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Hog Island Boa ?

cilenez Apr 29, 2010 01:21 PM

at different educational events my herp club goes to.. i have been asked by several of the visitors, 'where do hog island boas come from?'..

i really do not rightly know where they are from.. but i would like to give them an correct answer..

the research i have done indicates they are from in the Cayos Cochinos, a handful of small islands off the coast of Honduras in the Caribbean, as well as the larger island of Roatan.

is this correct..?
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Cilene
2 kenyan sand boas
1 redtail boa
2 redfoot tortoises
3 box turtles (florida, eastern, ornate)
2 sulcata tortoises

Replies (6)

cwolf Apr 29, 2010 10:24 PM

Cayos los Cochinos, off the coast of Honduras are two small islands or Cays where the boas referred to as "Hog island boas" are found. From what I understand "Hog island" boa type are not found on Roatan. The bci of Roatan are completely different, even though they are not too far apart.

There is another island that has a similar looking boa, but I cannot recall the name of it. The boas there have the coloration of Hog island boas, but with a different shaped head. The head shape reminds me of Crawl Cay boas, which are elongated at the snout, and narrower.

Hope this helps
Chris
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cilenez Apr 30, 2010 08:32 AM

>>
>>
>>Hope this helps
>>Chris
>>-----
>>

YES.. it does help.. thank you
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Cilene
2 kenyan sand boas
1 redtail boa
2 redfoot tortoises
3 box turtles (florida, eastern, ornate)
2 sulcata tortoises

Ophidia_Junkie May 03, 2010 06:21 AM

FYI

According to a local that lives on the Island of Roatan, there is only one ssp of Boa inhabiting that Island. It doesn't look like a Hog Island Boa in any way. It also does not look like the so called "Roatan Fire belly" Boa.

The picture I saw showed a rather large bodied Boa of about 8 ft and probably 30 lbs, and it was very dark in appearance.

Cochino Grande and Cochino Pequeno are the two main islands of the archipelago that hold the Hog Island Boas. The entire area is now protected by law.
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Sublime Boa Constrictor

cwolf May 03, 2010 12:40 PM

Isla de San Andr'es off the coast of Nicaragua holds the boas which look similar to the Hog island boa, other than the shape of the head. Close observation might reveal other differences, this is just based off of a single bad picture.

Chris
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Ophidia_Junkie May 03, 2010 05:12 PM

>>Isla de San Andr'es off the coast of Nicaragua holds the boas which look similar to the Hog island boa, other than the shape of the head. Close observation might reveal other differences, this is just based off of a single bad picture.
>>
>>Chris
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If you buy that whole "San Andres Boa" stuff. LOL Personally I think they were illegally smuggled from the Cayos Cochinos, and then legally imported from Nicaragua. When I asked about these "San Andres" Boas a couple years back when they first showed up, nobody involved could tell the same story twice.

I sorta lost belief and interest after that and quit asking questions. Could be I'm wrong. Or maybe not. FWIW

Sorry to the OP for going off topic. Hog Island Boa come only from the Hog Islands, or breeders that kept them true to their natural form.
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Sublime Boa Constrictor

cwolf May 03, 2010 09:33 PM

I found the info in a book by HE Stockl, and this is the only info I have encountered about the San Andres boa. Herman is a well respected stickler of facts. It would still take a great deal of convinceing evidence before I bought into it though...

I have read some contradictory info about the Roatan Fire Belly boas as well. Some argue they came from the mainland, and others say they come from a higher elevation of the island.

I do not have either of these snakes, almost everything else though.

Chris
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