Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wondering if the price on centeral american boas has gone up since the production of the all black boa by Boa Republic?

There are many more reasons...
There have been many more morphs produced for CA Boas
They are also more sought after due to their size and ease of breeding.
you should still be able to find normal males and some females for the 'old', lower price..

take care, Joe
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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

I saw an ad yesterday for $30.00 CA boas and even cheaper if you bought 9 or more. I have seen them at the shows for as little as $25.00. There are still way too many imports to make the cost of the CA boas go up any more. Now the Morphs of the CA boas have gone crazy for some reason. I saw someone advertise a Nic Hypo for $3,000.00 and he was serious! Just last year or the year before you could buy them for $250.00 all day long, why do you ask? Well the Dang Salmon gene is from a freakin CA Boa and has been refined over the years with breeding. Now that people know what to look for in the Hypo Nic imports they can start their own line of Salmons, but only to end up to where we are now with the $400.00 salmon on the market. So why pay $3000.00 to step back 5-10 years in breeding efforts, it is madness I say....madness!!!..... Ok sorry, I am better now, but I hope you can see what I mean.
Thanks
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

Hoppy, I agree there are a myriad of highly refined Colombian hypo morphs out there to choose from. I believe there is a big difference in the CA hypos, however. Ever since Vin Russo's article on dwarf boas I've seen a noticeable increase in interest in smaller animals such as Nicaraguan or other CA boas. If one mixes a Colombian hypo into a a Nic line do you really think the end result will have the beauty, markings, and size of a 100% Nicaraguan? I'm certain people will do so but for the "purists" who desire a true hypo dwarf boa the future is waiting to see what can be done without any Colombian influence. I for one have just bought 2.2 pure Nic hypos in the last week alone. One pair was from Vinnie and they are F2's not farm bred imports like my other pair. The difference between them is night and day. I will absolutely NOT adulterate these animals with any other locality. I've seen a pair of Argentine X Nicaraguan hypos posted here at Kingsnake and while they look nice I wonder just how dwarf they'll be in a few years. With movements such as the proposed NY legislation I think smaller boas are the wave of the future and morphs of these are just now beginning to take off in sales and pricing. I've also heard that Japanese buyers are in Nicaragua paying a premium for morphs so there are less making there way here to the states. I've heard this from several reputable sources.

I don't see Central American or Northen area Boas as true Morphs. the Nics tend to stay smaller in size, but that is because they have not had the generations of CB breeding influence to help them achieve a greater size. I had a 9' Mexican Boa year back and they are supposed to be small too. now the insular forms of the Boas I would say are dwarfs, but a Nic will reach 6 feet, as a Colombian will too. I understand that many do not want to mix localities and there may be a market for the smaller Boas. I personally think it is great that many are now finding beauty in a Boa that was considered a dog a few years ago.
No if you breed Colombian or any other bloodline into the Nics they will be bigger, they are about the smallest main land BCssp i know of, But they will always have that Nic Look to them and not the nice clean look that has sold so well for so many years. Also I have never met a Nic that liked me LOL. They bite like the devil, that may change as the become more captive bred, but I bleed enough now as it is, I don't need to start out with a snake that likes the taste of my blood!
Good luck with the Hypo Nics, I had a few nicks a couple of years ago (including a Hypo) I might have stayed with them except for the fact that they would not take f/t mice on a regular basis and they bit the heck out of me all the freakin time
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

I have had them in the past and have 4 right now. Only one is mean...I hope to work on that while he is young - but, he regularly takes f/t. The other three are very handlable, but so far they only feed live. Most of them are very clean, and some are very light (see previous post of mine a few posts down - cannot re-post his pic because my computer has decided not to let me right click - I must restart it). While I agree that many are darker and some are seriously aggressive, and many do prefer live... I much prefer their size...just need to iron out a few kinks for perfection.

On the flip side, I have several Columbians that are mean as spit too...I'd much rather be bitten by a 6' boa than a 10 foot one!

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