Reptile & Amphibian Forums

whats easier, a male hog or a female? is this even considered a big deal, its not even a "hybrid" is it? how much would the babies be worth usually?

What do you mean, "easier"?

Hog x Bci crosses are usually only valuable if the bci is hypo. "Hypo Hogs" can be really nice looking snakes, and when bred together, can produce sunset boas.

Because the Hypo gene is dominant, unless you are mating a "super hypo" bci to a hog island, 50% of the hog x hypo bci offspring will not have the hypo gene. So usually, when you see hog x bci for sale, they are the "non hypo" leftovers and usually get sold pretty cheaply.

In my opinion, non-hypo hog x bci aren't worth much at all. Unless they happen to have some crazy pattern... but unless you are working towards hypo hogs with sunset boas in mind, people who like hog island boas like PURE hog island boas. I would never buy a mutt that wasn't hypo.

Just my opinion. But crossing something just to cross it doesn't make it more valuable.

I have a hog male and a hypo female, and someday may pair them... though I also have a pos super hypo male that will get "first go" when they are old enough.

My advice? Take your time. If you have a het anery pos het albino... save up and get an albino or a full anery to pair it with. That way, you'll probably get morphs in the first breeding (if your snake proves to be het).

Otherwise, if you like another type of boa, buy two that would make a good pairing. You need to like the snakes for what they are, don't just pick something "to make money"... the market can be fickle, and something that is "hot" right now might not be in 3 years when your boas are old enough to breed.

So, if you like hypos, get some hypos. If you like hogs, get a pair. If you like hypo hogs, try and get one, or get both a hypo and a hog. But realize that many boa people like to know the background of their boas, and some people don't like "needless" intermixing of the species or subspecies.

(Some people like cocker-doodles, but many would either rather a full-blooded cocker spaniel, or a full-blooded poodle.... because if you start breeding a cocker-doodle say with a border collie, the results are.... mutts! Nothing wrong with mutts, but they're often not worth much money.)

Welcome to the hobby - but breeding isn't something that happens quickly! I bought my first adult boa in 2004 and now have 5 boas total, and still have not had any produce a litter for me yet. But I love handling them and looking at them, so I'm not in a hurry.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.1 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 1.1 Saharan Sand Boa

Ah - what do you currently have? I thought from your other post that you already have a 100% het anery 66% het albino... but looks like you're trying to figure out what to buy and mate with your "normal" BCI.

If you want to create morphs from a "normal"... you can do the following and make a bit more money from the offspring.

Get an albino. Even though none of the babies will be albino, they will ALL be 100% het. No question - they will all have an albino gene. These can go for far more than normal BCI babies.

Or, get a super-hypo (or possible super-hypo). Worst case, half of the babies will be hypo, and half will be normal. The normals will be fully normal, not het for anything. Best case, ALL of the babies will be hypo, and you will have "proven" that your possible super hypo is actually a super hypo - making it more desirable should you ever have to sell it.

Hypos always seem to be worth more than normals, and depending on their looks, can even be worth more than some albinos.

Similar to an albino, if you bought an anery to pair with your normal, all the offspring would be 100% het for anery. 100% hets are ALWAYS worth far more than any other kind of possible het.

As for affordability - a hypo would probably be the easiest to manage at the moment - but I've seen some wicked sales for albino babies as well. Full-blooded anerys are harder to find.

Hope this helps you decide...
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.1 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 1.1 Saharan Sand Boa

thanks alot