The calmest and easiest to care for are colombian BCIs. You say you don't want one because they are common, but have you considered all the morphs? Some of the most beautiful boas are morphs of the common colombian bci. The other subspecies are less mellow, notably bccs. They also grow larger than colombians and they are touchier to culture mistakes. I don't recommend bccs for a first boa. I am lucky that the bccs I have now are all nice and mellow. I had a wild caught guyana that was a handful earlier this year, wow, you don't want anything like that. Don't get anything wild caught.

Babies tend to be nippy sometimes, don't let that dissuade you, they calm down with handling and get used to you. There are lots of insular boas that are plenty small, maybe you'll like the look off one of them? Hoggs were mentioned, but there are lots of dwarf boas. My favorites are the Sonorans and the Isla de Maise (Corn Island), I'd recommend Gus Rentfro of Rio Bravo Reptiles if you're interested in Corn Island boas or other insular boas. His site has a lot of photo eye candy to look at, maybe it would help you pic. Most insular boas are bcis, but they are very much unlike a colombian.

a 10 foot colombian is a giant. Most colombian girls are 6 to 8 feet. Colombians are the size you say you want. They get pretty big around though, some of them. BTW the real true 'red tails' are bcc not common colombians, they ARE the Guyanas and Surinames. Pet store colombian bcis are frequently misnamed in pet stores because pet store owners think the word constrictor is too scary : )

My best advice is for you to buy or rescue an older boa, one that is known to be mellow and sweet. Maybe you can rescue a nice morph? You can sometimes buy people's pets, that have had a lot of handling.

Next best advice is to buy a nice looking morph, because colombians are easier to keep and better for novice boa keepers. If you buy a baby you MAY get a little hellfire, you just might. SO be prepared to handle the little darling everyday it's not in a shed or hasn't eaten recently, if you insist on a baby. You also might luck out and get a naturally mellow baby too. Most are. I bought 6 colombian babies this year, and 2 were little grumps, one has mellowed out in 6 months, and the other is now sweet most of the time, has occasional hissy fits, that's a lot of progress in 6 months.

OK you just don't want a colombian, stay in the bci family. Try an insular boa. They stay smaller. Look at photos of all the boas you can. Maybe something will grab you. Have you seen a sonoran leopard yet? : )

Good luck
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com
http://slitheringserpents.com

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