Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As promised, I am posting some pictures of my snakes underside. I've taken her to the vet since then because she was making some wheezing noises, and he said it didn't concern him. Here are the pictures anyway. Sorry about the low res, all I've got is a 2 megapixel camera that's at least five years old.

My girlfriend is convinced that she's a Corn Island boa, and other pictures I've seen of them depicted some pink bellies. The vet said he wasn't concerned about burns because the entire scales weren't pink, just the middle of them, and he couldn't find any other signs of septicemia.

Also, I bought a new boa last night. The pet store sold her to me as a red tail, but I've seen boas with much redder tails in that very tank, she does remind me of a picture of a Suriname red tail I found. Tell me what you think.

She hasn't even gone into her hiding spot yet, she spends all of her time between the water dish and the tank. Though in the pet store she shared a tank that size with three other boas and no hiding spot, so I'm not sure she understands the concept yet. Oh well, she'll figure it out.

Thanks for reading.

Should I keep these boas away from each other? Because of the size difference would the big one eat the littler one? Is it a bad idea to keep multiple boas in the same tank? Do they like a friend or are they more solitary creatures that would be stressed to have a roommate? I apologize for my ignorance, I'm new to snakes, I got my first one in October, and my first boa in December. This site has been a great help to me so far and I thank you all for it.

Also, I posted a bunch of tank building questions in the general snake forum, if anyone knows about that I would appreciate the feedback. Thank you.

is it okay? yes. is it advisable? no. for one, some species of snakes play the "dominace" role, meaning that the older or bigger of the two will end up getting all the food and the smaller or younger will end up with next to nothing. also, if one ends up with a health problem then the other will get it as well. you want to be able to tell which one shed, used the bathroom, refused a meal, regurged, etc which is next to impossible to do when keeping multiple snakes in an enclosure. as far as eating other snakes, so far ive only ever heard of one type of boa being cannibalistic, and that is the Dumeril's.

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1.1.0 Colombian Redtail Boas
2.1.0 Sumatran Blood Pythons
1.0 Black Blood Python
1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1 Coastal Carpet Python
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python

As far as the caging questions .... There is a caging forum on this site that has lots of helpful tips.
Keeping boas together isn't advised. I've done it in the past with no problems. You must not feed them together. If they even smell like rodent from feeding, they can get bitten, and so can you when trying to clean them. I haven't heard of Boas dispaying dominant behavior, but I've seen a couple posts on here of one Boa eating another of the same size. I believe both ended up dying. Davey Fig has pics of that I believe. Anytime you get a new snake of any kind, it should be quarantined in a separate area for a minimum of 3 months or more. When I go into my quarantined room, I always take a shower before going to my snake room period.
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--aka DMOG68

as far as the belly goes, my boas do the same thing...right before they go into shed.
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1.1.0 Colombian Redtail Boas
2.1.0 Sumatran Blood Pythons
1.0 Black Blood Python
1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1 Coastal Carpet Python
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python

pet stores always tend to sell normal "common" Columbians as "red tails" - it probalby makes them easier to sell then calling then "Common Boas." I would say yours is a common BCI, and not a BCC, which would be a true red-tail. But that is a good thing, as they tend to be easier to care for.

I agree completely with the other two as far as keeping the pair together. I wouldn't do it. Quarentine should be practiced, plus you don't know who's got what and who's doing what if they are together. It will also be more difficult for them both to receive adiquate heat, especially if the big one is hogging the hot spot. My boas only come together during breeding season, and then are separated.
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Delusions of Grandeur feed the EGO...

That's what I was thinking after I posted, but it was late and I was tired and rambling. I need to quarntine my other boa at the moment anyway, she has a respiratory infection and is recieving antibiotics. Thank you for your advice. Also, I have seen some boas at that store that were pale with stunningly red tails, true or not, those were pretty, the other night just happened to be the night that I had $100 and decided we needed another snake.

but I suspect Columbian as well. But, there are some amazing normal BCI with high red or high orange tails.

Try to get the boa with the RI up to near 95F. RIs are a pain..good luck with it.

I know what you mean about spare $, it always seems to go into snakes...either care, or purchasing more...it's quite habit forming...you're doomed to be addicted don't ya know.
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Delusions of Grandeur feed the EGO...

My hog island male's belly is like that also - always has a wash of pink/orange on it which looks similar to yours, gets especially pronounced before shed.