Posted by:
liquidleaf
at Wed Nov 28 18:04:58 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by liquidleaf ]
Captive-bred will most likely be calmer than imported, baby or adult.
That said, Nicaraguans and Central American boas have a reputation for being little "spitfires". I've never had one, so don't know. I have a hog island (BCI), "common" BCIs (hypo morph) and BCCs (suriname).
I've had two hog island boas - the female would be hissier than any other boa I had, but was fine to handle once you got her out of her cage. The male went through a period where he'd hiss at you if you crossed in front of his cage after feeding him. Never had any problems with handling him, and he doesn't hiss for any reason any more.
I've heard some people say that BCC can be nippier than BCI. I really don't see how that can be true, unless you take into account that captive bred BCC are harder to find, since they seem to have fewer babies and take longer to reach sexual maturity. Some people also say BCC can be more prone to regurgitation.
In any case - as long as you raise a boa from a baby and handle it consistently, it shouldn't become a monster. Each snake can have its own attitude... always keep that in mind. One of my hypo BCI doesn't really like being handled (she seems scared of falling and clamps hard onto me, and I've had her since she was a baby), but the male hypo BCI is great to hold.
Similarly, one of my BCC, the female, is great to hold, very calm, but the male, her brother and littermate, is skittish. He gets stiff and always tries to "run" when being handled... but I didn't have either of the BCC while they were babies, they were obtained as adults. So, it could be that the female was handled more by her previous owner than the male, I just don't know. I plan on handling the male more to see if he will eventually become more trusting and easy to hold, but he's never struck at me.
My point is that sex or locale will not guarantee tameness or attitude. Consistent handling can help. If you find a morph or locality you like the looks of, try to get a young boa, so that you can make sure it is tame. Otherwise, if you want an adult, make sure to ask the seller about the temperment, and that you want a VERY TAME snake. Most people will be honest with you about that. Stay away from imports, especially adult imports. Aside from bad attitudes, they often have parasites.
I started off with a ball python. Boas really aren't that different, they just get a bit bigger.
Sizewise, my BCC female is my largest at 8.5 feet. She's very tame, so not hard to handle. Her brother is 7.5 feet, but since his attitude is skittish, he's very hard to handle, that bulk of muscle can be hard to fight if he doesn't want to go where I want him to. The female is about as big around as the calf of my leg, or a little bigger.
My hog island female was about 5.5 feet when she died, and may have had a little bit more growing to do. My hog island male is about 5 feet or less, but he's not very girthy... he's a little thicker than my male ball python.
The two hypo BCIs have a lot of growing to do yet, the female is 2 years old but slow-grown, so not above 4 feet yet, and the male is only a little more than a year old, so still just one handful, so I can't attest as to normal BCI growth or size.
Good luck... and if you can help it, try to see your snake in person before you buy to see if you can get a feel for its attitude. 
Oh yeah.. don't overfeed! Some boas can be "garbage cans" and will eat as much as you will give them, which can make them grow too fast (can cause shorter lifespan) and have health problems or get obese. They're usually not hard to feed, like ball pythons can be... so their feeding response may come to a bit of a surprise to you if you're used to balls.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.1 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 1.1 Saharan Sand Boa
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RE: Advise on first boa.. - liquidleaf, Wed Nov 28 18:04:58 2007
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