Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I wanted to know if there have ever been any proven fatalities of people caused by Columbian Redtail Boas? I mean, I've read plenty of articles about people being killed while feeding there burmese, reticulated, or african rock python, and I wanted to know if the same was true for boas. Thanks a lot!

p.s-whats the actual scientific name of the redtail boa commonly found in pet stores? The information on the species is quite confusing, and I was hoping one of you knowledgeable herp guys could shed some light on it? thanks

I've only heard of one fatality and it was in peru? I think. The story I heard was a guy took out a very large boa and was letting it climb on him and it squezzed on his neck and snapped it. I don't know if its true or not, but thats the story.

as for the scientific name. that is a big debate. Some say its Boa Constrictor Imperator and some say Boa Constricto Constrictor. I take no side on this issue i'm no scientist and have done no research so I'll leave you to decided.

Actually, from what I know.. both BCI (Boa Contrictor Imperator) and BCC (Boa Constrictor constrictor) are widely found in the pet trade. BCC tend to get somewhat bigger than BCI... They are different subspecies and alot of time differ mostly by patterning and size.
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Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)
3.1 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzard and 2 het Blizzard)
0.1 Savannah Monitor
13 rats
12 Gerbils
2 Dogs
3 cats
1 Albino Corey (fish)