Some of the smaller morphs of the Boa constrictor make pretty good starter snakes. However, some of the southern morphs of this species do not make good starters. They get too large (over 12 feet in females) and aren't as docile as more northerly forms. Frequently, the larger, less docile morphs are the most colorful.

If you can get a Colombian Red-tailed Boa (most of which aren't from Colombia, BTW), they generally stay under 7 feet.

Males are smaller than females.

Post this on the boa constrictor forum and see what the people there who have larger collections of boas have to say.

Realize even a small morph of the boa constrictor is a fairly large snake. A 6 foot boa is a lot bigger than a 6 foot ratsnake and requires a larger cage and larger food items. This makes them more expensive to house and feed.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

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• are red tail boas a good first boa? - RobertIIII, Sun Oct 22 20:48:32 2006
• Yes and No.... - chrish, Mon Oct 23 13:19:21 2006
• Columbian Red Tail - GDeHavenIV, Wed Oct 25 13:54:57 2006
• I love my BCI - cee4, Thu Oct 26 08:36:48 2006