Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
Your local pet store sounds like more of a "bad influence". Remember that pet stores are in the business of SELLING you pets & supplies, not necessarily teaching you what you need to know. I mean, if you buy a snake that grows very large, they'll be selling you lots of food for it, right? And larger cages when it out-grows them. Or if you buy the "wrong" one, maybe you'll be back for another "dream snake". There are lots of beautiful snakes in the world: some are great to live with, others are not. Their appearance should not be your primary reason for owning them (IMO)- you want a snake you can work with safely & one you'll enjoy interacting with, & one that you can afford. By the way, I've been living with lots of snakes for some 35 years now. A boa would be a much better choice for you & more than enough challenge- even if you still think those retics are prettier. While some boas get quite large, others do not, so it's best to buy from a reputable breeder who can give you a much better idea of the ultimate size to expect, based on the adult breeder snakes they have.

I had a BCI (boa) for a number of years- she was a rescue- unwanted after changing hands many times in her first year of life, each time getting more afraid & biting everyone defensively. I was NOT looking to get a large boa or any new snakes- I already had a houseful- but when my vet asked me if I knew anyone who'd take her in & wouldn't be afraid of all her biting, I knew I had to try. I knew she was just stressed & terrified, and with some patience on my part, she turned into a total sweetheart that never bit me even once- though she wanted to for the first month or two. I had to teach her not to fear me, so at first, I cuddled her in a towel, without letting her look out- in that way, she learned my touch & scent were safe & not hurting her. We are "huge scary monsters" to a snake- remember that snakes rely on instincts, & normally anything that picks one up in the wild is a predator about to eat them. She wasn't mean, just defensive. Once she accepted me "sight unseen", I let her peek out & get used to seeing me- it didn't take very long then for her to completely trust me.

Snakes know us by scent & touch, they don't recognize us very well by vision alone- in fact, they're most likely to bite us when we approach them: usually out of fear, because they don't know we aren't a predator until we make closer contact so they can recognize us, or because they're thinking "prey?" and we potentially fit the image of "warm & wiggling". Listen, I love that you're doing research, & you sound like a caring pet owner...we always need more like you. I just don't want you to make a big mistake. Snakes can live a very long time, & it's horrible for them if they have to be rehomed, it's frightening & stress even affects their survival. Zoos get offers daily from people with snakes like retics that they can't live with any more- they nearly always say "no thanks".


Can you tell me more about BCI since you are hanging around here already. I will definitely do more researches but if I move from BP to BCI, what are the first things that you think I should focus on. I am pretty good with space in my house (even a 10 ft cage is no problemo cause I literally have nothing the place I suppose to put my sofa (dont judge me)) but even if I do intent to put a sofa over there, I still have a comfortable space for a 6 ft (maybe it will fit 8ft but that is self-debatable). How should I start to socialize the BCI? What should I do when they get nippy? (for bp I do not mind them being nippy since they are tiny and I handle my guy almost everyday now, but a bigger Boa is definitely different). I do not have any other pet now, "my" catto and doggo are not mine anymore but that is ok because they love my mom more than me now . I saw you saying that you wrap them around tower, do you do it for weeks until she trust you or just a few days until she calm down? And where do you take her when she is sick? This is important to me cause my pet is like my life (I legit cried for a good 15 - 30 minutes when my pet European mantis died saying I don't want a pet anymore and look where I am now haha ). I am quite familiar with caging and feeding after owning my ball for a while but are there any special thing I need to focus more when it comes to BCI? Please rain me with your 35-year of knowledge. I rather be seen as being dumb for now than dumb for life