texastailfeathers said:
Sooo...are
you going to pay to have her boyfriend shipped to me at breeding time or am I?
I don't know why I keep saying she's Colombian...or even why I say she's female. I got her from a doofus of a kid that didn't know a snake from a poke in the eye. She could have been a poodle for all he knew.
I will count the saddles. I will also try to get her sexed for certain. Thanks for the info, Chris!
According to what I have read(which may be wrong...I can't be sure...) Colombian Boas are always BCI...there are no BCC native to Colombia. Also...BCC's are the "true" red tails. Combine those two pieces of information, and you have to realize that there really is no such thing as a Colombian Red Tail Boa...surprise, surprise. Apparently, the term "red tail boa" is a trade name that is not specific to the species of boa, yet the term scientifically applies to BCC, not BCI. BCC are larger(on average) than BCI. All of this information has been gleaned from various on-line resources, as well as the book "The Boa Constrictor Manual" by Philippe DeVosjoli, who also wrote "The Art of Keeping Snakes".
Of course, with such a lack of specialization in boa breeding, many "petshop" animals are interbred between BCC and BCI, as well as Hogg Island, and other various boa species...most of whom have reddish tails, and similar markings.
Other distinctive characteristics that seperate BCC from BCI are the ventral pattern(BCC tend to have a much heavier "grain" pattern to their ventrals, while BCI tend to have a small spattering of black flecks...if any), and the presence of "widow's peaks" on the saddle, where the center of the saddles draw upwards on both sides, creating a "three-pronged" look to each edge of the saddle(top and bottom). Both of these are less sure than the saddle counts, but if you can combine the three characteristics...you can feel fairly confident in your identification...though admittedly, my BCI has "widow's peaks" on the saddles...
Just make sure that during the saddle count, you stop counting directly above the vent, and not down the tail. Start at the first saddle on the neck, and count the saddle directly over the vent, and you should have an accurate count.
FWIW...if you keep it, and it DOES turn out to be a girl...we could work something out, I'm sure...
