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Boa Question

Pal-O-Mine

Pal-O-Mine

New member
So I was at a show yesterday with a friend and my friend shocked me and came home with a baby red-tailed boa. Seems to be a very slow, sweet kinda gal. But I understood that one: they only ate live and two: had a penchant for being mean tempered. But then again I know nothing about boas unless they're sand boas. So please educate me gang! Just curious.

Devon
 
Boas are like trash compacters. They don't really care what they eat and the Red Tails are usually very chill. Did your friend get a Columbian, Peruvian, Suriname? My Columbian is the most chill snake I have and she loves to be handled and out of her enclosure. :D

I know the Emerald and Green tree varieties are kinda on the mean side and don't usually like to be handled from reading I have done. Which is a shame because they are some of the prettiest boas. :(
 
I THINK its a Columbian? Its really gray. ( Please show me pics. ) The breeder said that he's never fed them anything but f/t.

Devon
 
Boas are great.I just sold all mine(very heartbreaking), a food cost thing(doctor/hospital bills got too high and family has to come first).
I love love love boas.Bci are the calmest and most easy going snakes around.All mine ate only frozen/thawed. Some of the BCC or true redtails are a little more skittish as babies and can put up a show but will calm down with age.I didnt really get into the BCC, they can get bigger and be more picky with eating.
Its really better if they dont get it started on live, I think it makes for a calmer snake when they eat prekilled.(my opinion)

I guess it all depends on what kind of boa your friend got too.

I only kept one of my pythons((too aggressive to sell) and one boa( a small male BRB).I will miss my big babies.
 
I am so sorry to hear it joann! :( I just have my baby Hypo Colombian RTB but would hate to part with her. BTW, the BRB's are beautiful! I would have gotten one but I wanted one of the bigger ones. :D

The Colombians are the BCI's (there are several other subspecies for BCI but Colombians are the most common) and they are very chill snakes. They don't really care what they eat! Mice, Rats, Rabbits, Chicks, Quail, Etc.....

Here is a couple of pics of my Hypo girl. Your friend's will be noticeably grayer due to still having the black pigments and the black borders will be more pronounced (hypos have the black pigment bred out of them as much as possible).

IMG_20110726_105632.jpg


IMG_20110726_103643.jpg
 
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Very pretty.I love them when they are soo small like that.I probably will never have any big snakes again.I cant take the risk of having to give them up..But corns are the next best snake in the world(sorry guys, boas will always take the number one spot for me)..


Sorry I must have posted same time as you PAL, if its a bci and fed F/t so your good to go.Give it time to adjust(a few weeks, be patient) and have a few good meals before handling.And then your friend will have a great pet.
Best advice Id give is to touch train them.I did with all mine and never had to worry about an accidental bite.Just use a hook or other long pole type thingy and touch the snake until it starts tongue flicking or noticeably wakes up.Then pick them up.Dont touch when feeding( I never fed outside the cage).They learn the difference really quick.
Touch means handling, no touch means food.
 
Just take note regarding fat toxicity.
Boas respond poorly to high fat diet- so they should be given young adult rats/mice rather than retired breeders(older rodents develop more fat than muscle tissue)
 
Very good point Kokopelli! :D Just like other Boids boas are prone to obesity so you need to watch their diet closer. :)
 
grankin01 said:
Very good point Kokopelli! :D Just like other Boids boas are prone to obesity so you need to watch their diet closer. :)
Click to expand...

I am not referring to Obesity... I am referring to actual Toxicity...

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89321&highlight=zucker

The photo from the original post is now offline... so here's some newer ones:

A Boa after losing it's color:

wirdy.jpg


And after several months of recovery:

IMG_1300.jpg


In many cases though(most I encountered), after the color loss, the Boa does not survive.
 
Thanks Kokopelli! As you weren't aware of it then this is news to me now. I will definitely be watching for this in the future when she begins to eat larger meals. No retired breeders for this BCI owner. :D

BTW, I am pm'ing you with a question, if that's okay. :)
 
Boas are wonderful! I currently have a little Salmon Colombian girl (Salmon is a line of Hypo). She's the sweetest little thing, and, of course, pounds f/t no problem... Not a big surprise for boas. ;)

The biggest pit fall of boas is their size. For one person alone, they can be a handful. The max size of a Colombian boa will be around 6-10 ft on average, with the males being smaller than females. If you can handle the size issue, though, they are wonderful pets. I currently work at a pet store, and we have an about 8-9 ft female Colombian there. She is SUCH a nice snake. Thanks to her, my dad is now pining after a "big" boa and can't wait until my baby girl grows up. Lol!

On the diet issue, one thing I've noticed is that my boss feeds the big girl at the store strictly birds--f/t quail, if I remember right--for the low fat content, and recommends the same to anyone owning a bigger boa who comes into the store. I'm not sure of the merits of a bird-only diet for a big boa, but, looking at the big gal, she's the picture of health, has great muscle tone, and is still growing, so maybe there's something to that for the bigger boas who are just a little "too big" for smaller rats? :)
 
Floof said:
Boas are wonderful! I currently have a little Salmon Colombian girl (Salmon is a line of Hypo). She's the sweetest little thing, and, of course, pounds f/t no problem... Not a big surprise for boas. ;)

The biggest pit fall of boas is their size. For one person alone, they can be a handful. The max size of a Colombian boa will be around 6-10 ft on average, with the males being smaller than females. If you can handle the size issue, though, they are wonderful pets. I currently work at a pet store, and we have an about 8-9 ft female Colombian there. She is SUCH a nice snake. Thanks to her, my dad is now pining after a "big" boa and can't wait until my baby girl grows up. Lol!

On the diet issue, one thing I've noticed is that my boss feeds the big girl at the store strictly birds--f/t quail, if I remember right--for the low fat content, and recommends the same to anyone owning a bigger boa who comes into the store. I'm not sure of the merits of a bird-only diet for a big boa, but, looking at the big gal, she's the picture of health, has great muscle tone, and is still growing, so maybe there's something to that for the bigger boas who are just a little "too big" for smaller rats? :)
Click to expand...

She can look great, but the real test is when and if she's willing to breed. You may be very surprised.

From personal experience- it is the leaner females and males that prove to be the most fertile and successful breeders.
 
Spent all day with my friend and yes, the boa IS a Columbian. Her name is Dahlia. She's got very interesting eyes!

Devon
 
I think your friend will love her new little boa... Mine has a really laid back temperament right now, she's been great. She was eating live when I got her and the last feeding was her first f/t. It took her a little while to accept a f/t but three of my live eaters ate f/t this last feeding.

Tell your friend that if she doesn't take a f/t when it's first offered to her to heat up it really hot and dangle it with tongs. They wouldn't take them warmed up but when they were hot they ate them up!

I love their eyes too, they look so interesting :)
 
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