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I took this girl in and was told that she was a common Colombian boa. I had figured BCI but she looks different then what I would expect from a common Colombian BCI. That black tail also confuses me since she is not an anery.
Any ideas?

np

B.c.imperator

A typical adult Colombian.

>>B.c.imperator
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>>A typical adult Colombian.

Curious what makes you say Colombian? You seem pretty certain about it.

Rick
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You laugh at me cuz I'm different;
I laugh at you cuz you're all the same.

basically a lot of observation over the years.

Joe Rollo posted a bunch of pictures a while back, about 15. Locales, subspecies, and locale morphs; all without labels. I think I miss ID'd 2.

After looking at hundreds of pictures, owning examples of many boas, holding them at shows, you get an eye for things.

That snake's color, saddle shape/number, body structure, tail blotches and a combination of other factors lead me to my opinion.

Of course, without traceable documentation it is only a guess. Safe, but it could be WRONG!

Take care,
Chris

>>I took this girl in and was told that she was a common Colombian boa. I had figured BCI but she looks different then what I would expect from a common Colombian BCI. That black tail also confuses me since she is not an anery.
>>Any ideas?
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Has she shed so you can get a scale count? Even that leaves some room for educated guessing these days with the way the ssp are all broken up.
But judging by the look, I would have to go with BCI also, and guessing at the Mexicana variety by the colors and general darkness of Her. But this does not hold true for ALL mexicana varieties though. As with any locale, you get variations.

Rick
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You laugh at me cuz I'm different;
I laugh at you cuz you're all the same.

Thanks. These pics are post shed (she shed last week).
The tail color was the thing that really got me wondering if she was a cross and not the what I typically think of when I hear "common Colombian boa".

After doing a little online searching, I am starting to think this girl is a Mexican or a cross between a Mexican and Colombian.
I do not think she is pure Colombian though.

With her age, I wouldn't think Mexican cross either. Mexican locale imperator have only been available in small numbers, and the few crosses are pretty recent.

The tail blotches are typical of normal Colombians.
Keep in mind the ontogenetic color change that occurs with age.

Mexican locale boas have much higher saddle count, are all dwarf forms, and have condensed tail blotches.

Here is a picture of a Sonoran Mexican boa for reference.

She's not that large. Actually under 6 feet.
I realize they go thru changes but how does that explain her tail being that black considering she is not anery. There should be been some type of orange/red/yellow/etc still visible in the tail of Colombians even if she was in her teens.

Thats not always true. I know of several adults that have tails that are dead ringers for anery, and even type 2 anery. Lack of tail color is fairly common.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
Boas make the world go round.

Really. I never knew that the tail could get that dark as they age. I haven't seen one with a black tail before that wasn't an anery and this girl isn't an anery.

Thanks for the info everyone.

Here's a Colombian BCI that has a black'ish tail, I'm actually going to use her for a long term anery project.