Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This Solomon Island Ground boa is just over a year old and has shed only twice in her life. She is so small she could fit on a half dollar coin. Candoia are really interesting species that do not get the credit they deserve. I hope that interest in this species will spark growth in the numbers of keepers. Her and I had disagreements about eating/feeding for awhile but now she is taking a pinkie right out of my fingers every other week. This photo could never capture the pure beauty of this snake. ENJOY! (and I know she belongs in the Candoia forum but its slow over there).

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LOL....nice pic! I have a heck of a time getting good pics. Approximately, how old is she? What did you feed prior to the pinks? It's good to see more pics of these beautiful snakes. Looks alot like my baby. Of course, they ALL look like that when they are little, to some degree or another.
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1.1 Ball Python 0.0.1 corn snake 1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish 1.2 cats 3.1 kids 1.0 husband and now...
0.0.1 Pink Zebra Beauty Tarantula
2.0 Solomon Island Boas

Doh...I meant to ask, how long have you had her, not how old is she. Sorry.
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1.1 Ball Python 0.0.1 corn snake 1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish 1.2 cats 3.1 kids 1.0 husband and now...
0.0.1 Pink Zebra Beauty Tarantula
2.0 Solomon Island Boas

THANKS for the nice comments!

Prior to pinks, I force fed guppies....quite a mess...never gonna do that again. I had to start a guppy fishtank and it always smelled bad, but I figured whatever the guppies ate were going into the snake so I didn't want store bought guppies being that they're probably eating crap.
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www.members.aol.com/northeastsnakes

Very cool.

What size do they max out at? What did you feed before pinkies? Is anyone breeding them?

What size do they max out at?
Usually around 4 feet for females and 3 feet for males though they can be slightly larger or smaller.

What did you feed before pinkies?
It depends really. You can buy them feeding on pinkies, which is what I'd recommend, but many of them are confirmed gecko or anole feeders with some prefering frogs.

Is anyone breeding them?
Jerry Conway (http://www.kingsnake.com/candoia/) is the most recognized - his site also has the care sheets, but I recently found out that Central Florida Reptile Breeders (http://www.cflreptilebreeders.com/) also does. Both of these guys sell neonates already feeding on pinkies...you'll pay a bit more, but it's worth it in the long run. You can purchase these from other dealers, but often those are wild caught...be sure to ask before making a purchase. I highly recommend captive bred with these guys over wild caught, especially if you're new to them. Wild caught can be especially challenging to get feeding - though some will readily eat rodents, it's typically a gamble with wc animals.

Are fresh wild caughts even available anymore? I thought that the Solomon Islands have stricter laws regarding exporting. I realize that there ARE wild caughts that are long term captives that probably get passed around the US from time to time but maybe I'm wrong.

Either way, you are right, it was a pain in the ass getting my little one to eat pinkies. Next time around I'll get ones eating pinks already. I truly believe that if Candoia lovers can selectively breed the ones that start on pinkies right away, we can make them a much better pet for everyone! But for now, they are not very far removed from the wild.

-Jason
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It is my understanding that Indonesia is still exporting wild caught animals, but I won't swear to the accuracy of that as it was at best second-hand information. Both of my wc imports were purchased in May & June 2002 (the male in May, the female in June), so it has been a while since I personally purchased any wc animals. As my first pair were wild caught, I strongly recommend against it unless you already know what you are getting into. When I purchased the male, I was led to believe he was captive bred as it was an 'all captive bred' show and the dealer failed to tell me any differently - despite me telling him this was my first Candoia and though I had experience with other species, I had not kept these before. It was only a week or more after the purchase when the snake wouldn't eat that I discovered he was wild caught. He became a trial by fire introduction to Candoia. The female I ordered from Jim Kavney of Hiss-N-Things and he'd already gotten her feeding on mice without a problem (thank you Jim!!!!). Unfortunately, I still can't handle her as she was old enough to retain her wild demeanor and is heartily against acclimating to handling. lol

I really believe these are a worthwile species to consider as pets, but I'd not currently recommend them for the novice keeper because of their often finicky feeding habits and the fragile nature of babies. However, if you can purchase one already feeding on rodents from a reliable source and are reasonably experienced with snake keeping, I'm all for it. They've really been underated as a pet boa and I'm hoping as more of them are captive bred (with the selection of stock from animals acclimating well to captivity, including feeding habits as you mentioned), we'll start to see more available that are better adapted to captivity and see more of the herping public with these little beauties. Granted they aren't for everyone, but the simple beauty they possess and the variety of natural color phases makes them a particularly beautiful pet that stays a very managable size. Yeah, I'm biased.

Raven

I just love these little beauties. It's a shame that more people don't keep or breed these guys. I'm all for sharing over here...maybe we'll start a trend! lol Very true about the slow growth and selective eating. My yearling Isabel is maybe 8-9 inches long, not much different than when I got her last June (I used a Gatorade top for a water dish and she could completely coil up in it with room to spare). My first SIGB was a wc male I bought in May 02 that was roughly 12 inches long (probably a couple of years old by then) and he was a real challenge to get feeding. Had to force feed him for most of a year when he started losing weight before I found what he'd eat voluntarily (he's probably 14-15 inches now). It seems that "most" captive bred Solomon Island ground boas will switch fairly easily to rodents or even start out eating pinkies, but I've heard of a couple of holdouts that will only eat anoles or geckos. The wild caught animals are more of a challenge usually. Very neat snakes...thanks for sharing your girl.

Raven (here's a pic of my wc female - approx. 4 years old)