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Boa or python ?
- Thread starter Lewis25
- Start date
Joba
New member
It's really a personal preference, and also depends on what you want to do. There are an endless number of available morphs for balls; so, if fancy "paint jobs" are important to you, you might find more to your liking with balls. That said, there has really been an increase in the number of available boa morphs over recent years. There are some really amazing boas out there now.
Boas will generally get larger than balls, with males in the 6-7 foot range, and females in the 7-8 foot range and heavier bodied. Balls will generally stay in the 5 foot range or so.
We only have one ball and he's a good eater, but many people have finicky eaters in balls. Generally not so with boas. BCI are generally good eaters.
Notice I'm saying "generally" a lot? Individual results may vary!
Also, if breeding is in your future, or I should say, your snake's future, balls lay eggs while boas are live bearing. I don't breed and never will, but live bearing would probably be easier than dealing with incubation and hatching.
Full disclosure: I LOVE my boas. They're so mellow and good eaters and to me, there's no prettier snake out there. Good luck.
Boas will generally get larger than balls, with males in the 6-7 foot range, and females in the 7-8 foot range and heavier bodied. Balls will generally stay in the 5 foot range or so.
We only have one ball and he's a good eater, but many people have finicky eaters in balls. Generally not so with boas. BCI are generally good eaters.
Notice I'm saying "generally" a lot? Individual results may vary!
Also, if breeding is in your future, or I should say, your snake's future, balls lay eggs while boas are live bearing. I don't breed and never will, but live bearing would probably be easier than dealing with incubation and hatching.
Full disclosure: I LOVE my boas. They're so mellow and good eaters and to me, there's no prettier snake out there. Good luck.
insomniac101
Occupant
Do what I do; if you can't decide, why not both?
Joba made some good points. Balls can be picky feeders, and I'm glad my two are complete chow hounds. My boa never refuses, and she is one of my favorite snakes. There are so many cool morphs out there with both species - you should have no problem finding something you like.
Kathy
AliCat37
Michelle's Candied Corns!
As everyone else has said, it is entirely a personal choice.
I personally prefer my boa over EVERY other snake I have. If someone told me that I had to get rid of all but one snake, Dastan would stay. He by far has the biggest personality over any of the snakes. I love all of them, but there is just something about him..
I personally prefer my boa over EVERY other snake I have. If someone told me that I had to get rid of all but one snake, Dastan would stay. He by far has the biggest personality over any of the snakes. I love all of them, but there is just something about him..
Kokopelli
Resident Boa Fanatic
I prefer Boas' temperament over BP's... they are more active and alert... they are a joy to handle.
Boas will generally get bigger, unless you try and acquire a smaller locality(they are quite readily available nowdays).
Nicaragua Boas are hardly much bigger than an adult ball python, and more slender.
Morph-wise, I don't see the BP's advantage... sure, they have more named morphs, but a good share of them look practically the same, are still being worked out, and can possibly be the exact same gene with little difference from each other.
With Boas, well... the hypo gene alone can "generate" animals with colors ranging from red, through orange, to tan, brown, yellow, deep pink... they are incredibly polymorphic.
Breeding though? I have to side with BP's... Boas are a pain to breed. You don't know what's going on throughout... with BP's they either lay within 2 months or so or they don't... with Boas you might end up chewing your fingernails raw waiting until it is absolutely positive that the animal is in fact not going to bring any young. Another point to consider is long-term breeding... if working with morphs is a priority, you end up breeding Boas and getting ALLOT of young... forcing you to either hold back allot of babies of said desired morph, or sell babies you'd rather not under other circumstances.
You also can't work with -that- many pairs per season or you'll drown in babies.
BP's bring allot less young per breeding... allowing you to breed more pairs, thus getting more diversity.
It boils down to preference.
Boas will generally get bigger, unless you try and acquire a smaller locality(they are quite readily available nowdays).
Nicaragua Boas are hardly much bigger than an adult ball python, and more slender.
Morph-wise, I don't see the BP's advantage... sure, they have more named morphs, but a good share of them look practically the same, are still being worked out, and can possibly be the exact same gene with little difference from each other.
With Boas, well... the hypo gene alone can "generate" animals with colors ranging from red, through orange, to tan, brown, yellow, deep pink... they are incredibly polymorphic.
Breeding though? I have to side with BP's... Boas are a pain to breed. You don't know what's going on throughout... with BP's they either lay within 2 months or so or they don't... with Boas you might end up chewing your fingernails raw waiting until it is absolutely positive that the animal is in fact not going to bring any young. Another point to consider is long-term breeding... if working with morphs is a priority, you end up breeding Boas and getting ALLOT of young... forcing you to either hold back allot of babies of said desired morph, or sell babies you'd rather not under other circumstances.
You also can't work with -that- many pairs per season or you'll drown in babies.
BP's bring allot less young per breeding... allowing you to breed more pairs, thus getting more diversity.
It boils down to preference.
AliCat37
Michelle's Candied Corns!
No tanks for boas. It is best to buy them a cage specifically made for snakes out of some sort of plastic. I know some people use tanks with boas and get away with it, but it generally is not recommended. Glass doesn't insulate well and a screen top lets out too much heat and humidity.
TheFrogman
Im just old
Sorry so late, go Constrictor, everyone has BP's <just my opinion and I value everyone elses>
bryanb
New member
I prefer boas I know I am little late to this party but they are more active generally however you can get boas that are small to the point of living in a shoe box their entire life or you can get one that needs a 4x8x4 enclosure so please do your resource when picking if you want any help finding one that fits your needs just ask
TheFrogman
Im just old
Im late also, I love my Boa too
bryanb
New member
For the really high humidity snake (GTP) I have a misting system for the rest a humidifier in the room to keep it around 40%
Wamba681
New member
So far, I've gotta say, I love my boa. Much more active and enjoys being held more than my BPs do. Although when he doesn't want to be disturbed, he'll let me know! Hisses like crazy.
From what I've read: Sonoran, Nicaraguan, And cay caulker/hog island boas stay on the smaller side. Colombians, And Surinames tend towards the larger side. It's been known that sonoran and nicaraguan boas tend to be a bit more nippy/hissy. Which I see is true!
I have no humidity issues keeping my boas and balls in sterilite tubs. Perfect sheds so far. And that's in Arizona's dry climate.
From what I've read: Sonoran, Nicaraguan, And cay caulker/hog island boas stay on the smaller side. Colombians, And Surinames tend towards the larger side. It's been known that sonoran and nicaraguan boas tend to be a bit more nippy/hissy. Which I see is true!
I have no humidity issues keeping my boas and balls in sterilite tubs. Perfect sheds so far. And that's in Arizona's dry climate.
Joba
New member
Invest in an Animal Plastics, Boaphile, BoaMaster type PVC 4X2 cage. They're built to maintain perfect humidity. I just moved my first boa into an AP T8 and with just newspaper for substrate the humidity is sitting between 58-61 and barely ever moves a tick up or down: no annoying fluctuation, no misting. That's just better for your animals. They're awesome to heat as well. I have the flexwatt heat underneath with a hydrofarm thermostat, and while the on-off feature of the hydrofarm causes glass to fluctuate up to 4-5 degrees up and down as it turns on and off, the PVC holds that heat; so even though the thermostat and flexwatt are going up and down four degrees, the surface inside of of the PVC is not. Finally, they're very easy to clean, and very nice to look at. They stack beautifully; I can't wait to finish off my stack in a few weeks.