Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,
Does anyone know who to check with on getting imported isabel (White) (Candoia carinata paulsoni) babies....i was at the white plains show & they didn't have any. Only one guy had em at home & wanted 120 dollars....I'd rather grab some wild caught so if anyone knows an improter that has em please reply

thanks for your time

$120.00 for the White Boas is not a bad deal at all. I am pretty sure that the Soloman Islands have closed all wildlife exports a few years ago, but I could be wrong. I know that Jerry Conway is about the best know breeder of the Island Boas that I know of, I would check with him to be sure. But $120.00 for a White Boa is not bad at all.
Good Luck
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

I feel that you should have gotten the snake at the show instead of trying a wild caught, i think the islands are closed to exportation and have been for a year or so if not much earlier... $120 was a good deal.. But to each there own and good luck finding another baby....

Sincerely,
Rose Hipskind
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www.srsnakes.com

cool, yea i will grab those at the next show, i was just hoping someone had em. because someone at the show a few months back had import babies for like 18 dollars.. i was looking to do that also so i didn't have an established bloodline
thanks for the advice if they dont have babies i'll just grab those next time

As already mentioned, the Isabels are going to run around $120 (usually between $100-$150 for neonates) but much more for older animals. Trust me when I say you want to stick with captive bred, already feeding babies with these guys. I have five of the Candoia paulsoni paulsoni (4 Solomon Island & 1 Santa Isabel Island ground boas), two of which were wild caught. Wild caught Candoia are difficult to get feeding in an already picky feeding snake, even with some of the older animals. It was a solid year before I found what would get my wc male (about 2 years old when I got him) to eat unassisted. The female was older (probably 3 years old or more when I got her) and has always eaten very well...I just can't handle her because she bites, repeatedly. The normal color phase neonates (the browns & greys) can often be found for roughly $20-$30 each at shows with the red phases running a bit higher most of the time. They're great little snakes to keep but be prepared for feeding problems, much slower growth than most boas & pythons, and rather delicate babies - too much heat or too little (causing RIs) can easily kill neonates, proper humidity is a big factor, too. Despite all the warnings, they really are great snakes to keep. They just require a bit more accurate husbandry and aren't as forgiving of errors as some other species.

Best of luck in your search!
Raven

yea i've been reading about their feeding issues. I actually wanted wild because i was more eager for the challenge of acclimating the snake. All my other snakes are captive & since wild isabel babies i heard were as cheap as 18 dollars. I thought the money would be worth the challenge. 18 dollars doesn't eactly break the bank..lol but i guess it would be better off to grab captive... i wanted the exprience of it but you don't make it sound worth it..lol now i've already found a good amount of info on these lil guys but if there's any sites or anything you recommend reading please let me know..

thanks again for the replies!

I haven't recently seen anyone advertising wc Candoia, and I'm not sure they are still being imported. I remember reading that some of the Pacific islands where they occur had stopped exportation but don't know if ALL Pacific islands have stopped. From my own experience, most wc are going to be older animals - at least a year or two old at capture, if not more. Some settle down with gentle handling, but others like my girl are a bit more....fiesty. It's taken almost two years, but she & I have reached a point where I can usually remove her from her tub (while wearing leather gloves) and place her into another without a strike. Any handling longer than what it takes to move her tends to cause multiple strikes and bare hands seem particularly appealing. Maybe in the next few years I'll be able to handle her, but at this point I'm not betting the bank on it. lol My wc male has always been quite gentle and calm. He just wouldn't eat - had to start force feeding him after several months when he started to lose weight. Believe me when I say I tried just about everything until chance happened to land some baby field mice in my lap for me to try...and that's what he liked. Now my mom breeds field mice for me.

Wild caught can definitely be a challenge, but with these little beauties the captive bred neonates are still often a challenge in their own right. It's pretty much a given that, if you're going to breed these, you have to have some appropriately sized anoles, geckos or frogs on hand when the babies are due. Some neonates will simply take pinkies (those are the really coveted ones! LOL) but many still take alternate prey for the first few meals. It seems the captive bred animals switch to pinkies easier - either plain old pinkies or ones that have been scented. Also, if their setup isn't right (read as dang near perfect) they will go off feed as well. There's just all kinds of excitement in owning these guys. lol Don't let that discourage you from considering these guys as pets (or even a breeding project) though. They are some of my favourite pets out of my collection (28 snakes total, covering a number of different species). They are some of the coolest looking snakes out there IMO and pretty easy to take care of once their needs are met. Feeding problems are the main complaint I hear of (or experience), so the rest is just making sure your husbandry is right.

As for the prices, I'd be surprised if it were actually Isabels that were running $18 each - I've seen normal phase (pale tans & greys to darker browns & greys) go for as little as $20-$25 each at shows here (central Virginia) but haven't seen Isabels for less than $100 (and I jumped & purchased her as soon as I saw the price!). These little guys are really underated and the prices on the normal color ranges are really affordable (setup is pretty simple and inexpensive, too). The Isabels are what everyone wants - they're just so striking in color with the darker shades on white that you can't help but want one (it was a picture of an Isabel in Jerry Conway's article in Reptiles magazine back in Oct. 98 that sparked my interest in these guys). As more people keep these little boas and learn to breed and raise them, you'll see more of the Isabels offered. Not to mention all the natural color variance combined with their small size just makes them so attractive - none of my 5 are exactly the same color and all of them will stay within an easily managable size. They're just about the perfect pet boa...can you tell I'm slightly biased?

Raven