Well, they're pretty much crap/useless. I agree with charles that we use these names of boas (i.e. surinam, or guyanese etc.) for marketing purposes and so that a well informed buyer has some "image," shaped by the hobby as to what his boa may look like. However, no matter how well a breeder may have kept track of his lines and where they oriniginated from, their validity as a locality specimen will always be questioned. Even wild caught imports are pretty much useless as far as a researcher is concerned...for instance, I was going to work on the systematics of erycine boas, but without vouchered specimens (collected by university/musuem expiditions and preserved with locality data) I couldn't do the project, even with the words of trusted importers telling me a certain snake was collected here, or there...their word just wasn't enough. I think people should keep and appreciate snakes for the subtle (and not so subtle) beauty they each have...none of these animals will ever be used to re-seed wild populations or be used for inclusion in a species survival studbook, just for our own viewing pleasure...

just my two cents...

cheers,
gabriel

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