Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey folks, I just posted this in the Locality forum, but I'm sooo impatient. I've been curious about this for just way too long.

I've kept snakes for most of my life, but never the BCC/BCI's. I've been interested in these guys for a while. Something really bugs me though: I never seem to be able to find much of a reference on the adult size of the "red tails."

I've been casually reading in books and magazines, as well as on the internet, and most sources seem to indicate that the "red tail" localities "get a little bigger than the Columbian."

Specifically, the Peruvian red tails and the Suriname red tails have caught my eye. I know well enough that there is a lot of variation in mature size within a species. I was really wondering what any of your have seen as a range in these localities.

Some of the "smaller" localities appeal to me too - some Hogg Island boas, and what I have seen of Corn Island boas. Any input on the ranges you've seen in their mature sizes would be useful as well.

Thanks,
~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

If small is your thing then peruvian and suriname is probably not what you are looking for. Both of these locales tend to get larger than an average BCI. It is not uncommon to see a 9 or 10 foot Suri or Peruvian. Some times and 11 or 12 footer is still alive and kicking. One thing to take into consideration though is that BCC (particularly suriname and guyanna) tend to get bigger but grow more slowly than BCI. One of the reasons is that if overfed they have a tendency to regurge. That prevents them from responding well to being "pushed" the way some other subspecies can be. Therefore they cannot grow as quickly. Also a snake's size has alot to do with age as well. Since a snake doesn't completely stop growing for the duration if its life (even though it will slow down dramatically) a very old specimine will be (on the whole) a larger animal.

I hope that little bit of information helps.

Check
http://www.boa-constrictors.com/com/constrictor/constrictor.htm
and
http://www.riobravoreptiles.com/care_raisingboas.htm

You will find some useful, locale specific information there.
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For some pics of some exceptional mature bcc and bci you can check this out. http://www.mccarthyboas.com/BigSnake.html

Some of the pics give size/weight of snakes shown.
Chris

I'd say you should expect a Surinamese bcc to get between 8 and 10 feet, but be prepared in case it gets bigger than that. Be prepared. I have a bcc who is already a giant for her age, so I am planning accordingly. She's almost 2 years old and is already 5.5 feet and stout. Many don't even grow to 8 feet either, especially the males. Girls are bigger on average in all the boa subspecies. I had a really big bci before too so just because you get a certain type of boa it isn't a certainty that it will stay a certain size.

good luck,
Caden

>>Hey folks, I just posted this in the Locality forum, but I'm sooo impatient. I've been curious about this for just way too long.
>>
>>I've kept snakes for most of my life, but never the BCC/BCI's. I've been interested in these guys for a while. Something really bugs me though: I never seem to be able to find much of a reference on the adult size of the "red tails."
>>
>>I've been casually reading in books and magazines, as well as on the internet, and most sources seem to indicate that the "red tail" localities "get a little bigger than the Columbian."
>>
>>Specifically, the Peruvian red tails and the Suriname red tails have caught my eye. I know well enough that there is a lot of variation in mature size within a species. I was really wondering what any of your have seen as a range in these localities.
>>
>>Some of the "smaller" localities appeal to me too - some Hogg Island boas, and what I have seen of Corn Island boas. Any input on the ranges you've seen in their mature sizes would be useful as well.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>~Rebecca
>>-----
>>0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
>>1.2 Ball Pythons
>>[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
>>[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
>>[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
>>0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com