What kind of Boa do we have?!

stlavsa · #1 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:00 AM

The boa was purchased just as a Red Tail Boa. No specifics given. I am new to this. How do you know the differences between the different morphs etc. I dont know the difference between B.C.C. and B.C.I. Can anyone explain that. Can you tell me what I have from the pics? Thanks.

Also how old is the snake its about 2.5 feet long and eats small adult mice.

dhonaker · #2 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:03 AM

pics dident work

louise · #3 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:03 AM

i only see RED Xs.

dhonaker · #4 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:07 AM

its a bci

louise · #5 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:09 AM

yep a very cute bci

dhonaker · #6 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:11 AM

a good site on all the info to about diffrent localties and drifance betwine bci and bcc is riobravoreptiles.com

stlavsa · #7 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:14 AM

wow i must say i have never seen a forum get this many replies so fast. I didnt even get time to fix the red x's!

Thanks for the link and the compliments. It is very cute. Its very pink right now but you cant tell from pics.

stlavsa · #8 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:16 AM

Any guess on the age? Its about 2.5 feet long maybe a tad longer. It eats a small adult mouse about twice a week.

dhonaker · #9 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:21 AM

id guess around 6 months but it could older or younger most defentley under a year
and welcome to the site lots of good people here feel free to ask any ? you have

stlavsa · #10 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 06:29 AM

thanks

Demona · #11 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 07:10 AM

why are you feeding it twice a week?

I agree with above, looks like a BCI,
another good website is Boa constrictor Page

tbowman · #12 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 07:23 AM

♣Great Boa♣

stlavsa · #13 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demona

why are you feeding it twice a week?

I agree with above, looks like a BCI,
another good website is Boa constrictor Page

Thats what we were told they were feeding it @ the place where it was purchased. It was bought at a place called the enclosure that specializes in reptiles (mostly venomous breeding it seems.) IT seemed like alot to me. I have cut it back to about every 5 days. Any recommendations for how often i should be feeding it a small adult mouse?

kemocut · #14 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 05:37 PM

i'd stick with a seven day feeding schedule at that size.

JuliusSqueezer · #15 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 05:52 PM

It's a BCI but looks to be a mixture of locales. The tight grouping of the saddles and the redness of them suggests Central American (possibly Nicaraguan) but the background color doesn't jive with typical Central Americans...Looks a bit Colombian so my guess is CA x Colombian but it's really not a cross breed since both of those locales are BCI (Boa constirctor imperator). Unless you know the parents and where all their ancestors came from backed up to when they were wildcaught, there's no way to KNOW exactly what locale and without that knowlege, you can't really make a claim on it. The looks somewhat suggests a few things and points to a couple but to what degree and what else could be in the mix somewhere?

dhonaker...the difference in BCC and BCI is not all there is to consider when trying to figure out a locale or subspecies. These are only 2 of many possibilities. This is exactly the same as Hank Hill asking his Asian neighbor who's from Laos if he's "Chinese" or "Japanese".

Slithers · #16 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 07:06 PM

"I'M LAOTIAN!!!"

I love that show.

nice bci (looks sorta like a c.a./nic) as mentioned already

I would guess 6-8 months old or so...

1x a week should be good until about the metabolism slows down (then its 1x every 2 weeks)

stlavsa · #17 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JuliusSqueezer

It's a BCI but looks to be a mixture of locales. The tight grouping of the saddles and the redness of them suggests Central American (possibly Nicaraguan) but the background color doesn't jive with typical Central Americans...Looks a bit Colombian so my guess is CA x Colombian but it's really not a cross breed since both of those locales are BCI (Boa constirctor imperator). Unless you know the parents and where all their ancestors came from backed up to when they were wildcaught, there's no way to KNOW exactly what locale and without that knowlege, you can't really make a claim on it. The looks somewhat suggests a few things and points to a couple but to what degree and what else could be in the mix somewhere?

dhonaker...the difference in BCC and BCI is not all there is to consider when trying to figure out a locale or subspecies. These are only 2 of many possibilities. This is exactly the same as Hank Hill asking his Asian neighbor who's from Laos if he's "Chinese" or "Japanese".

Thanks thats the kind of reply I was hoping to get. Atleast I now have a general Idea of what his markings indicate.

And I plan on going with the seven day feeding schedule. When do they tend to slow on the metabolism. I'm sorry for asking these basic questions im sure there is a sticky somewhere but I just looking for several opinions. Thanks again for the great replies.

SoberGuy · #18 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 08:43 PM

As for feeding, try to switch to rats. A good rat will be about as big around as the biggest part of your boa. If she's about 2.5 feet, you can probably switch to every 10 or 12 days if you get her the right sized rats. Rats have stronger, thicker bones, so they've got more calcium and are just more nutritious all in all. BTW, most folks will recommend feeding frozed/thawed rats, or at least fresh killed rats. If you need some help with that, or explanation, just ask away.

And don't worry about asking questions. We all have to learn somehow and sometime, so it's better to ask a lot of questions. You'll find folks here are really willing to help out whenever we can.

stlavsa · #19 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 09:10 PM

I dont think it could handle a rat. its about as big around as an adult mouse at its fattest part. I dont think the snake is underfed because they were giving it two a week or so they say.

JuliusSqueezer · #20 (**permalink**) 12-23-2006, 09:42 PM

There is a rat size for every stage of your snake's life...till it might do better at some point on rabbits. Pink rats work great for their first meal. Think about it. Pink rats don't suddenly wake up one day the size of your fist. They grow gradually. If your snake is currently on adult mice, fuzzy rats should be about right. The calcium thing has more to do with the stage of development of the feeder. Young rats still breast feeding and developing new bone growth are going to be richer in calcium and other minerals than a rickety old adult mouse. To be fair, later in life you will find that young rabbits are better though a little higher in fat content than old rats.

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