Hi,

Well, the first thing is that you are looking at an ETB, not an ATB (Emerald Tree Boa vs Amazon Tree Boa, big difference in the two). ETBs are shades of green, yellow, and white. ATBs come in lots of colors, patterns. Amazon basin ETBs are usually shortened as "basins" or AB ETB.



I've never bought from Rico, but have heard only good things about him and Signal.



Some of the babies being sold for much less $$ are babies that have been born at the exporters facility, then imported into the country, then sent to dealer, then (hopefully no more middle men and travel time) to the consumer. Technically, they are captive born, but have been thru quite a lot in their short lives. I've heard of some babies like this doing extremely well, some babies not. Basically, you are taking almost the same chance as buying a WC adult, although the babies probably have a bit better survival rate.



Other babies being sold at less $$ are drops from imported gravid females, again technically captive born (CB), but from a freshly WC mother. Some are just simply animals that were produced by a hobbiest, who just wanted to make a few $$ and told them wholesale cheaply to a dealer.



If you buy CBB (captive bred and born) from a US based reputable breeder (like Signal, Tony, and many others in the US), you are getting a baby that goes directly from the breeder's facility to you (no extended travel times, international flights, multiple flights, etc), a feeding, well established baby, and help if you have problems. I don't know of any reputable breeder that will not provide assistance with problems when needed. You also will know the parentage since most reputable breeders will provide pics of dam and sire. Try finding out for sure what the parents looked like for an imported baby. Try getting help from an overseas breeder.



As far as care, there are many care sheets out there. Rico has one on his site, there are several here on Kingsnake, and corallus.com has a few. Your best bet though is to talk with the breeder you are buying from and do what they do, that is what the baby you are buying is used to.



Good luck if and when you become a proud new ETB parent.



Karen Clark

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