo, leopard (the morph originated in Sonorans), and anery (which is pretty rare on the market; the only person I know of who has them is Warren Booth, who first bred the morph). The world's only known pied boa is also B. sigma, but I'm not sure of the locality (and they won't be on the market for quite some time).

I think you'd love a Sonoran boa! They're wonderful boas and totally underrated in my opinion. If you have any additional questions, feel free to PM me. My Sonoran girl also has her own thread here, so feel free to check it out!