Boa Constrictor Imperator (BCI) is usually
considered "the common Boa" it's wide-ranging, living in both Central
America as well as the northern end of South America. This is why, the appearance of this sub-species varies greatly depending on the specific locality.
For
example, the Hog Island Boa and the Central American Boa are
significantly different. The Hog Island is a rusted orange with an
orangish tail as apposed to the buck skin Columbian Boa which has a red
tail. The Central American Boa while similar in color and pattern to the
Columbian Boa, is a good amount smaller and is sometimes referred to as
a dwarf Boa.
The Columbian Boa is by far the most
popular Boa Constrictor within the pet trade. In fact, it was the pet
trade that originally mis-labled the BCI, "Columbian Red Tail Boa".
Truth is, it's BCC or Boa Constrictor Constrictor , that are the "True Red Tails". I'll let you call it, is this mis-conception a result of marketing, or mis-information?
The
BCI has gained popularity over the last 20 years at a rather insane
rate. In that time, there has been a huge development in color and
pattern variety. Some mutations caught in the wild, then proven genetic
in captivity and some designer morphs bred by Boa breeders and hobbyist.
The
common Boa makes a great pet in my honest opinion. They get big enough
to be impressive without getting so big that they need their own
bedroom. The eat very well in captivity, and have an excellent
temperament. Their calm, but no too calm. Their heavy bodied, but again
not to heavy. I had a female that was about 8 feet and an easy 30lbs,
but she was the biggest Boa I've ever seen with my own 2 eyes. She was
also a breeder and fed very heavily.
I would say, a
normal BCI, a full blooded BCI, on a normal diet, will rarely exceed 7
feet in length and 20lbs. My big girl was a monster in size, but she was
one of the most laid back Boa's I've had (& I've Had A Lot), and
she loved to come out and be handled.
In my next post
I'll discuss what requirements you should consider before making a Boa
your pet, and in the post after that, I'll cover some of the
Morphs/Mutations on the market today. If you found this blog because you
where searching for information on whether or not they make good pets,
I'll answer your question outright. As long as the snake is not for a
small child, 12 or younger then when asked:
Do Boa's make good pets?
I'd say...
You bet your ass they do...
And Now Thanks To The Wonderful WWW you can buy pet snakes online from reputable breeders as well as buy supplies all in one place...
Vinny Bock
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
An Alternative To Boa's - Ball Pythons?
As mentioned Boa's are my favorite species of snake, but when it come's to pets and breeding, Ball Pytons come in as a close 2nd.
While there's 100's of Boa Constrictor morphs and mutations, there's probably 1000's of ball python morphs. It seems like every week during the breeding season a new morph is proven or a new cross is produced. If your interest is in breeding snakes, the Ball Python may be a better option for a few reasons.
When I was a kid and first getting into snakes buying a Ball Python as a pet was a bit risky. 90% of what pet stores were selling were Captive Hatched babies, and those groups came into the Country with a laundry list of problems.
Ant that's just the tip of the ice berg. If you already have some snakes it's absolutely critical you quarantine any new arrivals for at least month before adding it to the rest of your collection. If your new snake is infested with mites, it will be much easier to deal with on 1 animal rather than several. Keeping your new snake away from your current collection gives you plenty of time to inspect the snake and make sure it's 100% healthy before being introduced to it's new siblings. This quarantine period should be practiced religiously and with all types of reptiles.
Now days, thanks largely in part to the Internet, and an overall better understanding of these wonderful creatures its no where near as much of a "crap-shoot". Captive Bred and born Ball Pythons are readily available, and a lot of the beuatiful color morphs which were once untouchable by a hobbyist are actually now affordable.
If your intention is just to have a pet for now, they also rank a close 2nd on my favorite snakes list. I say pet for now because everyone starts out wanting a pet, snakes are addictive and it's just a matter of time before your researching breeding and looking for a mate for you "pet".
One fact can not be over stated. No matter what type of heat source you decide to use for your new pet snake, you must make sure to have a thermostat onb it. Some of these heat source products can get far to hot for a baby snake to handle. With an inexpensive thermostat, you can regulate t5he output of any heat source. Here's and example of a cheap but effective thermostat, if your snake is already on it's way, or your picking it up soon, get a thermostat ASAP.
In my next few posts I plan on discussing breeding both Boa's and Ball Pythons...
Check Out The SSScales Logo on your right for even more information about Ball Pythons, including some Ball Pythons themselves...
While there's 100's of Boa Constrictor morphs and mutations, there's probably 1000's of ball python morphs. It seems like every week during the breeding season a new morph is proven or a new cross is produced. If your interest is in breeding snakes, the Ball Python may be a better option for a few reasons.
- They stay smaller, you can house a large Ball Python collection exclusively in rack systems.
- They're much easier to get breeding then Boa's.
- The Ball Python market is more active then the Boa market.
When I was a kid and first getting into snakes buying a Ball Python as a pet was a bit risky. 90% of what pet stores were selling were Captive Hatched babies, and those groups came into the Country with a laundry list of problems.
- Which baby doesn't eat..
- Which baby has mites (external parasites)
- Which baby has worms.. (internal parasites)
- and so on...
Ant that's just the tip of the ice berg. If you already have some snakes it's absolutely critical you quarantine any new arrivals for at least month before adding it to the rest of your collection. If your new snake is infested with mites, it will be much easier to deal with on 1 animal rather than several. Keeping your new snake away from your current collection gives you plenty of time to inspect the snake and make sure it's 100% healthy before being introduced to it's new siblings. This quarantine period should be practiced religiously and with all types of reptiles.
Now days, thanks largely in part to the Internet, and an overall better understanding of these wonderful creatures its no where near as much of a "crap-shoot". Captive Bred and born Ball Pythons are readily available, and a lot of the beuatiful color morphs which were once untouchable by a hobbyist are actually now affordable.
If your intention is just to have a pet for now, they also rank a close 2nd on my favorite snakes list. I say pet for now because everyone starts out wanting a pet, snakes are addictive and it's just a matter of time before your researching breeding and looking for a mate for you "pet".
One fact can not be over stated. No matter what type of heat source you decide to use for your new pet snake, you must make sure to have a thermostat onb it. Some of these heat source products can get far to hot for a baby snake to handle. With an inexpensive thermostat, you can regulate t5he output of any heat source. Here's and example of a cheap but effective thermostat, if your snake is already on it's way, or your picking it up soon, get a thermostat ASAP.
In my next few posts I plan on discussing breeding both Boa's and Ball Pythons...
Check Out The SSScales Logo on your right for even more information about Ball Pythons, including some Ball Pythons themselves...
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Internet Marketing & Exotic Pets
I recently wrote up an email pitch, about a service I'm willing to provide for all the big breeders and dealers in the trade. (mostly rodent/cage/supply guys) I only sent 1 email to 1 company, but right after I hit submit, I wondered if it was a mistake.
If you've been hanging out in the reptile community for any amount of time. Whether its in the forums or in the flesh at a show, you know that reptile folks are some of the nicest people out there.
My concern...
Can certain marketing strategies ruin the communities vibe by becoming more cut throat, or would it help, in a cold market, for people to start utilizing more Internet marketing strategies? The more marketing, the more lucrative businesses will be, right?
The exotic pet trade, well actually, I'm not familiar with certain categories of the exotic pet trade, I'm going to talk more about the breeders and dealers that do most of their business on the Internet.
Firstly live animals are unlike any other products because there is no guarantee you'll have them to sell. You surely don't want to spend money on a website or advertising before you
have something to sell. This makes the marketing time frame a lot smaller.
The Great Debate - is taking more of an "Internet Marketing" approach in the rare exotic pet
business a good idea. Is affiliate marketing a strategy that has no place in the community?
The positives, it may result in more sales actually it should.Utilizing certain strategies would give you a lot more time to market your animals in a way, that even if you didn't have them it wouldn't matter. If it happen to get real popular your snake websites are going to get a lot more traffic, which would result in them being worth more money, the market place would be more lucrative, and a lot of folks could be making more money.
There in lies the major issue, money is a crazy thing...
Would this make the trade more 'cut throat'?
Would it bring the thieves & scammers outta the wood work?
The "Big Time Breeders" are making a decent living, still, even though the market has cooled off substantially, does exposing that fact to the general public, attract all the webscum from here to kingdom come?
Whether you know it or not, there are already multiple marketing strategies being carried out all over EVERY market, even snakes and lizards. Mr. B-n-Aach seems like an awesome guy, I'm willing to bet he's the same way in the real world as he is on camera, seriously a quality human. I'm also being sincere when I say I'm sure he really does get joy outta showing people an operation like his, which is an operation most folks might never get a chance to see. However, the driving force to make those video's is marketing his business.
Here's the difference he's marketing his own business, but embracing Internet marketing methods to the fullest, would mean other people promoting other peoples businesses and that's were it could start to get messy. The Facebook, Twitter, blogs, the birthing records, the adverts, some forum posts, websites, articles obviously all marketing, but again in exotic pets their all self promotional methods.
Marketing is already going on in every Businesses to some extent, and the Snake business is no different, but sometimes marketing strategies go on behind the scenes and you may not catch it.
Example, (not using real names, to lazy to look up if I'm allowed or not -lol)) big Mitch with the BoasX, he produced those awesome lil'creatures in 2004. I personally would have busted with excitement, I would have foolishly been on every forum spilling the beans. Why Follishly? Big Mitch, some how, was able to keep the entire project completely under wraps until 2007 his third year in a row of producing them.
What did this strategy accomplish?
1. Big Mitch didn't have to guess, assume, or wonder anything when it came time to sell them. Buyers wanna know what their buying, last thing you want to hear as a buyer is "Gimme 5K, their either co-dom or recessive".
2. Through 3 years of breeding trials he knew exactly how the trait was inherited, & they were 100% proven. Now he can decide on the price, and the market can't question it. The people don't have to pay it, but by shocking the masses (brilliant) and announcing a NEW BOA MORPH when you already have a bunch to sell, was genius. This also gave him 3 years to market them in code, while planning a perfect way to finally break the news. The timing was, the icing on the cake of a perfectly executed marketing strategy.
Like any and everything else, there's more than one side to this issue, and the negatives may out weigh the positives which is why I'd like to get everyone's take on the subject.
I love the reptile community with all my heart, its exclusive to some of the most awesome people. Of course you get your occasional sleeze ball, but that's a give-in, in ANY community. For the most part the people are awesome and love to help out their fellow enthusiasts.
Is it the NOT, using certain Internet marketing strategies that keeps the community so friendly?
I'd certainly hate myself for being the guy that sets of a chain reaction that ends up potentially the market place. I love the community, both in the vibe, and the way people carry themselves, just the way it is.
On a more selfish note, I surely wouldn't want e-mail's I send out to be posted on a forum saying watch out for (me) this guy! Because when my financial situation starts looking up again, I WILL be breeding Boa's again. I'd much rather just not make the money, if the money making method doesn't fit into our community.
If I get enough votes, and the votes favor negative, I'm going to drop it all together and never mention it again, I will not offer my services to a single other repti-biz.
For you guys new to trying to sell your snakes or reptile services, enter your email and follow this for monthly tips on better ways to sell, and increase traffic to your blog or website. White hat, ethical marketing strategies no one can get mad at you for.
The reptile market is a good one, stuff sells, people spend money, and it's just small enough to where competition doesn't have to be a major issue. If your producing enough 'in demand' babies, maybe you can quite your job sooner than social security kicks in.
Please post your comments below, I'm real curious to know what my fellow herpers think about the subject...
Vinny Bock
Another Site with great info, and a lot of "Do It Yourself" guides:
SSScales.com
If you've been hanging out in the reptile community for any amount of time. Whether its in the forums or in the flesh at a show, you know that reptile folks are some of the nicest people out there.
My concern...
Can certain marketing strategies ruin the communities vibe by becoming more cut throat, or would it help, in a cold market, for people to start utilizing more Internet marketing strategies? The more marketing, the more lucrative businesses will be, right?
The exotic pet trade, well actually, I'm not familiar with certain categories of the exotic pet trade, I'm going to talk more about the breeders and dealers that do most of their business on the Internet.
Firstly live animals are unlike any other products because there is no guarantee you'll have them to sell. You surely don't want to spend money on a website or advertising before you
have something to sell. This makes the marketing time frame a lot smaller.
The Great Debate - is taking more of an "Internet Marketing" approach in the rare exotic pet
business a good idea. Is affiliate marketing a strategy that has no place in the community?
The positives, it may result in more sales actually it should.Utilizing certain strategies would give you a lot more time to market your animals in a way, that even if you didn't have them it wouldn't matter. If it happen to get real popular your snake websites are going to get a lot more traffic, which would result in them being worth more money, the market place would be more lucrative, and a lot of folks could be making more money.
There in lies the major issue, money is a crazy thing...
Would this make the trade more 'cut throat'?
Would it bring the thieves & scammers outta the wood work?
The "Big Time Breeders" are making a decent living, still, even though the market has cooled off substantially, does exposing that fact to the general public, attract all the webscum from here to kingdom come?
Whether you know it or not, there are already multiple marketing strategies being carried out all over EVERY market, even snakes and lizards. Mr. B-n-Aach seems like an awesome guy, I'm willing to bet he's the same way in the real world as he is on camera, seriously a quality human. I'm also being sincere when I say I'm sure he really does get joy outta showing people an operation like his, which is an operation most folks might never get a chance to see. However, the driving force to make those video's is marketing his business.
Here's the difference he's marketing his own business, but embracing Internet marketing methods to the fullest, would mean other people promoting other peoples businesses and that's were it could start to get messy. The Facebook, Twitter, blogs, the birthing records, the adverts, some forum posts, websites, articles obviously all marketing, but again in exotic pets their all self promotional methods.
Marketing is already going on in every Businesses to some extent, and the Snake business is no different, but sometimes marketing strategies go on behind the scenes and you may not catch it.
Example, (not using real names, to lazy to look up if I'm allowed or not -lol)) big Mitch with the BoasX, he produced those awesome lil'creatures in 2004. I personally would have busted with excitement, I would have foolishly been on every forum spilling the beans. Why Follishly? Big Mitch, some how, was able to keep the entire project completely under wraps until 2007 his third year in a row of producing them.
What did this strategy accomplish?
1. Big Mitch didn't have to guess, assume, or wonder anything when it came time to sell them. Buyers wanna know what their buying, last thing you want to hear as a buyer is "Gimme 5K, their either co-dom or recessive".
2. Through 3 years of breeding trials he knew exactly how the trait was inherited, & they were 100% proven. Now he can decide on the price, and the market can't question it. The people don't have to pay it, but by shocking the masses (brilliant) and announcing a NEW BOA MORPH when you already have a bunch to sell, was genius. This also gave him 3 years to market them in code, while planning a perfect way to finally break the news. The timing was, the icing on the cake of a perfectly executed marketing strategy.
Like any and everything else, there's more than one side to this issue, and the negatives may out weigh the positives which is why I'd like to get everyone's take on the subject.
I love the reptile community with all my heart, its exclusive to some of the most awesome people. Of course you get your occasional sleeze ball, but that's a give-in, in ANY community. For the most part the people are awesome and love to help out their fellow enthusiasts.
Is it the NOT, using certain Internet marketing strategies that keeps the community so friendly?
I'd certainly hate myself for being the guy that sets of a chain reaction that ends up potentially the market place. I love the community, both in the vibe, and the way people carry themselves, just the way it is.
On a more selfish note, I surely wouldn't want e-mail's I send out to be posted on a forum saying watch out for (me) this guy! Because when my financial situation starts looking up again, I WILL be breeding Boa's again. I'd much rather just not make the money, if the money making method doesn't fit into our community.
If I get enough votes, and the votes favor negative, I'm going to drop it all together and never mention it again, I will not offer my services to a single other repti-biz.
For you guys new to trying to sell your snakes or reptile services, enter your email and follow this for monthly tips on better ways to sell, and increase traffic to your blog or website. White hat, ethical marketing strategies no one can get mad at you for.
The reptile market is a good one, stuff sells, people spend money, and it's just small enough to where competition doesn't have to be a major issue. If your producing enough 'in demand' babies, maybe you can quite your job sooner than social security kicks in.
Please post your comments below, I'm real curious to know what my fellow herpers think about the subject...
Vinny Bock
Another Site with great info, and a lot of "Do It Yourself" guides:
SSScales.com
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Boa Constrictor Facts - FAQ - Detailed Answers
If your thinking of getting a pet Boa Constrictor, either for you or your child, you probably have a lot of questions. I'll try to answer the most basic ones in this post.
How big do they get?
This depends on many factors, however you can expect 8 to 9 feet to be the biggest you would ever see. Depending on the sub-species and locality, this size question can vary. Most pet stores are going to have Columbian Boa's (BCI) these are considered 'common Boas' yet the pet stores will call them "red tails". If you have a male, and you feed him normally with a medium rat being his biggest meal ever, every 7 days or so, he shouldn't exceed 6 feet. Females do tend to get a bit bigger, but any common Boa over 7 1/2 feet and 15-25lbs would be considered the minorities.
What do they eat, how often?
This is the part that turns a lot of people off, they have to eat rodents. The good thing is today, rats and mice are available frozen, so you don't have to feed your snake live prey anymore. My poor mother hated snakes, and she hated rodents even more, but frozen feeders weren't around when I was a kid. It's definetily a luxury that should not be taken for granted. Your pet Boa only has to eat once a week or so, and rodents are not expensive.
How's their temperament?
To me, this is the best part about the common Boa. They usually have great temperaments, and I think the combination of their size and activeness make them great pets. For example, Corn Snakes are usually mild tempered as well, but they're very high strung. Ball Pythons also have a nice disposition, but sometimes they roll into a ball and don't move! LOL Boa's are more active, but not to the point of "I cant hold on to this thing, oh man, he's behind the couch".
Of course, there is exceptions to every rule. But for the most part, their the perfect combination of active and calm, in my opinion.
What kind of cage and supplies do I need?
You don't need much, (for a baby) at the pet store they will try to sell you a 10 gallon aquarium, and some astro-turf, maybe a heat rock. All of that stuff is not necessary, and in fact, a heat rock can be dangerous. The last thing a baby Boa wants is a giant cage with HUGE windows on all 4 sides. Snakes like to feel secure, so I always use the sterilite storage tubs. When their babies, you can use the 'boot box' size storage tub, I think they're like 16" by 8", they have good secure lids, you just have to make sure you drill air holes around the container. Newspaper as flooring, a water bowl and hiding spot. I used to make my hiding spots, this is good cause you can throw them away instead of cleaning them. Any small card board box can be used with some miner cutting and a roll of tape. The Boa should fit snug inside his hide. They sell the under tank heat mats, these are fine but you must pay close attention to them until you have them figured out. They can get HOT, yes hot enough to hurt your Boa. It is best to put these heat mats on a thermostat or rheo-stat so it will shut off at a certain temperature. These thermostats are inexpensive, and you can usually get them set to stay at at certain temperature. If your going to use a heat lamp, you should consider a heat mat just for night time, Boas love the night time the last thing they want is a bright light shining 24-7.
Here's A "Simple Set Up" the only thing I'd Add Is A Hiding Spot.
You can almost always buy supplies in one place, all the supplies you'll need. in one place, all the supplies you'll need.
Where should I get my Boa?
This is a good question, thanks to the "wwww" which is the wonderful world wide web, you don't have to get your pet snake in a pet store from a guy that only knows about goldfish.
The other problem with pet store snakes is there's a good chance your going to get a "captive hatched/born" baby as apposed to a captive bred baby. Believe it or not, there is a significant difference. A captive hatched baby is born in captivity, but this means that the eggs (most snakes), or gravid Mom (Boas are born live) was wild caught while pregnant, but was bred in the wild. Wild animals most likely have parasites, or diseases captive bred animals aren't exposed to. A captive bred baby was not only born in captivity, but also bred in captivity. These babies generally do better in captivity. Another advantage of buying your Boa online is, they will be less expensive, and you can request a more mild tempered animal if it's going to be your first pet snake. There is plenty of Boa wesites online, as well as classifieds. Try looking @ Kingsnake.com, the snake will be shipped to you Fed-ex priority overnight, it's perfectly legal and safe, I've acquired ALL of my snakes this way. Be sure to check your states regulations regarding large snakes before you place an order.
What temperature does they're cage have to be?
There is a few right answers to this question, for me, the perfect temperature range for a young boa is 80-84 degrees with a hot spot that's about 90-94 degrees. In a perfect world, you'd figure a way to drop those temps at night when the lights went out.however, this is not necessary unless you eventually plan to breed your Boa(s).
How much maintenance is involved in owning a Boa Constrictor?
Boa's are pretty low maintenance. They only eat once a week so they don't poop much. This is the main reason I suggest newspaper as a substrate (cage flooring) this way when you do your cleaning, you can just throw away the used news paper. When you have that silly (repti-rug) astro-turf, you have to wash it every time you clean the cage. You should try and clean your Boas cage at least once a week. It's an easy job, chuck the newspaper, and run the water bowl and hides under really hot water. Dry em up, and your done. Doing that at least once a week with needed pick ups here and there, and lastly a good monthly cleaning. Bleach and water, 10 parts water 1 part bleach. Make sure everything is dry, and doesn't smell like bleach before you put your Boa back in his home.
Do they make good pets for a child?
I wanna just say yes, but only for children older than a mature 12, older than that better yet. Also it's always best to start out with a younger/smaller Boa, so your child and his new pet can grow together. Another advantage of purchasing your snake online is you can request a mild tempered animal. Bottom line, you know your child better than anyone, will they stay on top of the cleaning and feeding? Or will they be sick of the snake after 2 months? If you have a responsible 12 year old, that seems sincerely interested in snakes, they'll be good keepers, and they'll probably never out grow it, I never did.
Hope This Helps,
VinnyBock
Please Check out my friend Gerry @ http://ssscales.com
Not only does Gerry have a great selection of ball pythons, he's great about answering ANY and all of your questions as well as giving you lifetime e-mail support to guarantee a smooth transition from his place to yours.
How big do they get?
This depends on many factors, however you can expect 8 to 9 feet to be the biggest you would ever see. Depending on the sub-species and locality, this size question can vary. Most pet stores are going to have Columbian Boa's (BCI) these are considered 'common Boas' yet the pet stores will call them "red tails". If you have a male, and you feed him normally with a medium rat being his biggest meal ever, every 7 days or so, he shouldn't exceed 6 feet. Females do tend to get a bit bigger, but any common Boa over 7 1/2 feet and 15-25lbs would be considered the minorities.
What do they eat, how often?
This is the part that turns a lot of people off, they have to eat rodents. The good thing is today, rats and mice are available frozen, so you don't have to feed your snake live prey anymore. My poor mother hated snakes, and she hated rodents even more, but frozen feeders weren't around when I was a kid. It's definetily a luxury that should not be taken for granted. Your pet Boa only has to eat once a week or so, and rodents are not expensive.
How's their temperament?
To me, this is the best part about the common Boa. They usually have great temperaments, and I think the combination of their size and activeness make them great pets. For example, Corn Snakes are usually mild tempered as well, but they're very high strung. Ball Pythons also have a nice disposition, but sometimes they roll into a ball and don't move! LOL Boa's are more active, but not to the point of "I cant hold on to this thing, oh man, he's behind the couch".
Of course, there is exceptions to every rule. But for the most part, their the perfect combination of active and calm, in my opinion.
What kind of cage and supplies do I need?
You don't need much, (for a baby) at the pet store they will try to sell you a 10 gallon aquarium, and some astro-turf, maybe a heat rock. All of that stuff is not necessary, and in fact, a heat rock can be dangerous. The last thing a baby Boa wants is a giant cage with HUGE windows on all 4 sides. Snakes like to feel secure, so I always use the sterilite storage tubs. When their babies, you can use the 'boot box' size storage tub, I think they're like 16" by 8", they have good secure lids, you just have to make sure you drill air holes around the container. Newspaper as flooring, a water bowl and hiding spot. I used to make my hiding spots, this is good cause you can throw them away instead of cleaning them. Any small card board box can be used with some miner cutting and a roll of tape. The Boa should fit snug inside his hide. They sell the under tank heat mats, these are fine but you must pay close attention to them until you have them figured out. They can get HOT, yes hot enough to hurt your Boa. It is best to put these heat mats on a thermostat or rheo-stat so it will shut off at a certain temperature. These thermostats are inexpensive, and you can usually get them set to stay at at certain temperature. If your going to use a heat lamp, you should consider a heat mat just for night time, Boas love the night time the last thing they want is a bright light shining 24-7.
Here's A "Simple Set Up" the only thing I'd Add Is A Hiding Spot.
You can almost always buy supplies in one place, all the supplies you'll need. in one place, all the supplies you'll need.
Where should I get my Boa?
This is a good question, thanks to the "wwww" which is the wonderful world wide web, you don't have to get your pet snake in a pet store from a guy that only knows about goldfish.
The other problem with pet store snakes is there's a good chance your going to get a "captive hatched/born" baby as apposed to a captive bred baby. Believe it or not, there is a significant difference. A captive hatched baby is born in captivity, but this means that the eggs (most snakes), or gravid Mom (Boas are born live) was wild caught while pregnant, but was bred in the wild. Wild animals most likely have parasites, or diseases captive bred animals aren't exposed to. A captive bred baby was not only born in captivity, but also bred in captivity. These babies generally do better in captivity. Another advantage of buying your Boa online is, they will be less expensive, and you can request a more mild tempered animal if it's going to be your first pet snake. There is plenty of Boa wesites online, as well as classifieds. Try looking @ Kingsnake.com, the snake will be shipped to you Fed-ex priority overnight, it's perfectly legal and safe, I've acquired ALL of my snakes this way. Be sure to check your states regulations regarding large snakes before you place an order.
What temperature does they're cage have to be?
There is a few right answers to this question, for me, the perfect temperature range for a young boa is 80-84 degrees with a hot spot that's about 90-94 degrees. In a perfect world, you'd figure a way to drop those temps at night when the lights went out.however, this is not necessary unless you eventually plan to breed your Boa(s).
How much maintenance is involved in owning a Boa Constrictor?
Boa's are pretty low maintenance. They only eat once a week so they don't poop much. This is the main reason I suggest newspaper as a substrate (cage flooring) this way when you do your cleaning, you can just throw away the used news paper. When you have that silly (repti-rug) astro-turf, you have to wash it every time you clean the cage. You should try and clean your Boas cage at least once a week. It's an easy job, chuck the newspaper, and run the water bowl and hides under really hot water. Dry em up, and your done. Doing that at least once a week with needed pick ups here and there, and lastly a good monthly cleaning. Bleach and water, 10 parts water 1 part bleach. Make sure everything is dry, and doesn't smell like bleach before you put your Boa back in his home.
Do they make good pets for a child?
I wanna just say yes, but only for children older than a mature 12, older than that better yet. Also it's always best to start out with a younger/smaller Boa, so your child and his new pet can grow together. Another advantage of purchasing your snake online is you can request a mild tempered animal. Bottom line, you know your child better than anyone, will they stay on top of the cleaning and feeding? Or will they be sick of the snake after 2 months? If you have a responsible 12 year old, that seems sincerely interested in snakes, they'll be good keepers, and they'll probably never out grow it, I never did.
Hope This Helps,
VinnyBock
Please Check out my friend Gerry @ http://ssscales.com
Not only does Gerry have a great selection of ball pythons, he's great about answering ANY and all of your questions as well as giving you lifetime e-mail support to guarantee a smooth transition from his place to yours.
Friday, August 12, 2011
"True Red Tail" Boas
Red tail Boa, is a name that has mistakenly been applied the common Boa Constrictor or Boa Constrictor Imperator (BCI). A "True Red Tail" is actually a Boa Constrictor Constrictor, or BCC. The BCC class or sub-species of the Boa Constrictors geographic range is just South America. This subspecies includes, Surinames, Guyana, Brazilian, North Brazilian & others.
The True Red Tails tend to get a bit bigger than the more common BCI. In most cases, they are also more sought after by some enthusiast as well. The mutations, and color/pattern morphs are not as common in the BCC. You will find an Occasional Albino, or Hypomelanistic BCC, but they are usually mixed with BCI some where along the line.
The pet trade is most responsible for labeling most Boa species as "Red Tail Boas". Serious hobbyist and breeders know better, the True Red Tails are more rare,maybe because their a lot harder to breed then their more common cousin.
True Red Tail Boa Constrictors are more of an "exclusive" sub species. They are more rare, and carry the belief that they are the most pure blooded. They are harder to breed so they are not over saturating the exotic pet trade either. One thing is for sure, no one can deny they're unique beauty. An untrained eye may say they all look the same, but when you start to love Boa's, truly love them, it's easy to pick a true Red Tail out of a pile of Boa Constrictors.
Check back often, in my next few posts we'll discuss Boa Constrictor Imperator in more detail...
The True Red Tails tend to get a bit bigger than the more common BCI. In most cases, they are also more sought after by some enthusiast as well. The mutations, and color/pattern morphs are not as common in the BCC. You will find an Occasional Albino, or Hypomelanistic BCC, but they are usually mixed with BCI some where along the line.
The pet trade is most responsible for labeling most Boa species as "Red Tail Boas". Serious hobbyist and breeders know better, the True Red Tails are more rare,maybe because their a lot harder to breed then their more common cousin.
True Red Tail Boa Constrictors are more of an "exclusive" sub species. They are more rare, and carry the belief that they are the most pure blooded. They are harder to breed so they are not over saturating the exotic pet trade either. One thing is for sure, no one can deny they're unique beauty. An untrained eye may say they all look the same, but when you start to love Boa's, truly love them, it's easy to pick a true Red Tail out of a pile of Boa Constrictors.
Check back often, in my next few posts we'll discuss Boa Constrictor Imperator in more detail...
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