Is my boa a BCI or BCC and how do you tell?

[jimijaw]

Thank you both for your help. It is appreciated. Jimi

[c.adamanteus]

Although I agree your snake looks like a BCI, I'm not so sure about the Colombian part. Colombian Boa as of late seems to be a generic term used improperly quite often these days.

I get the impression from looking at yours, of a more northerly CA origin than Colombia. Has to do with the tighter circles I think. Don't know how else to explain it. Something I've notice in a lot of CA boas.

This is a Colombian Boa



And another Colombian



Sorry, don't have a normal Colombian to give another example.
Rick

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[Darryl Nagy]

Ok in my houmble oppinion, nine times out of ten if you have to ask it's a B.c.i. I don't mean to sound rude but there is a large price difference between B.c.c & B.c.i

Because of that price difference B.c.c tend not be floating around and when you buy one you know it because of the price. Even if the seller isn't honest he/she would never try and sell a B.c.c as a B.c.i because it would not be worth it price wise to sell an expensive snake as a cheap one.

Now this is totally ignoring the whole Hybrid situation.

[olivetaffy]

Originally Posted by Stargazer

Well, I have one of each, and the differences are very obvious. The BCC is smoother, I guess because of a higher scale count, so the scales are smaller? The BCI has a thicker, more muscular body. The Guyanan is also much more sensitive and high strung (though when he gets comfy, he will lay on you forever). My little Colombian girl is not as sensitive and has more attitude. I take her out the most because it doesn't seem to stress her as much. Her coloring is much more brown, whereas he has the real mahogany and white pattern on his tail. All in all I have found the BCI much easier to care for because she always eats and is less sensitive. Her sheds are always perfect; she seems to need less humidity to get a good shed. But the BCC is a total lap snake.

haha my BCI is the exact same way. he's super hyper (and always has been even from when i picked him out from the litter) and takes a long time to calm down. he even keeps me up some nights moving around in his cage. i cant wait till he gets his own room lol

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[Conners]

Hi there,
I have just read this topic as I'm trying to ascertain which subspecies my 11 year old female is, so that I can pair her with a male of the same ssp.
I'd always believed she was BCI, but I'm less sure now for a number of reasons.
One source reports that in the case of BCIs, the "stripe" that runs along the top of a boa's head is bisected by another stripe that runs to the eyes. However, I've seen many snakes thought to be BCIs that have no such stripe - my female certainly doesn't.
The red in her tail is also very pronounced.
But the coup de grace is her size - at 12 feet 1 inch, she far exceeds what I'd understood to be the reported maximum for a BCI.
It has occurred to me that identifying 3rd or later generation captive bred animals as BCI or BCC may be pointless, because it's unlikely the people who bred the earlier generations made the distinction and pared the snakes up with partners of the correct ssp.
Surely it's more likely that a typical captive bred boa constrictor is a mix of BCC and BCI (unless it's one of the other subspecies that have more distinct differences)?
I think this will especially hold true where I live, in the UK, where wild caught animals are less readily available than in the Americas, and so the gene pool of boas on the market is a mixture of that from animals imported from all over South America and Mexico in the 70s.
What do people think? I am very interested in your thoughts.
Cheers
Conners

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[morti]

Hi Conners.

If you can post a picture of your snake, I am sure that we can hazard an educated guess about its subspecies and/or local, but you are absolutly right in that it could very easily be a cross.

[Conners]

Hi Morti,
Thanks very much, I really appreciate your help.
Attached are a few shots!
Conners

[mpgt]

Definitely a BCI. That's a big snake! Congrats.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.