Central Americans

[herpkingdom]

I just adopted a CA boa. He was fine when we started handling him. He made a few bluff strikes. Now that he is in his new cage, he is all hissing and striking at the glass. I opick him up and he will strike at me, but with his mouth closed so he doesn't bite me. This is the first CA boa I have every had so I am not too familiar with their temperment, but if this is what it is be expected, this might be my last CA boa.

He is darker than my "normal" "redtail" boas, but I like the pattern. I plan on working with him to see if his attitude is just a adjustment thing to his new enviroment.

I won't go into the whole "redtail" not "redtail" debate. I am not that well versed in the different locales and species of boa so all I have is my opinion. And that is, Who cares! I can see if a person is selling commons as so called true redtails, but on this site we do not do that. Most of what is seen here is just people that breed their boas. They sell them as such,. Baby Boas. Not as true redails.
I would say only some of the people that have boas, know the difference between BCI and BCC. Heck, I didn't even know it and I have been dealing with reptiles for many years. So i don't expect a person posting about his CA redtail boa to know it isn't a "true" redtail.


But I digress....

I have 6 boas. Period. It doesn't matter to me what other people call them. They are just boas to me, with the exception of the CA. I couldn't tell you if the other 5 are BCI or BCC, and to me it doesn't matter. Sometimes the "mutt" makes a better pet anyway.
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	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.

[savannah_babe]

ha ha..good one brett! and yes, the greenies are beautiful, but evil looking when they strike, ill admit that. elisa got joe a couple of weeks ago. wouldnt stop bleeding. he was laughing about it though. shes a good snake over all. and is doing quite well, she eats good and i dont have a problem keeping her heat and humidity levels. im quite happy with her. as for the CA boas, i personally dont think they are "ugly." yes, there is a difference, but over all a snake is a snake. they all require care and are beautiful. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] ...to me any ways [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
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[Chaos_in_1983!]

Thanks a lot SteveP!, as many of you said I think all boas are beautiful, CA boas are a little more aggressive than others but when they get used to you they get a lot calmer....mine has calmed down a lot since I got her.... this is my first snake so I really don't have any personal refernces, and really who cares about the name everyboady knows what we're talking about when we say "Red Tail Boa", it's just a common name...

Some of you that mentioned you've seen blueish CA redtails...does any of you have a picture of one, I'd love to see one... I could maybe get another redtail if I find one of those...even though my mom hates snakes and says that I can't have anymore snakes ...[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

And Julius, awesome snake!, I love Emeralds... how much can one of those cost, I'm very intersted in getting one...are they hard to take care of??

One more thing, it's really hard for me to get mice, they don't sell them in pet stores here, what else can I feed Lola...??? Can I feed her thawed chunks of chicken? [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif[/img]
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[JuliusSqueezer]

You absolutly cannot feed your snake processed chicken from a grocery store. They require the organs of the animal they are eating as much as the flesh. They also require fur or feathers to properly digest (roughage)

How much are emeralds? hmm Anywhere from 300 to 3000 or more dollars depending on the snake in the US. I would think they would be much cheaper where you are but I really have no idea. I have 5. One female is an exceptional animal that I got a good deal on and would be willing to sell her for 500 bucks local. I have a pair that no money can buy ever. and another pair that were rescues and also can not be bought .....so sometimes it's hard to put a value on them. You can find w/c emeralds anytime you want to here for about 300-350 or so. But expect to pay out a good bit in vet care and they may or may not ever be suitable pets or even survive.
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[herm]

You might want to think about breeding your own rats.
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[cb76]

hey all,

yeah, there are other problems that are important, but i feel this is equally important and if people would start using a more correct term(s) instead of what is easiest- all will start to be better- I HOPE! this can go with anything in life too.

when i see people in the street or someone asks me a question, i tell them the correct info.
"hey, whats that?" i get, i reply "a mexican boa contrictor imperator from sonora" or what ever i draped on me at the time. its that easy.

this is mainly reguarding BOAS for me. i dont even wanna get on the colubrid thing. makes me sick. it seems if i want a real corn i have to catch it my self.

maybe you guys have better people by you- i can introduce you to some real stupid people selling redtail burms and argentine redtails. i can also show you a ton of people who buy tables at the local reptile expo who are selling blatant mutts. the beginner herper doesnt know anybetter.

you know the herp bug bites and bites hard! shoot, most of us breed on these forums. its something every one does.

i'm just trying to help. you do your thing, i'll do mine. i was just trying to help. there are a lot of boa collectors out there who want real boas, but when they type redtail, they ger all sorts of stuff.

either way julius had it right!



the greens are sweet!
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[Chaos_in_1983!]

Hey talking about Central American Boas, I´ve read somewhere that Corn Island Boas are different from the a boas found inland, is this true? what are the differences? Since I live in Nicaragua, hey are different from inland boas I just might make a trip to get one... and to do some diving which would be a bonus! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[SteveP]

If you do, grab me 2 or 3 also, while your there! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] (I wish!) I've been wanting to obtain a pair of "cornies", but they're a little hard to come by here in the States. From what I've read, aside from their smaller size they're otherwise similar to the mainland form in color, pattern and other characteristics. Having never seen Corn Island boas in habitat, nor their mainland cousins myself I couldn't say first hand. If you go you need to do a thorough photo-journalistic report for us here at RH!!! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[Chaos_in_1983!]

I'll make sure I bring lot's of pictures from my trip to Corn Island, but you'll have to wait till december! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[Chaos_in_1983!]

Anyone got picture's of Corn Island Boas?
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[RevMojo]

Are they smaller because of genetics, or due to food supply on the island?
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[SteveP]

I doubt some of the island boas would acheive quite the same length as their mainland counterparts but the steady, comparatively 'rich', diet of rodents we supply them in captivity, does contribute to a greater size than those in habitat. Also, not all insular snakes are smaller than their mainland cousins. See here for some research being done! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]