Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What's a good starter boa to start out with?

I'd like one that will get no bigger than 6', has some attractive markings, docile, and curious.

Aside from rats, what other feeders would be of appropriate size and contain suitable nutrition? (Gerbils...?)

Thanks in advance,

Marcus

For a first boa, there isn't much that can beat a normal columbian, in my opinion. They don't get as large as many red tails, they're very docile and easy to handle, and they are very forgiving of beginner mistakes on things like humidity and feeding (not that you can freeze them or anything, just that they're hardy and unlikely to keel over on you if everything isn't 100% while you're learning). As for the 6 foot issue, males are overall smaller than females (although it varies from indevidual to indevidual), and really even if it goes a little over 6', the difference between a 5'6" snake and a 6'6" snake really isn't all that noticable. It's very unlikely that a columbian is going to get unmanagably large, especially if you feed it reasonably sized meals on a reasonable schedule while it's growing.

To answer your other question, they can really eat any rodent, but I would stick to rats. Rats are very nutritious, and the snake doesn't need variety in it's diet for either nutritional or gourmet reasons. If you just don't like rats, mice work fine, I hear gerbils are O.K., and many people feed their large boas guinea pigs or rabits. Really, though, it's very easy and healthy for the animal if you just stick with rats.

Yeah, i agree. Columbians are some of the best of the giants, if not the, THE BEST (My newly acquired burmese is trying to prove me wrong). My Columbian female was almost 9 feet and weighed roughly 40lbs. 45lbs after she ate. I purchased her as a baby and of course she was a little hissy but never trying to bite me (if i remember right). However, she was only hissy for maybe a week, unlike my suri that i have now. After that first month or so, she became the most docile snake ever. And yes, they are forgiving. There were times when i was in a situation where i couldn't provide her heat (it only got down to 65 for a day)but she didn't care. So, you can never go wrong with a columbian. The only reason i wanted a suriname was because they are susposedly one of the biggest boas. It's surely not for their temperment. It is also true that male columbians do get smaller. So, yes, a male Columbian would be a very good choice. One more thing about the females, since they do get bigger, there is a chance they might end up eating rabbits and where I live, it's hard to find rabbits at feed stores unless you order online. I've never done that though.

So what is the biggest I should expect a Columbian to gave the potential to get?

As for for the issue regarding feeding rats, really, it wouldn't bother me as much as it would my wife. She has rats for pets. Nuff said. That's why I was wondering about something like gerbils. They can get to a fair size but I don't know if they would be of an appropriate size for this snake. Would they? Could a Columbian suffice on these?

Also, what should I expect to pay for a Columbian? A local pet shop has one for sale that has caught my eye. It's about 2' and they're asking $89.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Marcus

Realistically, a male columbian will average out at 6-7 feet. I have seen one in the classifieds for a 8 1/2 foot male, but I would think that would be pretty rare. If you want a female though, mine got almost to the 9 mark. 9 might be more than your looking for but at 9 feet, they sure are awesome.

As for the gerbils, I have never used gerbils before so i couldn't tell you on that. One thing with my girlfriend is she hates hearing the little rats make that noise when the snake constricts it. It was even worse when i started using rabbits. We went to the feed store one time to get a rabbit and when i took it home, she started crying when she heard the little rabbit crying. It's sad though but do we cry when the cow gets cut up for our hamburger meat? We all have to eat somehow.

$89 sounds resonable. As far as columbians go, buying them locally would probably be better, that way you can actually hold the animal before buying it, unlike the internet. Also, I'm picky about my quality so having a visual is obvious more better than going by a bad photo on the internet. Pricing on the internet, i've seen anywhere from $75 to 150, plus $35-40 for overnight shipping. Good luck.