Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm wanting to get into some these guys. I keep Ball Pythons right now. But over the past few months I've been looking threw here and the classifieds at all the awesome Boa's out there. What I would like to know from you guys is this. What should I invest in? I dont want to much in over my head. I was just thinkin maybe spend like spending a couple K if the Balls pan out as planed this year on some Boa's. So for 2K or less what would be a great buy to get started in Boa's? Anything right now will help because I dont know much about the morphs or anything of that sort. I'm still learnin what morphs are what.

Thanks alot,
Blake Deffenbaugh

I dont have a problem dealing with Hets. I think it would be fun to see if you hit the odds. So Co-Dom, Dom, or Hets makes no differnce to me.
Blake

well, if youre a boa newbie, id say just start out with your basic redtail. just your average, run of the mill, normal colombian so you can get an idea of how to take care of them, how they react in certain situations, their activities, etc and THEN move on to hets and morphs. after all, you have to learn how to crawl before you learn to run.
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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
0.1 Surinam Redtail Boa

By your post it would seem you think a normal/common/run of the mill (In your own words) BCI is worth much less money, thus also making it worth less as a living breathing creature.

Also, one reason to avoid picking up a "common" in a case like this, if he wants morphs but starts out with a normal whats not to say the normal would be given less attention since, as you seem to point out they are worthless enough to purchase to "crawl before running" with once he does add morphs to his collection.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
Boas make the world go round.

"By your post it would seem you think a normal/common/run of the mill (In your own words) BCI is worth much less money, thus also making it worth less as a living breathing creature.

Also, one reason to avoid picking up a "common" in a case like this, if he wants morphs but starts out with a normal whats not to say the normal would be given less attention since, as you seem to point out they are worthless enough to purchase to "crawl before running" with once he does add morphs to his collection"

not worth less, but definitely costs less. maybe i have this attitude because i make less than $20,000 a year. but if i was starting out in the boa husbandry life id definitely want to start out with taking care of a common bci that cost me $50 at a show than paying $5k and it ending up dying because i didnt know what i was doing. kind of like when your kid wants to learn how to drive. you dont go out and buy him a rolls to practice with do you? no you give him the cheap clunker. no im not saying that a normal bci is worth any less as a creature than a high dollar morph but i am a thrifty person and know the value of a dollar. if by chance a snake i purchased did die by my lack of knowledge in taking care of it then i would be able to at least get over it quicker if i had paid less for then say having to save up for a year and a half to buy it. ive seen people in here and other sites say things like " ive owned a couple garter snakes and im thinking about getting an ETB". i think to myself, this guy is nuts. hes not even an experienced person with exotics and here he is wanting to jump from the bottom rung to the top. that is how i read the original post. "ive owned balls but now i want to own boas". well imo, he should start out small and work his way up. and im sure he would give it no less attention than a snake of a different price. im sorry if i seemed to be saying that. in a nutshell, i was speaking through my wallet when i typed the post. maybe i was wrong in doing that. maybe the guy is a multimillionaire. i apologize for being a person that has a limit of how much to spend and a belief in how much something is worth to me. i know that is gonna get me some hell from people but honestly i dont believe that any morph is worth what they are being sold for. thats my honest opinion and im entitled to it. honestly i dont think there should be morphs. i believe that man has overstepped his bounds when cross breeding snakes or any other animal. we should never have startedcrossbreeding animals. we are playing God and that isnt right. the only morphs out there should be the ones that just every so often happen to occur in the wild and that is because God put it there. i could see paying a vast amount for an albino anery leucistic ghost bcc if morphs only occured in the wild because i know it would be one of a kind.

im beginning to ramble here so if the guy wants to own high dollar morphs then more power to him. i wouldnt because i am against the morph idea and even if i werent im too much of a cheap bastard to pay that kind of money for them ..even if they do look nice and are still living breathing creatures.
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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
0.1 Surinam Redtail Boa

Tell me, what is the husbandry differenced between hets and normals? I am no expert but im pretty sure there is no differnce in care between the 2
brian
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0.1 wife (wild caught mexican)
2.0 kids (cb)
1.1 suriname boas
5.0 split personalities

the difference is at least $1000 that youll have lost if it dies because you didnt know what you were doing.
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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
0.1 Surinam Redtail Boa

With $2000, I woud personally get a DH sunglow (hypo het albino) and an albino to make sunglows. I would also look for some pick of the litter babies as well. All sunglows are beautiful, but some are definately better then others. I have seen hypos go for $300 - $3000, and albinos go for $850 - $2500. So there really is a variety in both of these morphs. In general DH sunglows go for $1000 - $1500, and albinos go for around $1000. I personally like Tom Burkes "lipstick" line the best. I believe he still has some DH lipstick sunglows left. The stripeline and coral albinos are both beautiful lines as well. Another thought is getting a group of BCC's, like surinams. Good luck.
Michael Burton

okay, so we have a "learn about the snakes" answer and a "go for the nice looking expensive ones" answer. so what you probably need to ask yourse;f is "am i in this for the money or to take care of the animals"?
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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
0.1 Surinam Redtail Boa

To me, it sounded like he works with high end ball pythons (enough to have 2K left over), so I would think he understands the importance of humitity, heat, and so on. Just because someone spends a lot on a project doesn't meen they are only in it for the money, and it doesn't meen they don't care about taking care of their snakes. That seems a bit judgemental to me. He asked an opinion on what he should spend 2K on, and I gave him one. On a side note. It seems to me that a lot of people in this hobby think the word "investment" is a bad word. Now if your buying snakes you don't even like just to line your pockets in cash I would agree that is not a good thing whatsoever. But I do consider the animals I bought an investment. If I ever make any extra money I know I am going to spend it all on purchasing more projects that I enjoy (I have a huge list lol)and trips to Daytona and Chicago. Otherwise, I would hardly make these trips. So to me, it can be an investment for the right reasons or for the wrong ones. Also, the albino arabesque project is a awesome choice.
Michaell Burton

"Now if your buying snakes you don't even like just to line your pockets in cash I would agree that is not a good thing whatsoever."

that is how i was meaning it.
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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
0.1 Surinam Redtail Boa

No no no. I deffently love these snakes. I've always liked the albinos and such. Just never really had the money. The red tail I had was the most awesomely colored animal I have had besides the pastle and such that I have now in Balls. I seen a pic of the arabesque albino and fell in love. I deffently want some of those. I have 2 huge cages layin around that I'm either going to sell or use on Boa's. . they are home made by a friend of mine when he breed Burms, they are force heated, about 8Lx3Hx30inches wide. With a shelf on one half for a hide, heat light fixtures in there. Still dont know if I would use them or get some boafile cages.
But I'm deffently not in it because I dont like the animals so you dont have to worry about that.

Thanks,
Blake Deffenbaugh

ooops....can't spell for sh*t....mean.
Michael Burton

Ok, now you have me rereading your past responses and giggling.
are you suggesting that a higher end animal has different requirements than those of a "basic redtail. just your average, run of the mill, normal colombian"?
Are you also suggesting that you should use an inexpensive snake to see if you can keep them alive before buying something more expensive, rather than researching and knowing before you buy and providing proper care?
It seems like you are saying he should get a test boa, and if it doesn't work out he isn't out much. What is the value of life to you?
How many test boas should he try? How many guinea pig boas should he buy and kill before buying a book? I say pick up a book, and search the net, ask for advice, and familiarize yourself with boas prior to getting one, and get the one that fits your budget.
I see you calling colombians redtails too...you're too much.
Keep offering advice though, I get more out of this forum than just education that way. I also get to laugh.
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Davey Giltner

"It seems like you are saying he should get a test boa, and if it doesn't work out he isn't out much. What is the value of life to you?"

because thats exactly what im saying.

what is life worth to me? are we talking about a human or an animal? anyone who has read my previous posts knows that i am not as some would say a "tree hugging liberal" and if that offends you then that may be but im not going to apologize for feeling that way. if i was in a situation where i had to choose between the life of a human and a snake then i think you already know which I would choose. And you are right. he should do research first. thats what i was hoping he would do. however some people buy the snakes and THEN do the research. if thats the case here then yes i think he should go for a less expensive snake. my family is always getting on me because i dont have a car, house, television, or anything else. i keep buying snakes. i couldve easily bought things to make my life more enjoyable but i dont. i buy snakes. however i do share my families opinions when it comes to the prices of the animals. $5000 for a SNAKE? if i had that kind of money i think id invest in something a bit more useful to me. maybe the thought process is different for breeders. i dont know. personally i cant stand people that say how much they care for the animals and at the same time breed and sell them in order to make a living. people like that dont care about the snakes they just want the money. if you cared about the snakes you would go out and get a job working in a factory or somewhere rather than sitting on your ass at home waiting for a paycheck. btw, when i say "you" i mean people in general.
how many breeders would there be if the most expensive snake out there was $150? not all that many. youve got all these breeders that say how much they care about the snakes and that they arent in it for the money. well, im waving the bull[bleep] flag on that one.
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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
0.1 Surinam Redtail Boa

I do know about the snakes. I am in every way ready and know how to take care of these animals. I understand your concerned about some new person geting the animals and not knowing anything about them. I have books, websites book marked, and friends that have owned/breed boas so the snakes will be in great care and health. As well as owning some for around 3 years.
As for me geting the highend snake and not normals, just personal preferance. I will have normals but the will be pick of the litters not just random looking pet store snakes. You said something about makeing less than 20K a year. . .so do I. What did was get a actual morph, breed it, sell babys and buy other morphs. Whats the problem in movein up in the biz? You see it as "5K for a SNAKE" I see it as a investment and will damn sure make it back. I'm not saying anything to make people mad thats not what I'm here for. I'm just telling you what I think, how I feel on the matter and so you do understand that I do know how to take care of the snakes.

Blake Deffenbaugh

With boas you will want to look down the road if this is going to be an "investment" as much as a "just for fun" addition to the ball pythons. If you don't mind the long wait for payoff you can easily for 2k pick up a couple pairs of hets that will potentially produce some outstanding animals down the road. For example you could pick up 1.1 het albinos for around 400-500 shipped, and then also pick up 1.1 poss het leopards or 1.1 salmons etc. I personally would look at what morphs are out on the market, decide which ones appeal to you and decide from there. I also suggest picking up the Boa Constrictor Manual to have on hand to help answer any questions you may have come up that might take awhile to get answered on the forums. (alot of questions are overlooked due to the frequency at which they are asked) Be sure you want to make Boas a new addition, some people are Ball Python people, some are Boa people, and some love snakes in general.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
Boas make the world go round.

I have had a couple yearlings from birth and I had a nice big 7 footish female a few years back. But she died, so I got rid of them and just had some geckos for a while. So I have had them before. By no means am I a pro at them but I have a handle on them. I was kinda thinkin like an Arabesque het albino and an Albino or something like that.
Also what makes a coral albino mix whise? I cant find it anywhere.

Thanks alot for the replys,
Blake Deffenbaugh

send it to school!
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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
0.1 Surinam Redtail Boa

A coral albino is a specific line, which appears to pass on a polygenic trait with the increased reds/oranges. It appears to be similar to Pastel Dream albinos (which have an entire body pink wash to them, and imo absolutely the best albino type around)
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Randall L Turner Jr.
Boas make the world go round.