Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,948

0 members and 2,948 guests
No Members online
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,031
Threads: 248,489
Posts: 2,568,446
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, isismomma
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 17

Thread: BCI growth

  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran SilentHill's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-06-2019
    Location
    Adams Co, PA
    Posts
    335
    Thanks
    104
    Thanked 454 Times in 185 Posts
    Images: 3

    BCI growth

    hello. i haven't been able to find any information on WHEN they stop growing, only how big they usually end up. anyone know the average age they reach their full size? thank you!
    Gargoyle Geckos: Gorey, Gremmie, Ouija, Gojira, Bacon Bit, Penny, Wednesday
    Crested Geckos: Eggs, Triscuit, Creature & Waffles
    Leopard Geckos: Rhubarb, Pepper and Clementine
    Cal Kings: Bones & Violet
    Corn snakes: A sh*tload
    Trans-Pesos: 1.1 No names
    BPs: Charlie (super pastel), Bodhi (pied), Finn (GHI Mojave), Dublin (fire bumblebee), Falkor(mystic potion), Letty (pewter), Jameson
    BCI Boa: Specter (Fineline morph)
    SnuSnu the cat, Corbin the pit bull, Juniper the mini aussie & Lily the setter mix
    One little special needs bearded dragon P. Sherman
    Black African House Snakes: 1.1 No names
    Northern Pines: 1.1 No names
    Four skinks, one of which is named Gator & Basil the mini-lop rabbit


    'everything was beautiful and nothing hurt' - vonnegut.

    www.facebook.com/SilentHillReptiles

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran MarkL1561's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-31-2015
    Posts
    401
    Thanks
    435
    Thanked 605 Times in 224 Posts

    Re: BCI growth

    Snakes never stop growing they significantly slow down at about 4 years of age. Although I’m not an expert on boas by any means. I got my first boa in January and have had similar questions. From the research I’ve done and by reaching out on here, it seems that there’s a wide range. Different localities grow to different sizes and age of sexual maturity may differ slightly between sub-species. Other than locality/genetics feeding is what controls their growth rate and overall size. Over feeding a boa can drastically increase their growth rate and size but has severe negative effects on health. Although to maybe answer your main question, they reach adult size in about 3-4 years but continue to grow throughout their lives. Again not an expert so if I’m wrong feel free to correct me guys.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    BPnet Senior Member AbsoluteApril's Avatar
    Join Date
    03-05-2014
    Location
    Utah
    Posts
    2,080
    Thanks
    2,325
    Thanked 2,605 Times in 1,296 Posts
    Boas never stop growing, it just slows *way* down once they reach maturity. I adopted a 9yr old and she was 5.5', by her death at 28yrs she was just about 8'.

    Common boas will reach adults size by about 5-6 years old ideally, average 6-8', usually closer to 6. Heavier feeding (power feeding) can make them grow larger, faster but isn't really healthy for them.
    Overall the larger the food, the larger they might get although genetics plays a factor as well. Most of my adult males stay in the 5' range because I give them medium rats and small rabbits instead of my females which get larges and jumbos and larger rabbits and are usually 6-6.5'

    Hope this helps
    ****
    For the Horde!

  4. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to AbsoluteApril For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (09-17-2019),Gio (09-17-2019),RickyNY (09-21-2019)

  5. #4
    Bogertophis's Avatar
    Join Date
    04-28-2018
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    20,183
    Thanks
    28,085
    Thanked 19,740 Times in 11,797 Posts
    I'll echo the same thing: all snakes grow their whole lives, but they slow way down, the older they get. They grow, so they shed...& those sheds get further & further
    apart. I've had snakes that only shed about every year to year & a half, so obviously they didn't add much length.

    The BCI I had, I took in as a yearling, & it seemed to take "forever" for her to reach 6'. Actually it was about 7 years, and by the time she was 12-13 years old she was
    7 1/2' long. She was about 8' when she passed at age 18. (she lived her last 5 years with friends of mine that were into bigger snakes)
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to Bogertophis For This Useful Post:

    Gio (09-17-2019)

  7. #5
    BPnet Royalty Gio's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-28-2012
    Location
    Minneapolis
    Posts
    4,724
    Thanks
    6,879
    Thanked 6,571 Times in 2,984 Posts
    There are different factors involved.

    Breeding, feeding frequency, prey size, external/environmental factors also play a role.

    If you caught April's post you may have noticed she had a 28 year old boa. Not only is that a wonderful, long life, it is a sign of an excellent keeper. I don't see many folks with truly old boas.

    One quote I really like by Gus Rentfro goes like this. "In nature, the largest boas are the oldest boas."

    His point was people can power feed a boa up to a certain large size and it will ultimately die early and never reach its true size potential but the successful boas in the wild eat infrequently, grow slowly and don't die early due to over eating. Those are the ones that end up big, depending on the subspecies.

    This is a 7 year old, male locality BCI. A Barranquilla, Colombian that was bred by Gus Rentfro.





    He is 7 feet long or just under. He's a good sized boa, but not huge.

    He may be larger than the average male and that may be due to the fact he doesn't have any female boas to cue off of in the house.

    I feed him monthly, or a little more frequently in the summers.

    He does not eat from about mid to late October until late March or early April.

    If you want to get an idea of what size your boa will end up, look at both parents and estimate from there.

    Never be in a rush to have a big boa, they get there when they get there.
    Last edited by Gio; 09-17-2019 at 05:09 PM.

  8. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Gio For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (09-17-2019),EL-Ziggy (09-17-2019),MarkL1561 (09-18-2019),richardhind1972 (09-18-2019),WrongPython (09-18-2019)

  9. #6
    Bogertophis's Avatar
    Join Date
    04-28-2018
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    20,183
    Thanks
    28,085
    Thanked 19,740 Times in 11,797 Posts
    And I agree...I made a point of not over-feeding that BCI, & I feel bad but suspect my friends fed her more than I recommended...it was just out of my hands.
    She was a rescue that I never planned to have & that no one else wanted...I only re-homed her because her size became more than I wanted to deal with...I had
    hoped (to no avail) that she'd stay smaller.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  10. #7
    BPnet Veteran MarkL1561's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-31-2015
    Posts
    401
    Thanks
    435
    Thanked 605 Times in 224 Posts

    Re: BCI growth

    Quote Originally Posted by Gio View Post
    There are different factors involved.

    Breeding, feeding frequency, prey size, external/environmental factors also play a role.

    If you caught April's post you may have noticed she had a 28 year old boa. Not only is that a wonderful, long life, it is a sign of an excellent keeper. I don't see many folks with truly old boas.

    One quote I really like by Gus Rentfro goes like this. "In nature, the largest boas are the oldest boas."

    His point was people can power feed a boa up to a certain large size and it will ultimately die early and never reach its true size potential but the successful boas in the wild eat infrequently, grow slowly and don't die early due to over eating. Those are the ones that end up big, depending on the subspecies.

    This is a 7 year old, male locality BCI. A Barranquilla, Colombian that was bred by Gus Rentfro.





    He is 7 feet long or just under. He's a good sized boa, but not huge.

    He may be larger than the average male and that may be due to the fact he doesn't have any female boas to cue off of in the house.

    I feed him monthly, or a little more frequently in the summers.

    He does not eat from about mid to late October until late March or early April.

    If you want to get an idea of what size your boa will end up, look at both parents and estimate from there.

    Never be in a rush to have a big boa, they get there when they get there.
    Beautiful boa!! I was curious as to why you don’t feed in the winter if you’re not breeding him? I’m assuming you’re simulating a winter torpor but I’m wondering what are the benefits to doing that? If temps remain constant in the enclosure year round is that still needed? The sources I’ve read so far haven’t mentioned doing that.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to MarkL1561 For This Useful Post:

    Gio (09-18-2019)

  12. #8
    BPnet Royalty Gio's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-28-2012
    Location
    Minneapolis
    Posts
    4,724
    Thanks
    6,879
    Thanked 6,571 Times in 2,984 Posts

    Re: BCI growth

    Quote Originally Posted by MarkL1561 View Post
    Beautiful boa!! I was curious as to why you don’t feed in the winter if you’re not breeding him? I’m assuming you’re simulating a winter torpor but I’m wondering what are the benefits to doing that? If temps remain constant in the enclosure year round is that still needed? The sources I’ve read so far haven’t mentioned doing that.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I’m following what Gus does/did with his and what their natural habitat offers.
    I actually do provide a seasonal temp drop, less hours of daylight and slightly less humidity.
    Even without that, many boas will change their behavior in the winter months. The benefits are a long lived and healthy BC.
    There certainly are other ways to do things however the 2 leading boa constrictor authorities in the world recommend following a seasonal change. One being Gus Rentfro and the other, his good friend Vincent Russo.

    A friend of mine from this board who used to speak with Gus often also recommended a winter break.
    He has 2 Pokigron Suri boas directly from Gus.
    Thanks for the kind words about my boa.
    His health and appearance are related to the care he gets here.

  13. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Gio For This Useful Post:

    MarkL1561 (09-18-2019),richardhind1972 (09-18-2019)

  14. #9
    BPnet Veteran MarkL1561's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-31-2015
    Posts
    401
    Thanks
    435
    Thanked 605 Times in 224 Posts

    Re: BCI growth

    Quote Originally Posted by Gio View Post
    I’m following what Gus does/did with his and what their natural habitat offers.
    I actually do provide a seasonal temp drop, less hours of daylight and slightly less humidity.
    Even without that, many boas will change their behavior in the winter months. The benefits are a long lived and healthy BC.
    There certainly are other ways to do things however the 2 leading boa constrictor authorities in the world recommend following a seasonal change. One being Gus Rentfro and the other, his good friend Vincent Russo.

    A friend of mine from this board who used to speak with Gus often also recommended a winter break.
    He has 2 Pokigron Suri boas directly from Gus.
    Thanks for the kind words about my boa.
    His health and appearance are related to the care he gets here.
    Very cool! I’ll definitely do some more digging into this. It looks to be working well with your boa!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  15. The Following User Says Thank You to MarkL1561 For This Useful Post:

    Gio (09-18-2019)

  16. #10
    BPnet Royalty Gio's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-28-2012
    Location
    Minneapolis
    Posts
    4,724
    Thanks
    6,879
    Thanked 6,571 Times in 2,984 Posts

    Re: BCI growth

    Quote Originally Posted by MarkL1561 View Post
    Very cool! I’ll definitely do some more digging into this. It looks to be working well with your boa!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Read the Complete Boa Constrictor by Vin Russo. He goes into some detail about how boas grow more when they are off food. He mentions Eugene Bassett and his work with boas.
    If Morelia Radio is still around on YouTube, Vin and Nick Mutton also spend time on the subject.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1