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Hi! I just got a new redtail. The person I got it from basically just told me it was a redtail, but I have heard of the Colombian, Guyana, and the Common Boa being called Redtails. Can anyone tell from the pics what type my snake is, or perhaps tell me how I can tell?

Thanks a lot!
~Kyle
P.S. let me know what you think of her :-}

Hey,
This boa is defenitely NOT a redtail boa (Boa constrictor constrictor). It has the characteristics of a common boa (Boa constrictor imperator), judging on the coloration, the number of saddles (I believe it has about 25) and the saddle pattern. But unfortunately common boas have been crossbred in captivity for almost 30 years, so it is very difficult to decide wether or not this boa has pure genes.
All the best,
Bas
The Netherlands
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>>Hi! I just got a new redtail. The person I got it from basically just told me it was a redtail, but I have heard of the Colombian, Guyana, and the Common Boa being called Redtails. Can anyone tell from the pics what type my snake is, or perhaps tell me how I can tell?
>>
>>Thanks a lot!
>>~Kyle
>>P.S. let me know what you think of her :-}
>>
>>

Beautiful. Does she have a pink/salmon colored belly? If so, she may be a central american or Sonoran boa. Its really hard to tell from your pictures-they are pretty dark.

Pics of my sonorans are on my website:

http://chaoscat.lowerground.net/herps/sonorans/

they all have pink bellies.

-cat
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My Photos: http://chaoscat.lowerground.net/herps/

Thanks!
I am going to get some pictures of her belly and other things closer up, and brighter. :-}

By the way, your boas are very pretty.

~Kyle

>>Thanks!
>>I am going to get some pictures of her belly and other things closer up, and brighter. :-}
>>
>>By the way, your boas are very pretty.
>>
>>~Kyle

thanks!

-cat
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Photos: http://chaoscat.lowerground.net/herps/

Thanks for the info!

I will get some better close-up pictures of her to show her belly and her overall coloration.

I appreciate the feedback,
~Kyle

My guess is that he/she is a Central American BCI. The exact locality is almost impossible to know for sure, unless you collected it (or its ancesters) from the wild.
Nice looking boa.
- Eric

Hi All! Thanks again for the comments and all. I posted on redtailboa.net, and they all seem pretty unanimous that she is a Boa Constrictor Imperator. I'm glad to know what she is, even if I will never know where she is from.

:-}
~Kyle

I'd say she's a Central American. I have 2 boas that look so much like her and I've been told by 2 or 3 different people that mine are CAs. When I saw yours, "Oh, another CA!" immediately what popped in my head.

Cool! Thanks very much for your information. The fact that you have a couple that look like mine makes that sound very promising. :-} I will look up more about CA's.

I was told by most people that a BCI is NOT a redtail. Someone else told me that there are BCC's (True Redtails), and that their subspecies would also be redtails, but anything else called that is not truly such. Thing is, my boa does have a good amount of red in the tail area. Just wondering, is that a normal trait of BCIs as well as BCCs, to have a "red tail", whether that is truly the name of them or not?

Thanks!
~Kyle

yeah, red tails are not uncommon on BCI's.

variable is the name of the game here!

nice snake, btw!

bc